SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews announced today the selection of Kurt Kleinendorst of the Binghamton Senators and Dallas Eakins of the Toronto Marlies to join the coaching staffs for the 2012 AHL All-Star Classic in Atlantic City, N.J., Jan. 29-30.
Kleinendorst will join St. John’s IceCaps head coach Keith McCambridge in the Eastern Conference, while Eakins will work with Oklahoma City Barons head coach Todd Nelson on the Western Conference bench.
Kleinendorst, 51, is in his fifth AHL season as a head coach and second in Binghamton after leading the Senators to the city’s first-ever Calder Cup championship in 2010-11. The former NHL assistant with the New Jersey Devils will be making his first AHL All-Star appearance.
Eakins, 44, is in his third season running the Marlies’ bench following a stint as an assistant with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Eakins, also a first-time All-Star, played parts of 12 seasons in the AHL and won a Calder Cup with the Chicago Wolves in 2002. He also skated in 120 career NHL games with Winnipeg/Phoenix, Florida, St. Louis, the N.Y. Rangers, Toronto, the N.Y. Islanders and Calgary.
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, and single-session tickets for the Skills Competition and All-Star Game go on sale Jan. 13 at noon ET.
Now through Jan. 23, fans have the opportunity to vote for the starting lineups for the 2012 AHL All-Star Game by visiting theahl.com or facebook.com/theahl and participating in the 2012 AHL All-Star Classic Fan Balloting presented by Reebok. Voters will be entered to win a grand prize of a team-signed authentic 2012 AHL All-Star jersey, and five more winners will each receive a pair of tickets to the 2012 AHL All-Star Skills Competition and All-Star Game, courtesy of Insurance Office of America.
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.
