All-Star fan balloting begins Tuesday

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League has announced that 2011 AHL All-Star Classic Fan Balloting presented by Reebok will begin Tuesday, December 7, at noon EST, on the official Web site of the AHL at theahl.com and on the Official American Hockey League Fan Page at facebook.com/theahl.

Fans will have the opportunity to vote for the most deserving AHL players by visiting theahl.com or facebook.com/theahl 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 the Eastern Conference and Western Conference AHL All-Star teams at the 2011 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross, to be held Jan. 30-31 at Giant Center in Hershey, Pa. A committee of AHL coaches will select the remaining All-Stars, and all 30 clubs will be represented on the final rosters.

By completing the official ballot, fans will be entered to win a grand prize of a team-signed authentic 2011 AHL All-Star jersey. Ten more winners will each receive an official 2011 AHL All-Star Classic T-shirt.

On-line fan balloting at theahl.com will end at 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, January 9, 2011.

Tickets for the 2011 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross – which include admission to both the 2011 AHL All-Star Skills Competition at 3 p.m. on Sunday, January 30, and the 2011 AHL All-Star Game at 7 p.m. on Monday, January 31 – are nearly sold out. Contact the Giant Center box office at 717-534-3911 for information.

The 2011 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Capital BlueCross in Hershey will feature the top young talent in the American Hockey League, competing in the AHL All-Star Skills Competition and the AHL All-Star Game, a two-day event to be televised nationally in the United States and Canada. Of the 528 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, Dustin Byfuglien, Brian Campbell, Zdeno Chara, Eric Fehr, Miikka Kiprusoff, Kari Lehtonen, Ryan Miller, Zach Parise, Bobby Ryan, Martin St. Louis, Jason Spezza, Eric Staal and Tomas Vokoun.