Guerin, Weinrich named All-Star honorary captains

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews announced today that Bill Guerin and Eric Weinrich will serve as the honorary captains for the 2015 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Turning Stone Resort Casino, to be held January 25-26 in Utica, N.Y. 

Each year, the All-Star Classic honorary captains join the participating teams in the locker room and on the benches during the Skills Competition and All-Star Game, and are recognized for their careers at the annual AHL Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony. 

Currently an assistant general manager with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Bill Guerin began his 19-year professional playing career with the AHL’s Utica Devils, appearing in 40 games over the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons. He went on to play 1,263 games in the NHL with New Jersey, Edmonton, Boston, Dallas, St. Louis, San Jose, the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh, and won Stanley Cups with the Devils (1995) and Penguins (2009). Guerin represented the United States at three Olympic Games and the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, and is a 2013 inductee into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. 

Eric Weinrich also made his pro debut with the Utica Devils, playing 137 games from 1988-90 and winning the Eddie Shore Award in 1990 as the AHL’s outstanding defenseman. Weinrich played 1,157 games over 17 NHL seasons with New Jersey, Hartford, Chicago, Montreal, Boston, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Vancouver before finishing his career with two seasons with the AHL’s Portland Pirates. Weinrich, who served as an assistant coach in Portland from 2008-11, played in the 1988 Olympics, the 1991 Canada Cup, the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and nine World Championships with Team USA. 

A very limited number of tickets remain available for the 2015 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Turning Stone Resort Casino. They can be purchased in person at the Utica Memorial Auditorium box office (10-4 ET), by phone at 800-693-8000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets for the two-day event are priced as low as $69 and include admission to both the All-Star Skills Competition on Jan. 25 and the All-Star Game on Jan. 26. 

The 2015 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Turning Stone Resort Casino will feature the top young talent in the American Hockey League: Of the 644 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 BergeronDaniel BriereRyan CallahanZdeno CharaJimmy HowardNiklas KronwallChris KunitzRyan MillerZach PariseTuukka RaskPekka RinneBobby RyanMartin St. LouisCory SchneiderPatrick SharpJason Spezza and Eric Staal