The American Hockey League announced today the PlanetUSA AHL All-Star team roster for the 2005 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic, to be played next month at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H.
The team comprises players born in the United States and Europe; the Canadian team was announced on Wednesday. AHL fans determined the starting lineups of both teams via on-line balloting at theahl.com, while a committee of AHL coaches selected the remainder of the rosters. All 28 teams are represented by at least one All-Star.
Thirteen members of the PlanetUSA team are former first-round draft picks, including Chicago’s Kari Lehtonen (2nd in 2002), Syracuse’s Alexander Svitov (3rd in 2001), Philadelphia’s Joni Pitkanen (4th in 2002) and Rochester’s Thomas Vanek (5th in 2003). All told, 21 of the 46 players scheduled to head to Manchester were chosen in the first round of an NHL Entry Draft; seven more were second-rounders.
Source: theahl.com
Vanek wurde von den Fans in die Starting Five gewählt. Hier ist der Link zum Bericht inkl. kurzen Player Profile von Vanek: http://www.theahl.com/AHL/05AllStar/2005/01/26/911049.html