SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that AHL alumni and Binghamton Hockey Hall of Famers Ken Holland and Larry Pleau will serve as honorary captains at the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic, to be held January 27-28 at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton, N.Y.
Now in his 11th year as general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, Ken Holland played nine professional seasons as a goaltender, including eight in the AHL and six in Binghamton. He was a Second Team AHL All-Star in 1981-82 and backstopped the Binghamton Whalers to the Calder Cup Finals that spring, the city’s only appearance in the AHL’s championship series. Following two seasons playing with the Adirondack Red Wings, Holland joined Detroit’s scouting staff and has since become one of sports’ most successful general managers, capturing two Stanley Cups, three Presidents’ Trophies and seven division titles since taking over in 1997.
Larry Pleau, in his 11th year as general manager of the St. Louis Blues, played parts of three seasons in the AHL with Montreal, Nova Scotia and Springfield and served as head coach of the Binghamton Whalers from 1984-88. He guided Binghamton to 52 wins and a division championship in 1984-85, and won the Louis A.R. Pieri Award as the AHL’s outstanding coach in 1986-87. Pleau later spent eight seasons as assistant general manager for the New York Rangers, where he oversaw their AHL prospects in Binghamton from 1990-97. A member of the 1968 United States Olympic hockey team, Pleau was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000.
Holland (Canadian) and Pleau (PlanetUSA) will serve as the honorary team captains for the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic. Previous honorary captains have included Adam Oates, Steve Thomas, John Ferguson, Ab McDonald, Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor, Adam Graves, Joe Kocur, Kevin Dineen, Gordie Clark, Lanny McDonald, Darryl Sittler, Don Cherry, Bill Dineen, Jim Craig and Al MacNeil.
The 2008 AHL All-Star Classic will take place at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton, home of the AHL’s Senators. The event features the 2008 AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday, January 27 (7:00 ET) and the 2008 AHL All-Star Game on Monday, January 28 (7:00 ET), and will be televised live in the United States and Canada.
Of the 427 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, Brad Boyes, Daniel Briere, Zdeno Chara, Jonathan Cheechoo, Pavol Demitra, Rick DiPietro, Patrik Elias, Ray Emery, Jiri Hudler, Miikka Kiprusoff, Kari Lehtonen, Ryan Miller, Martin St. Louis, Jason Spezza, Eric Staal and Steve Sullivan.
For ticket and event information for the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic, visit www.binghamtonsenators.com.
