WORCESTER - Worcester Sharks President and CEO Michael T. Lehr in conjunction with the American Hockey League announced this afternoon that rookie forward Logan Couture and veteran defenseman Danny Groulx of the Worcester Sharks have been selected to play for the Canadian AHL All-Star Team in the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic being held January 18th and 19th at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine. Couture was named a starter for the Canadian All-Star Team.

               

Couture, a 20 year-old rookie forward from Guelph, Ontario, will start for the Canadian All-Star Team. He currently leads the Worcester Sharks in scoring with 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points in just 20 games. His 29 points are tops among rookies in the AHL and his 11 goals are tied for the most among freshmen players. Logan also has a goal and an assist this season in his first 11 games in the NHL with the San Jose Sharks.

 

Groulx, a 28 year-old veteran defenseman from LaSalle, Quebec, was named an AHL All-Star in this, his 7^th full season in the AHL. He currently leads Worcester Sharks defensemen with three goals and 18 assists for 21 points. His 21 points are 8^th among defensemen in the AHL and his 94 shots on goal are first among blue line skaters. Groulx has skated in 140 straight AHL games and is 4th among defensemen with 18 assists.

 

Former AHL All-Stars for the Worcester Sharks include: Mathieu Darche (2007), Mike Iggulden (2008), Derek Joslin (2009), and Ryan Vesce (2009)

 

Among the members of the Canadian team are 17 first-time AHL All-Stars including Manchester’s Jonathan Bernier, Hamilton’s Cedrick Desjardins and Texas’s Brent Krahn, who are the AHL’s top three goaltenders in both goals-against average and save percentage. The Canadian squad also features six former NHL first-round draft picks including Logan Couture and Tyler Ennis of the Portlan Pirates, the top two rookie scorers in the league. Players on the Canadian roster with previous All-Star experience include Binghamton’s Martin St. Pierre and Hartford’s Corey Locke, who are tied for the event’s all-time scoring lead with eight career points each.

 

The PlanetUSA AHL All-Star team roster will be announced tomorrow (Wednesday).

 

Tickets for the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic – which include admission to both the Skills Competition and the AHL All-Star Game as well as an official commemorative All-Star Classic event program – are $49 (rows 1-12 in all sections) and $42 (rows 13-24 in all sections). To purchase tickets call (207) 775-3458, visit the Cumberland County Civic Center Box Office or go on-line at www.portlandpirates.com.

 

 

Goaltenders
x-Jonathan Bernier, Manchester
Cedrick Desjardins, Hamilton
Brent Krahn, Texas

Defensemen
x-Nolan Baumgartner, Manitoba ("C")
Tyler Eckford, Lowell
Keaton Ellerby, Rochester
Danny Groulx, Worcester
Mark Katic, Bridgeport
Maxim Noreau, Houston
Bryan Rodney, Albany
x-P.K. Subban, Hamilton

Forwards
x-Logan Couture, Worcester
Tyler Ennis, Portland
x-Alexandre Giroux, Hershey
Andrew Gordon, Hershey
Darren Haydar, Lake Erie
Jason Jaffray, Abbotsford
x-Dustin Jeffrey, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Ryan Keller, Binghamton
Charles Linglet, Springfield
Corey Locke, Hartford
Jon Matsumoto, Adirondack
Cal O'Reilly, Milwaukee
Martin St. Pierre, Binghamton

x-starters

Head Coach: Mark French, Hershey Bears
Assistant Coach: Troy Mann, Hershey Bears
Athletic Trainer: Dan Stuck, Hershey Bears
Equipment Manager: Justin Kullman, Hershey Bears

 

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Jonathan Bernier, Goaltender (Manchester Monarchs):
The Reebok/AHL Goaltender of the Month for October, second-year pro Jonathan Bernier is tied for the league lead with 16 wins in 26 appearances (16-8-2) for the Atlantic-leading Manchester Monarchs. A first-round draft pick (11th overall) by the parent Los Angeles Kings in 2006, the 21-year-old native of Laval, Que., ranks third in the AHL in goals-against average (1.88), second in save percentage (.944), second in minutes played (1,528), and tied for second with four shutouts.

Nolan Baumgartner, Defense (Manitoba Moose):
Veteran defenseman and Canadian All-Star team captain Nolan Baumgartner shows one goal – an overtime game-winner on Oct. 19 at Hamilton – and six assists in 24 games for Manitoba this season. The Calgary native began his pro career in Portland after being drafted 10th overall by Washington in 1994, and has gone on to play 739 AHL contests, including 306 for the Moose. Previously an AHL All-Star in 2005 and 2007, Baumgartner helped Manitoba to the Calder Cup Finals in 2009, and has also appeared in 131 career NHL games.

P.K. Subban, Defense (Hamilton Bulldogs):
Twenty-year-old P.K. Subban ranks third among rookie AHL defensemen with 20 points (7-13-20) in 32 games for Hamilton this season. A second-round draft pick by Montreal in 2007, Subban scored a goal in three straight outings from Nov. 20-24 and registered a season-high three points (1-2-3) on Dec. 19 at Hartford. The native of Rexdale, Ont., has scored four of his seven goals on the power play and is tied for the overall AHL lead with a plus-17 rating.

