SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Tom McVie and Don Sweeney will serve as the honorary captains for the 2013 Dunkin’ Donuts AHL All-Star Classic, to be held January 27-28 in Providence, R.I.
Each year, the All-Star Classic honorary captains are around the All-Star 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 Inductions & Awards Ceremony.
Tom McVie’s career in professional hockey has spanned nearly 60 years. His association with the American Hockey League began in 1982 when he was named head coach of the Maine Mariners and led the team to the Calder Cup Finals.
McVie spent a total of 10 seasons as an AHL head coach with Maine (1982-87), the Utica Devils (1987-91) and the Providence Bruins (1997-98), receiving the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the league’s outstanding coach in 1989.
McVie won 329 AHL games, ranking 11th all-time, and is now in his 19th season with the Boston Bruins organization, and 14th in a scouting capacity.
Drafted by the Boston Bruins and an All-American defenseman at Harvard University, Don Sweeney made his professional debut with the AHL’s Maine Mariners in 1988 and spent parts of his first two pro seasons with the club.
He would play 15 seasons with Boston, becoming one of just four players in franchise history to skate in more than 1,000 games with the team, and joined the organization’s front office in 2006.
Sweeney has been the Bruins’ assistant general manager since 2010, and helped to build the team’s 2011 Stanley Cup championship squad.
Tickets for the 2013 Dunkin’ Donuts AHL All-Star Classic are on sale now by calling the Providence Bruins at (401) 273-5000 or visiting www.providencebruins.com. All-Star 2-Packs are $55 and $75 and include admission to both the 2013 AHL All-Star Skills Competition at 7 p.m. on Sunday, January 27, and the 2013 AHL All-Star Game at 7 p.m. on Monday, January 28. All-Star 4-Packs are $75 and $100 and include admission to the Skills Competition and the All-Star Game, as well as the Post-Skills Party (January 27, 9:30 p.m.) at the Rhode Island Convention Center and the 2013 AHL Hall of Fame Induction & Awards Ceremony (January 28, 11 a.m.) at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium.
The 2013 Dunkin’ Donuts AHL All-Star Classic in Providence will feature the top young talent in the American Hockey League. Of the 597 players to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic since the event was reinstated in 1995, more than 92 percent have competed in the National Hockey League, including Patrice Bergeron, Daniel Briere, Dustin Brown, Ryan Callahan, Mike Cammalleri, Zdeno Chara, Miikka Kiprusoff, Ryan Miller, Zach Parise, Tuukka Rask, Pekka Rinne, Bobby Ryan, Martin St. Louis, Cory Schneider, Jason Spezza and Eric Staal.
