The ECHL All-Star is set to take place on January 22nd and earlier on Monday afternoon, the ECHL announced the rosters for the game in Wichita, Kansas. It will be a three-on-three tournament consisting of four teams, two of which will consist of players from the hosting Wichita Thunder. Each team will send one representative to the yearly annual ECHL All-Star Game.
There will be a draft party earlier in the day where the players for all teams will be drafted. The skills competition will take place in between rounds during the three-on-three tournament.
Here are the rosters:
Eastern Conference All-Stars
G – Parker Milner, South Carolina Stingrays
D – Michael Brodzinski, Orlando Solar Bears
D – Joseph Duszak, Newfoundland Growlers
D – T.J. Melancon, Brampton Beast
D – Logan Roe, Florida Everblades
F –Roman Ammirato, Norfolk Admirals
F – Ralph Cuddemi, Reading Royals
F – Jake Elmer, Maine Mariners
F – Tommy Marchin, Atlanta Gladiators
F – Robbie Payne, Adirondack Thunder
F – Liam Pecararo, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
F – Jordan Samuels-Thomas, Worcester Railers
F – Brendan Warren, Jacksonville Icemen
Western Conference All-Stars
G – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Cincinnati Cyclones
D – Brady Norrish, Idaho Steelheads
D – Taylor Richart, Utah Grizzlies
D – Justin Woods, Kansas City Mavericks
F – Cam Brown, Wheeling Nailers
F – Josh Kestner, Toledo Walleye
F – J.J. Piccinich, Tulsa Oilers
F – Peter Quenneville, Rapid City Rush
F – Dylan Sadowy, Kalamazoo Wings
F – Tyler Sheehy, Allen Americans
F – Shawn St-Amant, Fort Wayne Komets
F – Spencer Watson, Indy Fuel
ECHL Hall of Fame Class
The 13th class of the ECHL Hall of Fame will also be officially inducted during All-Star Weekend. Jared Bednar is the most notable name on the list as he spent 15 years in the ECHL as a player, associate coach and head coach. He was the first player to win three Kelly Cups.
All of those came with the South Carolina Stingrays. Two came as a player and the other one came as an assistant coach. He is now the head coach of the Colorado Avalanche.
Glen Metropolit, Derek Clancey and Dany Bousquet round out the Hall of Fame class of 2020.
Robbie Payne To Represent Adirondack Thunder
Going into the announcement on Monday, it was going to be interesting to see who would represent the Adirondack Thunder at the 2020 ECHL All-Star game. Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Matt Salhany, Mike Szmatula and Robbie Payne have all had an excellent year for the Thunder up to this point, but it would be Robbie Payne earning that spot with a nod from the league.
This will be the first all-star appearance for the Gaylord, Michigan native who is in his first full season in the ECHL. Payne is currently tied for first place in assists (15) and points (25). He is tied with Matt Salhany in those catagories. They both sit third in goals behind Pierro-Zabotel (17) and Szmatula (14).
Three Members of US Women’s Hockey Team to Compete Alongside ECHL’ers
In Partnership with the PWHPA, three members of the 2018 US Olympic Gold Medal team will take part in the ECHL’s All-Star weekend. Gigi Marvin, Kari Flanagan and Dani Cameranesi will all take part in the festivities. Three-time world champion Forward Annie Pankowski will also join the three Olympians in Witchita. Each one of the girls will be played on one of the four teams.
This isn’t the only time we’ve seen PWHPA players take part in an All-Star Game as Kendall Coyne-Schofield, Brianna Decker, Renata Fast and Rebecca Johnston all were invited to compete in the NHL All-Star Game last year in San Jose. Schofield ended up winning the fastest skater during the skills competition, beating out Clayton Keller of the Arizona Coyotes.