SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League has announced that 2009 AHL All-Star Classic Fan Balloting presented by Reebok will begin Monday, December 8, at noon EST, exclusively on the official Web site of the AHL, theahl.com.
Fans will have the opportunity to vote for the most deserving AHL players by visiting theahl.com and completing the official Reebok AHL All-Star Fan Ballot. The players receiving the most votes by position will earn berths in the starting lineups of both the Canadian AHL All-Star team and the PlanetUSA AHL All-Star team at the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Charter Communications, to be held Jan. 25-26 in Worcester, Mass.
A committee of AHL coaches will select the remaining All-Stars, and all 29 clubs will be represented on the final rosters.
By completing the official ballot, fans will be entered to win various prizes, including the grand prize of a team-signed authentic 2009 AHL All-Star jersey. Ten second-prize winners will each win an autographed commemorative magazine from the event, and 10 third-prize winners will each receive an official 2009 AHL All-Star Classic T-shirt.
On-line fan balloting at theahl.com will end at 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, January 4, 2009.
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.
The 2009 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Charter Communications will feature the 2009 AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday, January 25 (4:00 ET) and the 2009 AHL All-Star Game on Monday, January 26 (7:00 ET), and will be televised live nationally in the United States and Canada.
