AHL ALL-STAR BALLOTING BEGINS

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.-The American Hockey League announced that the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic Fan Balloting presented by Reebok began Wednesday, December 12, 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 2008 AHL All-Star Classic, to be held Jan. 27-28 in Binghamton, N.Y. 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 2008 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 2008 AHL All-Star Classic T-shirt.

On-line fan balloting at theahl.com will end at 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, January 6, 2008.
Of the 427 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, Pavol Demitra, Rick DiPietro, Patrik Elias, Ray Emery, Miikka Kiprusoff, Chris Kunitz, Kari Lehtonen, Ryan Miller, Martin St. Louis, Jason Spezza, Eric Staal and Steve Sullivan.

The 2008 AHL All-Star Classic will take place at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton, home of the AHL’s Senators. The event features the 2008 AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday, January 27 (7:00 ET) and the 2008 AHL All-Star Game on Monday, January 28 (7:00 ET), and will be televised live in the United States and Canada.