SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today a multi-year agreement with TSN that will see “Canada’s Sports Leader” broadcast the next three AHL All-Star Classics nationally.
The leading English-language sports network in Canada, TSN will begin its American Hockey League coverage with the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Charter Communications, which is set for January 25-26 in Worcester, Mass.
“This partnership represents a fantastic opportunity for Canadian hockey fans to follow the best and brightest young professional players as they compete in the top development league in the world,” said David Andrews, AHL President and CEO. “Our All-Star Classic each year is a showcase of the future stars of the NHL, and we’re excited to be able to bring the excitement of the event to TSN’s viewers.”
The 2009 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Charter Communications will be produced by the New England Sports Network (NESN) and will air on a series of regional sports networks in the United States in addition to TSN in Canada. The 2009 AHL All-Star Skills Competition will take place on Sunday, January 25 (4:00 ET), with the 2009 AHL All-Star Game following on Monday, January 26 (7:00 ET).
About TSN
Setting the Canadian sports broadcasting standard, TSN, a division of CTVglobemedia, was voted the No. 1 source for sports coverage and news by sports fans across the country.* TSN’s comprehensive broadcast schedule features SportsCentre; the NHL and first three rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs; International hockey including the IIHF World Junior Championship; the Olympic Games through 2012; CFL including Friday Night Football; NFL including Sunday and Monday Night Football; PGA Tour and all four golf majors; Blue Jays baseball; Raptors basketball and the NBA Finals; Season of Champions curling; auto racing including NASCAR, Formula One and IRL; tennis and all four Grand Slam events; Euro 2008 and UEFA Champions League soccer; and HBO World Championship boxing. TSN HD offers more sports coverage, more hours and more events in high definition than any other network in Canada. TSN is available in 9 million households. TSN’s programming and news content is also available online at TSN.ca.
About the AHL
In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 82 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 6 million fans have attended AHL games across North America in each of the past seven seasons. Of the 455 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 Bergeron, Brad Boyes, Dan Boyle, Brian Campbell, Zdeno Chara, Rick DiPietro, Jiri Hudler, Miikka Kiprusoff, Kari Lehtonen, Ryan Miller, Zach Parise, Martin St. Louis, Jason Spezza, Eric Staal and Tomas Vokoun.
