AHL Madness

The All-Star Weekend wasn't necessarily limited to the NHL, as its minor league system American Hockey League had its All-Star weekend festivities in Atlantic City, NJ.  The West swept both the Skills Competition and the game itself, with the latter going into a shootout.  The weekend also saw four new inductees into the AHL Hall of Fame: coach Joe Crozier, Jack Gordon, who excelled as a player, coach, and manager, John Stevens, who also excelled as a player and coach, and is currently on the Los Angeles Kings coaching staff, and Zellio Toppazzini, a great player in the league for a long time.  As for players participating in the AHL All-Star Weekend, it was a mix of players on their way up and those who for one reason or another, never stuck in the NHL.  Whether it is former first rounders who needed refining such as Thomas Hickey and Zack Kassian, or AHL lifers such as Darren Haydar, or players who could never stick in the NHL such as Krys Kolanos and Yann Danis, the AHL All-Star Weekend provides a nice mix for fans and even team scouts who just might be at the game to see who could get the next call-up.  While it's not nearly the glamorous spectacle that its NHL big brother is, but the AHL All-Star weekend is definitely a nice compliment to the NHL version and provided that you can get the game on television, something to satisfy the hockey void until the next regular season NHL game.