AHL Announces 2014 All Star Classic…With a Twist
Today the American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews officially announced that the All-Classic for the 2013-2014 season will be held at Mile One Centre, home to the St. John’s IceCaps in Newfoundland and Labrador. This will be the third season that the IceCaps have been in St. John’s and the team is incredibly excited to have the chance to host.
For the 2014 AHL All-Star Classic, the skills competition will take place on Tuesday, February 11th and the All-Star Game will be on Wednesday, February 12th. This event will have a brand new twist, though. With the All-Star event taking place just before the Olympics kick off, the AHL is adding an international element. For the first time ever, a team of AHL all-stars will face off against Färjestad BK, one of the top professional team in the Swedish Hockey League.
“I would like to thank Färjestad, the Swedish Hockey League and the St. John’s IceCaps for their commitment to making this very special opportunity a reality,” said Andrews. “The city and fans of St. John’s have wholly embraced the IceCaps since our league returned to Newfoundland and Labrador, and this historic and memorable event is an excellent way for us to showcase our brightest stars to what will truly be an international audience.”
This is a brand new idea for the AHL and is the first time any team from a Swedish Hockey League has played in North America. It is a huge honor for the AHL to have a team like Färjestad BK that has had incredible success within their league take part in this event. During their history, they have played in 19 league finals.
Sportsnet will be handling the live production and airing of the 2014 AHL All-Star Classic. In addition to the skills competition and the All-Star game, there are a few other events such as the AHL Hall of Fame Induction. This is the 20th addition of the modern installment of the AHL All-Star Classic.
Since the event was reinstated in 1995, there have been 630 players to participate in the AHL All-Star Classic. Of those, more than 93 percent ha e gone on to compete at the NHL level. The AHL has long been recognized as an excellent league to develop players for the NHL.
