MANCHESTER, NH – The American Hockey League announced today that Manchester Monarchs goaltender Jason LaBarbera and rookie defenseman T.J. Kemp have been selected to the Canadian team and center Patrick O’Sullivan and rookie defenseman Peter Harrold have been selected to the PlanetUSA team for the 2007 Rbk Hockey AHL All-Star Classic, which takes place January 28-29 in Toronto, Ontario. LaBarbera will be the starting goaltender for the Team Canada.
LaBarbera, 26, has played in 33 games with the Monarchs this season collecting a record of 18-13-1, a goals-against-average of 2.33 and a .930 save-percentage. His 1,002 saves are ranked first in the AHL and he places second in the league with 1,935 minutes played. His save-percentage is ranked fifth in the league and his goals-against-average is fourth. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound native of Burnaby, British Columbia, appeared in 29 games with the Los Angeles Kings last season and registered an 11-9-2 record, a 2.89 goals-against-average and a .900 save-percentage. LaBarbera signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Kings on August 2, 2005, following a stellar 2004-05 season with the Hartford Wolf Pack where he shared the AHL’s Harry “Hap” Holmes Award with teammate Stephen Valiquette for the lowest team goals-against total and started for the Canadian AHL All-Stars at the 2005 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic. LaBarbera was also named the AHL’s Most Valuable Player, honored with the Les Cunningham Award, for the 2003-04 season while he was a member of the Wolf Pack.
Kemp, 25, leads the Monarchs blueliners in scoring with 20 points (3-17=20) in 36 games this season. The 5-foot-11, 197-pound native of Pickering, Ontario, is tied for 11th place in the league among defensemen and with 17 assists he shares the Monarchs assist lead with fellow all-star Harrold. Kemp is in his first full season in the AHL as he spent 60 games with the ECHL’s Reading Royals and appeared in 14 AHL games with the Peoria Rivermen, Iowa Stars, Milwaukee Admirals and Bridgeport Sound Tigers during the 2005-06 season.
Harrold, 23, is in his first professional season and has played in 30 games with the Monarchs. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound native of Kirtland Hills, Ohio, has 19 points (2-17=19) and 21 penalty minutes with Manchester this season. Harrold signed a two-year contract with the Kings on April 12, 2006, following his senior year at Boston College. The rookie defenseman made his NHL debut with the Kings on November 22, 2006, and recorded an assist. Harrold appeared in 10 games with the Kings and registered two assists and eight penalty minutes earlier this year.
O’Sullivan, 21, is second on the Monarchs squad with 26 points (13-13=26) in 31 games this season. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, made his NHL debut with the Kings on October 6, 2006 versus the Anaheim Ducks. In 12 games with the Kings, O’Sullivan collected two points (1-1=2) and six penalty minutes. The second year center spent his rookie season with the Houston Aeros and earned the Dudley “Red” Garret Memorial trophy for Rookie of the Year in the AHL for the 2005-06 season and was a member of the PlanetUSA team at the 2006 Rbk Hockey AHL All-Star Classic.
The 2007 Rbk Hockey AHL All-Star Classic will take place at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, home of the AHL’s Marlies. The event features the 2007 CCM AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday, January 28 (7:00 ET) and the 2007 AHL All-Star Game on Monday, January 29 (7:00 ET), and will be televised live on Rogers Sportsnet in Canada and on a network of regional broadcast partners in the United States.
Of the 394 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, Brad Boyes, Daniel Briere, Jonathan Cheechoo, Pavol Demitra, Rick DiPietro, Patrik Elias, Ray Emery, Miikka Kiprusoff, Kari Lehtonen, Ryan Miller, Dwayne Roloson, Marc Savard, Martin St. Louis, Jason Spezza, Eric Staal, Steve Sullivan and Kyle Wellwood.
Canadian AHL All-Stars
Forwards
Dustin Boyd, Omaha
Troy Brouwer, Norfolk
Mathieu Darche, Worcester
Jonathan Filewich, W-B/Scranton
x-Alexandre Giroux, Hershey
x-Darren Haydar, Chicago
Mike Keane, Manitoba ("C")
x-Zenon Konopka, Portland
Jason Krog, Chicago
Clarke MacArthur, Rochester
Brad Moran, Manitoba
Kris Newbury, Toronto
Martin St. Pierre, Norfolk
Defensemen
Nolan Baumgartner, Philadelphia
Sheldon Brookbank, Milwaukee
x-Daniel Girardi, Hartford
T.J. Kemp, Manchester
Derek Meech, Grand Rapids
Curtis Murphy, Houston
x-Lawrence Nycholat, Hershey
Mathieu Roy, Hamilton
Goaltenders
Wade Dubielewicz, Bridgeport
x-Jason LaBarbera, Manchester
Curtis McElhinney, Omaha
Head Coach: Bruce Boudreau, Hershey
Assistant Coach: Bob Woods, Hershey
x-starters
PlanetUSA AHL All-Stars
Forwards
Keith Aucoin, Albany
x-Brandon Bochenski, Norfolk
Ryan Callahan, Hartford
Tomas Fleischmann, Hershey
Josh Hennessy, Binghamton
Andrei Kostitsyn, Hamilton
Joel Lundqvist, Iowa
Kip Miller, Grand Rapids ("C")
Patrick O'Sullivan, Manchester
Drew Stafford, Rochester
x-Brett Sterling, Chicago
Bill Thomas, San Antonio
x-Erik Westrum, Toronto
Defensemen
Dustin Byfuglien, Norfolk
Andy Greene, Lowell
Peter Harrold, Manchester
Ville Koistinen, Milwaukee
Matt Lashoff, Providence
Filip Novak, Syracuse
x-Richie Regehr, Omaha
x-Noah Welch, W-B/Scranton
Goaltenders
x-Jaroslav Halak, Hamilton
Karri Ramo, Springfield
Marek Schwarz, Peoria
Head Coach: TBD
Assistant Coach: TBD
x-starters
The Monarchs host the Portland Pirates on Friday, January 12 at the Verizon Wireless Arena. Face-off is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. The illusionist act Quick Change from NBC's America's Got Talent program will be performing during the first intermission of Friday’s game. Catch all of the play-by-play action of Monarchs hockey with Ken Cail on the Monarchs Radio Network WGIR-AM 610 and at www.monarchshockey.com. Watch the game live on B2 Networks for just $6 per game. Log onto www.monarchshockey.com and click on the link to B2 Networks ten minutes prior to each Monarchs game to watch the game live!
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