SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The 2020 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Ontario International Airport is just days away, and the two-day event will reach millions of hockey fans worldwide through extensive television, internet streaming and social media coverage.
The AHL’s midseason showcase heads to the Pacific coast for the first time as the Ontario Reign and Toyota Arena play host to this year’s event. The 2020 AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT) and the 2020 AHL All-Star Challenge on Monday (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT) will be produced by Concom, Inc., and will be televised to national audiences on NHL Network in the United States and TSN2 across Canada.
Jon Abbott of TSN Radio 1040 in Vancouver will handle play-by-play duties for the broadcasts; Abbott is the former voice of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies and the lead broadcaster for the IIHF World Junior Championship on TSN Radio. Vegas Golden Knights TV analyst Mike McKenna, a 2016 AHL All-Star who retired in August as one of the winningest goaltenders in AHL history, will provide color commentary, and Cameron Close, the radio voice of the Ontario Reign, will work rinkside.
AHLTV will also be offering a free video stream of both nights of the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic to AHL fans worldwide, as well as of the 2020 AHL Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony on Monday at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT. Monday’s ceremony will feature the induction of Robbie Ftorek, Denis Hamel, Darren Haydar and Fred Thurier as the AHL Hall of Fame Class of 2020, and will celebrate the careers of All-Star Classic honorary captains Derek Armstrong and Robb Stauber. Simply visit theahl.com/AHLTV and log in with your existing AHLTV account or create a new account to access the broadcasts; no subscription is required. AHLTV is available on desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile devices, as well as over-the-top (OTT) platforms such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.
And throughout the weekend, the American Hockey League will be taking fans behind the scenes of the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic on its social media platforms. Follow the AHL on Twitter (@TheAHL), Facebook (fb.com/TheAHL) and Instagram (@TheAHL) and use #AHLAllStar to be part of the conversation.
The 2020 AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday will pit the All-Stars from the two Eastern Conference divisions against those from the two Western Conference divisions in seven skills events. In the 2020 AHL All-Star Challenge on Monday, the four teams will participate in a 3-on-3, round-robin tournament featuring six games of 10 minutes each. The two teams with the best records at the end of the round-robin will face off for the championship, a six-minute, 3-on-3 game.
A limited number of tickets for the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Ontario International Airport, which include admission to both the AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday, Jan. 26, and the AHL All-Star Challenge on Monday, Jan. 27, are available now by visiting ontarioreign.com/allstar.
The 2020 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Ontario International Airport will feature the top young talent in the American Hockey League: since 1995, more than 95 percent of All-Star Classic participants have gone on to compete in the National Hockey League, including Cam Atkinson, Patrice Bergeron, Jordan Binnington, Ben Bishop, John Carlson, Zdeno Chara, Logan Couture, Connor Hellebuyck, Braden Holtby, Tyler Johnson, Andreas Johnsson, Martin Jones, Jonathan Marchessault, Brandon Montour, William Nylander, Kyle Palmieri, Zach Parise, Mikko Rantanen, Tuukka Rask, Pekka Rinne, Dylan Strome, P.K. Subban and Mats Zuccarello.
In operation since 1936, the American Hockey League serves as the top development league for the players, coaches, managers, executives, broadcasters and staff of all 31 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent time in the AHL in their careers. In 2018-19, over 7 million fans attended AHL regular-season and playoff games across North America.