SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Chicago Wolves forward Daniel Carr, Belleville Senators forward Drake Batherson and Bakersfield Condors goaltender Shane Starrett have been selected as the league’s award winners for February.
Carr, the CCM/AHL Player of the Month, recorded a point in each of his 11 games last month, finishing with eight goals and nine assists along with a plus-10 rating and helping the Wolves to a share of first place in the Central Division entering March.
Coming out of the All-Star break, Carr needed a little more than three minutes to find the net in the Wolves’ visit to Rockford on Feb. 1, his first of six consecutive games scoring a goal. He picked up a goal and two assists as Chicago defeated Manitoba, 5-2, on Feb. 2, and scored to help the Wolves to a 3-2 overtime decision in Milwaukee on Feb. 9. Carr assisted on the winning goal in a 2-1 OT victory over Iowa on Feb. 17, and had two assists as the Wolves beat Grand Rapids, 3-2, on Feb. 23. His three-point night paved Chicago’s way past Texas, 4-2, on Feb. 24, and he wrapped up the month by assisting on the only goal in a 1-0 win over Rockford on Feb. 26.
Carr now has 30 points in his last 19 games and leads the AHL with 29 goals (tied), 41 assists (tied) and 70 points in 49 contests for Chicago in 2018-19. A fifth-year pro from Sherwood Park, Alta., Carr has also tallied one assist in six NHL appearances with the Vegas Golden Knights this season. For his career, Carr has totaled 80 goals and 80 assists for 160 points in 188 games in the AHL with Chicago, Laval, St. John’s and Hamilton, as well as 15 goals and 20 assists for 35 points in 100 NHL outings with Vegas and Montreal. He joined the Vegas organization as a free agent on July 1, 2018.
Batherson, the CCM/AHL Rookie of the Month, registered nine goals and nine assists for 18 points in 10 games for Belleville, which finished February on an 11-0-0-4 streak.
Batherson scored the tying goal to help Belleville earn a point in a 3-2 shootout loss at Hershey on Feb. 3, and followed that up with a four-point effort in the Senators’ 7-6 overtime win at Toronto on Feb. 5. He had a goal and an assist in a 5-2 win at Laval on Feb. 8, and registered his first career hat trick as part of another four-point night in a 6-3 win over the Rocket on Feb. 9. Batherson extended his scoring streak to 10 games with two assists in a 3-0 win over Syracuse on Feb. 13, and tallied two goals and an assist in a 4-2 win over Cleveland on Feb. 16. Batherson was recalled on Feb. 22 and finished the month appearing in three NHL games with the parent Ottawa Senators.
With 24 points in his last 13 games for Belleville, Batherson currently leads all AHL rookies in scoring with 49 points (18 goals, 31 assists) in 41 AHL contests in 2018-19. A fourth-round pick by Ottawa in the 2017 NHL Draft, Batherson also has three goals and six assists in 20 NHL games this season. The 20-year-old Batherson was named the MVP of the 2019 AHL All-Star Challenge after scoring five goals in the tournament for the North Division, and won a gold medal with Canada at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Starrett, the CCM/AHL Goaltender of the Month, was 8-0-0 with a 1.75 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage in eight starts for Bakersfield during February, extending his personal winning streak to 14 games.
Starrett stopped 24 shots in a 4-2 win over Iowa on Feb. 1, and came back the next night with 31 stops in a 6-2 victory at Ontario on Feb. 2. He made 27 saves as the Condors defeated San Jose, 3-1, on Feb. 8, and his 19-save effort in a 4-1 win over Stockton on Feb. 13 marked his eighth consecutive start allowing two goals or fewer. Starrett finished the month with back-to-back victories at Tucson – including a 30-save shutout on Feb. 23 – helping the Condors extend their winning streak to 17 games, tied for the second-longest in AHL history.
A second-year pro in his first season in the AHL, Starrett has improved his record to 20-3-3 in 29 appearances for the Condors in 2018-19, leading the league with a 2.24 GAA and ranking third with a .920 save percentage. The 24-year-old native of Bellingham, Mass., signed as a free agent with the Edmonton Oilers on Apr. 10, 2017, after two seasons at Air Force, where he was voted team MVP in 2015-16 and 2016-17.
Each monthly award winner will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming home game in recognition of his achievement.
