Barber, Clarke named honorary captains

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Bill Barber and Bob Clarke will serve as the honorary captains at the 2012 AHL All-Star Classic, to be held January 29-30 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

Each year, the All-Star Classic honorary captains stand on the team benches during the Skills Competition and All-Star Game, and are recognized for their careers at the annual AHL Hall of Fame Inductions & Awards Ceremony.

Bill Barber began his professional career with the American Hockey League’s Richmond Robins in 1972 before playing 12 seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, winning two Stanley Cups and skating in six NHL all-star games. He retired as the Flyers franchise’s career goal-scoring leader (420) and later coached their AHL affiliates in Hershey and Philadelphia, leading the Phantoms to a Calder Cup championship in 1998. Barber, who also won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year in 2000-01, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990, and is now a scouting consultant for the Flyers.

Bob Clarke played his entire 15-year professional career with the Philadelphia Flyers, racking up 1,210 points and three NHL MVP awards while captaining the Broad Street Bullies to two Stanley Cup titles. The talented playmaker and eight-time NHL all-star then spent 19 seasons as the Flyers’ general manager between 1984 and 2007, and was GM of the Philadelphia Phantoms’ Calder Cup championship teams in 1998 and 2005. Clarke was a 1987 inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and currently serves as Senior Vice President of the Flyers.

Tickets for the 2012 AHL All-Star Classic – which include admission to both the 2012 AHL All-Star Skills Competition at 3 p.m. on Sunday, January 29, and the 2012 AHL All-Star Game at 7 p.m. on Monday, January 30 – are on sale now at the Boardwalk Hall box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by calling (800) 736-1420 or at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are also available for the Post-Skills Party (January 29, 5:30 p.m.) and the 2012 AHL Hall of Fame Induction & Awards Ceremony (January 30, 11 a.m.) at Caesars Atlantic City.

The 2012 AHL All-Star Classic will feature the top young talent in the American Hockey League competing in an internationally televised showcase from historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Of the 562 players to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic since 1995, more than 93 percent have competed in the National Hockey League, including Patrice Bergeron, Dan Boyle, Daniel Briere, Ryan Callahan, Brian Campbell, Zdeno Chara, Jimmy Howard, Miikka Kiprusoff, Ryan Miller, Zach Parise, Pekka Rinne, Bobby Ryan, Martin St. Louis, Jason Spezza, Eric Staal, P.K. Subban and Tomas Vokoun.

The 2012 AHL All-Star Classic is presented by the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority, Caesars Entertainment, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and the American Hockey League. For destination information about Atlantic City, please visit www.atlanticcitynj.com.