SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League has announced the 2020-21 AHL All-Rookie Team, as voted by coaches, players and media in each of the league’s 28 active member cities.
2020-21 AHL All-Rookie Team
Goaltender – Logan Thompson, Henderson Silver Knights (23gp, 16-6-1, 1.96gaa, .943sv%, 2so)
Defenseman – Calen Addison, Iowa Wild (31gp, 6+16=22pts., +7)
Defenseman – Max Gildon, Bakersfield Condors (32gp, 2+17=19pts., +16)
Forward – Riley Damiani, Texas Stars (36gp, 11+25=36pts., +3, 4 PPG, 2 GWG)
Forward – Connor McMichael, Hershey Bears (33gp, 14+13=27pts., +6, 6 PPG, 8 GWG)
Forward – Phil Tomasino, Chicago Wolves (29gp, 13+19=32pts., +20, 4 PPG, 2 GWG)
Each player will receive a custom-designed crystal award in recognition of his selection to the 2020-21 AHL All-Rookie Team.
Previous selections to the annual AHL All-Rookie Team include Zdeno Chara (1998), Ron Hainsey (2002), Jason Spezza (2003), Cam Ward (2005), Thomas Vanek (2005), Kevin Bieksa (2005), Jimmy Howard (2006), Dan Girardi (2006), Mike Green (2006), Jaroslav Halak (2007), Troy Brouwer (2007), Ryan Callahan (2007), Bobby Ryan (2008), Brian Boyle (2008), Alex Goligoski (2008), Alex Stalock (2010), John Carlson (2010), P.K. Subban (2010), Logan Couture (2010), Lars Eller (2010), Brendan Smith (2011), Tyler Johnson (2012), Gustav Nyquist (2012), Justin Schultz (2013), Sami Vatanen (2013), Jason Zucker (2013), Tyler Toffoli (2013), Ryan Strome (2014), Matt Murray (2015), Connor Brown (2015), Viktor Arvidsson (2015), Ryan Pulock (2015), Juuse Saros (2016), Brandon Montour (2016), Austin Czarnik (2016), Frank Vatrano (2016), Mikko Rantanen (2016), Casey DeSmith (2017), Devon Toews (2017), Jake Guentzel (2017), Mark Jankowski (2017), Daniel Sprong (2018), Dylan Strome (2018), Jake Bean (2019), Drake Batherson (2019), Cayden Primeau (2020), Josh Norris (2020) and Jack Studnicka (2020).
The 2020-21 AHL Division All-Star Teams will be announced on Wednesday.
2020-21 AHL All-Rookie Team
Logan Thompson, Goaltender (Henderson Silver Knights):
Calgary native Logan Thompson had a breakout season in 2020-21, completing a two-year climb from Canadian university hockey to the National Hockey League. Thompson, 24, signed an entry-level contract with Vegas last July and appeared in 23 games for Henderson this season, going 16-6-1 with two shutouts while leading the AHL with a .943 save percentage and ranking second with a 1.96 goals-against average. Thompson, the CCM/AHL Goaltender of the Month for both February and March, made his NHL debut with the Golden Knights on Mar. 10.
Calen Addison, Defenseman (Iowa Wild):
A second-round choice by Pittsburgh in the 2018 NHL Draft, Calen Addison was acquired by Minnesota in February 2020 and enjoyed a productive rookie season in Iowa in 2020-21. The 21-year-old native of Brandon, Man., recorded three assists in the Wild’s opening-night win on Feb. 5 and went on to notch six goals and 22 points along with a plus-7 rating in 31 AHL games, including a seven-game scoring streak from Mar. 27 to Apr. 9. Addison earned an early recall to Minnesota and made his NHL debut on Feb. 16, eventually appearing in three regular-season games with the parent Wild.
Max Gildon, Defenseman (Bakersfield Condors):
A third-round pick by the Florida Panthers in the 2017 NHL Draft, Max Gildon spent the 2020-21 season on loan to Bakersfield following three seasons at the University of New Hampshire. The 22-year-old native of Plano, Texas, tied for second among all AHL defensemen with 17 assists and ranked fourth among both rookies and defensemen with a plus-16 rating in 32 games. Gildon tied a Condors franchise record with four assists in a game vs. Henderson on Apr. 28.
Riley Damiani, Forward (Texas Stars):
Riley Damiani, 21, led all AHL rookies in scoring and tied for third in the overall scoring race with 36 points in 36 games for Texas in 2020-21, his first pro season after four years with Kitchener of the Ontario Hockey League. A fifth-round selection by Dallas in the 2018 NHL Draft, Damiani notched two goals and an assist on opening night and later posted five consecutive multiple-point games, including his first pro hat trick on Mar. 13 vs. Colorado. The native of Mississauga, Ont., finished the campaign with an eight-game scoring streak.
Connor McMichael, Forward (Hershey Bears):
Washington’s first-round choice (25th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft, Connor McMichael led the regular-season champion Hershey Bears with 14 goals and 27 points while skating in all 33 games for the club in 2020-21. McMichael, who scored a league-leading eight game-winning goals, recorded his first pro hat trick in a 3-1 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Feb. 20, and was named the CCM/AHL Player of the Week after tallying six points over the final two games of the season. The 20-year-old native of Ajax, Ont., also made his NHL debut with the Capitals this season, and won a silver medal with Canada at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Phil Tomasino, Forward (Chicago Wolves):
A first-round choice (24th overall) by the Nashville Predators in the 2019 NHL Draft, Phil Tomasino registered 13 goals and 19 assists for 32 points with the Central Division champion Chicago Wolves this season, and ranked second in the entire AHL with a plus-20 rating – posting an even or better in 26 of his 29 games played. The 19-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., had two separate seven-game scoring streaks during the campaign, and was held off the scoresheet in back-to-back games only once all season. Tomasino represented Canada at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship, earning a silver medal.
