WHO KNEW? 

When the New York Rangers drafted Robert “Bobby” Sanguinetti with the 21st pick in the first round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, they knew they were getting a talented offensive minded defenseman. What they didn’t realize was the speed demon hiding in the skates of the second year New Jersey native.

Selected to the AHL All Star team to represent team PlanetUSA for his second straight season, Sanguinetti not only heeded his own pre-event interview advice of “not to fall down,” but his time of 13.667 in the Fastest Skater competition not only won the event, but set the AHL record for the event.

Conversely though, as good as he was in the Fastest Skater with his feet, his hands weren’t nearly as effective. In the Hardest Shot competition Sanguinetti’s shots of 89.7 and 88.4mph were the two lowest of any competitor in the event.

Sanguinetti’s teammate Corey Locke also participated in the event. Locke went hard in the first event of the night, The Puck Control Relay. Unfortunately his teammates Tyler Ennis of the Portland Pirates and Martin St. Pierre of the Binghamton Senators handed him a deep hole to climb out of. Locke flew threw the event and almost made up all the time he was handicapped with against the Rockford IceHogs’ Jack Skille. “Honestly, I just didn’t want to lose the puck,” Locke told Howlings. “I just tried to make it close.”

In Locke’s second event as a participant he competed in The Accuracy Shooting event Locke went four-for-four, but overall was not pleased with his performance. “I think I could have done a little better,” Locke said. “They were big targets. I’m happy (that he got all four), but I could have done it a little quicker.”

Locke summed up the whole purpose of the event. “I had fun at it. Events are fun.”

So was watching it.

If you’re curious in how the whole thing turned out, here’s the release from the AHL.

The Canadian AHL All-Stars opened the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic with an 18-12 victory over their PlanetUSA counterparts in the 2010 Ducks Unlimited AHL All-Star Skills Competition at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Monday evening.

Skills Scoresheet

Hamilton Bulldogs goaltender Cedrick Desjardins claimed the Reebok Top Goaltender award by stopping 16 of 19 shots for the Canadian side. Desjardins, a second-year pro, entered the league’s midseason showcase ranking second in the AHL in goals-against average (1.81), tied for fifth in save percentage (.929), and first in shutouts (5) in 26 games for the North Division-leading Bulldogs.

PlanetUSA defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti set an event record by completing the Reebok Fastest Skater competition in 13.677 seconds. A first-round draft pick (21st overall) by the New York Rangers in 2006, the 21-year-old Sanguinetti hit the All-Star break with 26 points (6-20-26) in 38 games as a second-year pro for Hartford.

Canadian forward Blair Jones of the Norfolk Admirals claimed the Reebok Hardest Shot contest with a blast clocked at 100.7 miles per hour, becoming just the fourth AHL player in the event’s history to top the century mark. Jon Matsumoto from the Adirondack Phantoms recorded the best mark in the Ducks Unlimited Accuracy Shooting event by hitting four of five targets.

Desjardins combined with Albany’s Justin Peters (12 saves) and Manchester’s Jonathan Bernier (12 saves) to help the Canadian AHL All-Stars halt a three-year losing streak in the Skills Competition.

The Canadian squad will go for the sweep when the 2010 Time Warner Cable AHL All-Star Classic continues on Tuesday night (8:00 p.m. ET) with the annual AHL All-Star Game. Check theahl.com for air times and channels along the AHL All-Star Classic television network.

Bobby Sanguinetti photo courtesy of hartfordwolfpack.com / Corey Locke photo courtesy of theahl.com