Logan Couture, Forward (Worcester Sharks):
Center Logan Couture has been one of the American Hockey League’s most dynamic newcomers this season, leading all AHL rookies with 11 goals (tied) and 29 points in just 20 games for Worcester. Tops in the league with six game-winning tallies, the 20-year-old native of London, Ont., has picked up at least one point in 17 of his 20 AHL outings thus far. Drafted ninth overall in 2007, Couture also has a goal and an assist in 11 NHL games for San Jose this season.

Alexandre Giroux, Forward (Hershey Bears):
Coming off a season in which he won league MVP honors, a scoring title and the Calder Cup, Hershey’s Alexandre Giroux has shown no signs of slowing down. The Quebec City native has registered 11 goals and 23 assists for 34 points in 23 games for the Bears this season and has also contributed a goal and two assists in nine NHL games with Washington. Giroux, whose 75 regular-season and playoff goals in 2008-09 were an all-time league record, reached the 500-point plateau for his AHL career on Dec. 19.

Dustin Jeffrey, Forward (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins):
Dustin Jeffrey leads Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and is tied for second in the AHL with 35 points (10-25-35) in 31 games, already just two points shy of the total he put up in 63 games as a rookie in 2008-09. The 21-year-old Jeffrey has six three-point efforts this season and went on a six-game scoring streak from Oct. 30 to Nov. 13. The native of Sarnia, Ont., made his pro debut during Wilkes-Barre’s run to the 2008 Calder Cup Finals, and also shows three points in 14 career NHL games with Pittsburgh.


Michal Neuvirth, Goaltender (Hershey Bears):
Second-year pro Michal Neuvirth ranks among the AHL’s top five goaltenders in both goals-against average (1.99) and save percentage (.929) while going 10-5-0 for Hershey this season. The 21-year-old captured AHL playoff MVP honors last spring as a rookie, leading the Bears to their record 10th Calder Cup with a 16-6 playoff mark and four shutouts. A native of Usti nad Labem, Czech Republic, Neuvirth was drafted in the second round by Washington in 2006 and is 5-3-0 in 10 career NHL appearances with the Capitals.

Ivan Vishnevskiy, Defense (Texas Stars):
Selected in the first round (27th overall) of the 2006 NHL draft, Ivan Vishnevskiy scored goals in each of the Texas Stars franchise’s first two games this season and has gone on to post 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 35 outings thus far. The 21-year-old native of Barnaul, Russia, has factored in the scoring of 11 of the Stars’ 25 power-play goals this year and is also 2-for-3 in shootout attempts. Vishnevskiy has been recalled by Dallas twice already this season and shows two assists in five career NHL games.

Mike Weber, Defense (Portland Pirates):
Tied for third in the AHL with a plus-16 rating, Mike Weber has played all 34 games for Portland this season and has contributed 10 assists, including a helper in four straight contests from Dec. 2-6. The third-year pro from Pittsburgh, Pa., is already just four points shy of the career-high 14 he registered in 59 games as an AHL rookie during the 2007-08 season. Weber, 22, was drafted in the second round by Buffalo in 2006 and has registered three assists in 23 career contests with the Sabres.

Keith Aucoin, Forward (Hershey Bears):
Keith Aucoin is making his fifth consecutive AHL All-Star appearance, but has been voted into the starting lineup by the fans for the first time. One of the top offensive players in the AHL during the 2000’s, Aucoin is tied for first in the AHL in goals (16) and ranks second in points (36) in 27 games for Hershey this season, and he also shows a goal and four assists in five NHL tilts with Washington. Aucoin has totaled 564 career AHL points and has finished in the top 10 in scoring four times in the last seven seasons.

Brandon Bochenski, Forward (Norfolk Admirals):
Brandon Bochenski has led Norfolk’s offense with nearly a point-per-game pace, putting up 16 goals (tied for the AHL lead) and 16 assists in 34 outings. The sixth-year pro has registered three or more points on four occasions and put together a six-game scoring streak from Dec. 5-19. Bochenski was previously an AHL All-Star as a rookie in 2005, and was voted to the starting lineup in 2007 but missed the event due to injury. Bochenski has 268 points in 248 career AHL games, along with 55 points in 128 NHL matches.

Nathan Gerbe, Forward (Portland Pirates):
The AHL’s rookie of the year in 2008-09, Nathan Gerbe has picked up where he left off with 20 points (5-15-20) in 23 games for Portland this season. A native of Oxford, Mich., Gerbe was voted a starter for last year’s All-Star Classic but was injured and missed the event. The 22-year-old was drafted by Buffalo in 2005 and has appeared in two games for the Sabres this year, scoring his first career NHL goal vs. Washington on Dec. 9. Gerbe won an NCAA title at Boston College in 2008 and led the nation in scoring with 68 points.