LOCKE’S A CANADIAN ALL-STAR 

It was no surprise to anyone who’s been watching him this season, but the AHL’s leading scorer, Corey Locke, will represent the Hartford Wolf Pack at the 2010 AHL All-Star Game, January 18 and 19 at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine the AHL and Wolf Pack have just announced.

Locke, a 5’9″ 171-pounder center from Toronto, has put up 15g, 26a for 41pts.  This will be Locke’s third straight trip to the All-Star Classic, and the fourth of his six-year career.  He was also a member of the Canadian teams in 2006, 2008 and 2009, and is tied for the event’s all-time scoring lead with eight career points with Binghamton’s Martin St. Pierre.

Locke scored the overtime winner in the Wolf Pack’s game Sunday afternoon in Springfield. He also paces the league in power-play goals (10), is tied for tops in the AHL in assists (26) and tied for third in goals (15).  Locke has posted 14 multiple-point outings among his 34 games-played, including four-point outings October 31 vs. Providence (one goal, three assists in a 7-0 win) and November 19 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (two goals, two assists in a 5-3 victory).

Ex-Pack forward Alexandre Giroux was named a starter for the Canadian team. P.A. Parenteau was not included in the list but could be named if someone cannot make the game.

The Planet USA team will be announced tomorrow. The Pack’s Bobby Sanguinetti and perhaps Ilkka Heikkinen could be named to that team.

Here’s the official release from the AHL.

The American Hockey League announced today the Canadian AHL All-Star team roster for the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic, to be played next month at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine.
The team comprises 24 players – 13 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders – born in Canada. AHL fans determined the starting lineup via on-line balloting at theahl.com, while a committee of AHL coaches selected the remainder of the roster.

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 of the Worcester Sharks and Tyler Ennis of the host Portland 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.
Manitoba Moose defenseman Nolan Baumgartner was selected to captain the Canadian team, and was voted to the starting lineup by fan balloting. Because the Hershey Bears won the Calder Cup championship in 2009, their current staff of head coach Mark French and assistant Troy Mann will serve as the coaches for the Canadian team; Bob Woods was promoted to assistant coach of the Washington Capitals after guiding the Bears to the title last spring.
The PlanetUSA AHL All-Star team roster will be announced on Wednesday.

The 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic will feature the top talent in the American Hockey League competing in the 2010 AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Monday, January 18 (8:00 p.m. ET) and the 2010 AHL All-Star Game on Tuesday, January 19 (6:00 p.m. ET), and will be televised live nationally in the United States and Canada. Of the 492 players to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic since 1995, more than 94 percent have competed in the National Hockey League, including Patrice Bergeron, Brad Boyes, Dan Boyle, Daniel Briere, Brian Campbell, Zdeno Chara, Rick DiPietro, Miikka Kiprusoff, Kari Lehtonen, Ryan Miller, Zach Parise, Bobby Ryan, Martin St. Louis, Jason Spezza, Eric Staal and Tomas Vokoun.
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 portlandpirates.com.

---

2010 Canadian AHL All-Star Team

---

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

---

  2010 Canadian AHL All-Star Team Starters  

---

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