Thu, April 1, 2004

2003-04 AHL All-Star Teams revealed

The American Hockey League announced today the 2003-04 AHL First and Second All-Star Teams, as voted by AHL players and media in each of the league’s 28 member cities.

Each All-Star Team member will receive a special commemorative gift from the AHL in recognition of his selection to the 2003-04 AHL First and Second All-Star Teams.

2003-04 AHL First All-Star Team

Jason LaBarbera, Goaltender (Hartford Wolf Pack)

Jason LaBarbera has had a career year in 2003-04, posting a record of 30-8-9 in 54 appearances with Hartford and establishing a new American Hockey League standard with 12 shutouts. His 1.59 goals-against average and .936 save percentage are also on pace to surpass the previous AHL bests, and the 24-year-old native of Burnaby, B.C., has backstopped the Wolf Pack to one of the best records in the league. LaBarbera has also seen action in three games with the New York Rangers this season, earning his first NHL victory on Mar. 5 vs. Washington.

Bryan Muir, Defenseman (Manchester Monarchs)

Former University of New Hampshire defenseman Bryan Muir returned to the Granite State in 2003-04 and has helped solidify the Monarchs’ blue line, recording 48 points (12g, 36a) and a plus-22 rating, along with 134 penalty minutes, in 67 matches with Manchester. A Stanley Cup champion with Colorado in 2001 and a Calder Cup finalist with Hamilton in 1997, Muir brings more than 500 games of pro experience to the Monarchs’ postseason run this spring. He represented the club at the 2004 Pepsi AHL All-Star Classic in Grand Rapids.

Curtis Murphy, Defenseman (Milwaukee Admirals)

Earning his second straight selection as a First Team AHL All-Star, Curtis Murphy currently leads all AHL defensemen in scoring with 49 points (16g, 33a) in 73 games for Milwaukee and owns a league-high plus-38 rating as well. A member of Houston’s Calder Cup title team a year ago, Murphy has not missed a game due to injury in three seasons, including trips to the AHL All-Star Classic in 2002, 2003 and 2004. The sixth-year pro also won NCAA and IHL titles, and was last year’s Eddie Shore Award winner as the AHL’s top defenseman.

Denis Hamel, Left Wing (Binghamton Senators)

Denis Hamel has established career highs with 35 assists and 63 points in his first season with Binghamton after spending the previous six years in the Buffalo organization. A Calder Cup finalist with Rochester in both 1999 and 2000, Hamel has been the Senators’ most consistent offensive performer this season, and owns a share of the AHL lead with four shorthanded markers on the season. The native of Lachute, Que., has also played in five NHL games with Ottawa on four separate recall stints this year.

Eric Perrin, Center (Hershey Bears)

Hershey’s Eric Perrin has made quite an impression in his first American Hockey League season, battling for the scoring title with 75 points – including a league-high 54 assists – in 71 contests. His 21 goals include nine power-play markers and five game-winners, and he has compiled 23 multiple-point performances. Perrin, who was a four-year star at the University of Vermont (1993-97), was voted to the Canadian starting lineup for the 2004 Pepsi AHL All-Star Classic, and later made his long-awaited NHL debut with Tampa Bay on Mar. 27.

Jeff Hamilton, Right Wing (Bridgeport Sound Tigers)

Despite missing 13 games with a serious eye injury, Jeff Hamilton continues to lead the AHL with 39 goals this season for Bridgeport, including 15 game-winners to eclipse Dunc Fisher’s 50-year-old league record of 13. The former Yale standout has recorded 63 points, nearly twice the total of any other Sound Tiger, and on Dec. 2 made his NHL debut with the New York Islanders. Hamilton was selected a starter for PlanetUSA at the 2004 Pepsi AHL All-Star Classic, and won the accuracy shooting event at the All-Star Skills Competition.

~*Jazzy*~

2003-04 AHL Second All-Star Team

Wade Dubielewicz, Goaltender (Bridgeport Sound Tigers)

The first rookie goaltender to land an AHL All-Star Team berth since Mika Noronen in 2000, Wade Dubielewicz is on track to surpass the league record for lowest goals-against average by more than one-third of a goal per game. His 1.42 GAA and .944 save percentage lead the AHL, and his 20-8-4 record has kept Bridgeport near the top of the league standings all season. Named to the AHL All-Rookie Team on Thursday, Dubielewicz made his NHL debut with the New York Islanders on Mar. 25 and earned the victory at Philadelphia

John Slaney, Defenseman (Philadelphia Phantoms)

Philadelphia’s John Slaney has earned his third AHL All-Star Team nod in four years after making the First Team in 2001 and 2002. The two-time Eddie Shore Award winner as the AHL’s outstanding blueliner became the league’s all-time leader in goals by a defenseman earlier this season (132 and counting), and has put up 16 goals and 26 assists in 53 games with the Phantoms in 2003-04. A native of St. John’s, Nfld., Slaney has skated in 268 career NHL contests, including four this year with the Flyers.

Garrett Stafford, Defenseman (Cleveland Barons)

Named to the AHL’s All-Rookie Team on Thursday, Garrett Stafford was an unsigned free agent who was cut from two NHL training camps before earning a tryout with the Barons in October. San Jose later inked him to an NHL contract, and he has gone on to rank third among all AHL defensemen in scoring with 46 points (12g, 34a) in 68 games and has Cleveland on the verge of its first trip to the Calder Cup Playoffs. Stafford represented the Barons at the 2004 Pepsi AHL All-Star Classic and was the AHL’s Rookie of the Month for January

Steve Maltais, Left Wing (Chicago Wolves)

One of the premier scorers in minor pro hockey history, Steve Maltais has earned his sixth career postseason All-Star Team berth in 2003-04, and first in the AHL. The league’s reigning scoring champion and captain of Chicago’s 2002 Calder Cup-winning squad leads the team with 58 points on 28 goals and 30 assists in 70 games this season. Maltais has amassed 442 points in 439 career AHL games, and 584 goals and 1,226 points in 1,160 pro games in 15 seasons, including the last 10 campaigns with the Wolves.

Brad Boyes, Center (Providence Bruins)

A member of the AHL’s All-Rookie Team in 2003, Brad Boyes has avoided a sophomore slump to record 30 goals and 37 assists for 67 points in 71 games between Cleveland and Providence this season. The 21-year-old native of Mississauga, Ont., and first-round draft pick in 2000 made his NHL debut with San Jose on Mar. 7 before being acquired by Boston in a three-team trade at the deadline. Boyes is the first player to begin his pro career with back-to-back 30-goal seasons in the AHL since three skaters (including NHL star Steve Sullivan) did so in 1995-96.

Pavel Rosa, Right Wing (Manchester Monarchs)

The AHL’s leading scorer heading into the final 11 days of the regular season, Pavel Rosa has set career highs with 34 goals, 45 assists and 79 points for Manchester, and his plus-36 rating is tops among all league forwards. The Czech-born winger has been the Monarchs’ top offensive producer over the past two seasons, picking up 142 points in 131 games in a Manchester uniform. A participant in the 2004 Pepsi AHL All-Star Classic, Rosa scored for Los Angeles in a game on Feb. 15, his first NHL goal in five years.

~*Jazzy*~