The 2016 AHL All-Star Classic rosters have just been unveiled and both Frédérick Gaudreau and Vladislav Kamenev will be joining Milwaukee Admirals head coach Dean Evason at the event.
The All-Star Teams are as follows…
Atlantic Division All-Stars: Chris Bourque (Hershey Bears), Nick Cousins (Lehigh Valley Phantoms), Seth Griffith (Providence Bruins), Dustin Jeffrey (Springfield Falcons), Rob Schremp (Portland Pirates), Dominik Simon (Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins), Joe Whitney (Bridgeport Sound Tigers), Connor Carrick (Hershey Bears), Ryan Graves (Hartford Wolf Pack), Derrick Pouliot (Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins), Ryan Pulock (Bridgeport Sound Tigers), Matt Murray (Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins), Anthony Stolarz (Lehigh Valley Phantoms)
~ Head Coach Jay Leach (Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins)North Division All-Stars: Mike Angelidis (Syracuse Crunch), Josh Leivo (Toronto Marlies), Michael McCarron (St. John’s IceCaps), William Nylander (Toronto Marlies), Cal O’Reilly (Rochester Americans), Hunter Shinkaruk (Utica Comets), Mike Sislo (Albany Devils), Mark Barberio (St. John’s IceCaps), T.J. Brennan (Toronto Marlies), Michael Kostka (Binghamton Senators), Matt Taormina (Syracuse Crunch), Yann Danis (Albany Devils), Kristers Gudlevskis (Syracuse Crunch)
~ Head Coach Sheldon Keefe (Toronto Marlies)Central Division All-Stars: Pat Cannone (Chicago Wolves), Frédérick Gaudreau (Milwaukee Admirals), Ryan Hartman (Rockford IceHogs), Jeff Hoggan (Grand Rapids Griffins), Vladislav Kamenev (Milwaukee Admirals), Derek Ryan (Charlotte Checkers), Kerby Rychel (Lake Erie Monsters), Andre Benoit (Chicago Wolves), Trevor Carrick (Charlotte Checkers), Gustav Olofsson (Iowa Wild), Xavier Oullet (Grand Rapids Griffins), Connor Hellebuyck (Manitoba Moose), Michael Leighton (Rockford IceHogs)
~ Head Coach Dean EvasonPacific Division All-Stars: Barclay Goodrow (San Jose Barracuda), Derek Grant (Stockton Heat), Michael Mersch (Ontario Reign), Travis Morin (Texas Stars), Brendan Ranford (Texas Stars), Mikko Rantanen (San Antonio Rampage), Nick Ritchie (San Diego Gulls), Brad Hunt (Bakersfield Condors), Esa Lindell (Texas Stars), Vincent LoVerde (Ontario Reign), Brandon Montour (San Diego Gulls), Laurent Brossoit (Bakersfield Condors), Peter Budaj (Ontario Reign)
~ Head Coach Mike Stothers (Ontario Reign)
Gaudreau currently leads the Admirals in scoring with 24 points (9 goals, 15 assists) in 35 games. His work and success this season paved the way to the Nashville Predators signing him to a two-year entry level contract last week. If I had to cast an early vote for Admirals MVP to this point I would have Gaudreau pegged for the amount of on-ice work that he has provided working in all game situations and handling all three zones of the ice expertly well.
The whirlwind 2015-16 season for Kamenev keeps rolling on. This has been his debut professional playing season in North America and has seen him produce at a high level at the center spot for the Admirals at only 19-years of age. He has scored 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists) in 24 games in the AHL this season. He recently captained his country Russia in the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships where he took home a silver medal and produced 6 points (5 goals, 1 assist) in 7 games. His Russian team was unbeaten until losing to the host country Finland in the final.
Gaudreau and Kamenev will be join their head coach Evason for the 2016 AHL All-Star Classic. The coaches were selected the moment the calendar flipped into 2016 by taking the league leading teams from each division. At the time, the Admirals were on top of the Central Division to tab Evason to coach the Central Division All-Stars in Syracuse. Currently, the Admirals aren’t just on top of their division but the entire Western Conference. While an All-Star break/vaction for Evason might have been pretty rewarding in its own right the league honor is well deserved. This Admirals team has had so many roster tweaks and changes and maintained a strong success rate throughout the process.
Reactions to the All-Star selections? Are you surprised by the selection of Kamenev? Were players such as Juuse Saros, Max Görtz, or even someone such as a Viktor Arvidsson snubbed?
Be sure to follow Admirals Roundtable on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and see our photos on Instagram.
Admirals Roundtable 
Hartman? Is there a skills contest for hitting people over the head?
Rychel? He will be in charge of hitting people after the whistle.
I am happy with the rest of the team. If Saros was an All-Star, Nashville might dump him.
Gortz caught fire too late and Arvidsson played in only 14 AHL games.
Adsfan: Boy, you are going to LOVE what I just said about Hartman in Scouting the Enemy. Just posted it. There’s a few baffling choices. Not that I’m against it too much but Kamenev is one of them actually. I feel like he and Hellebuyck were brought in as name talent rather than AHL achievers this season. If you wanted a rep from every team? Chase De Leo should be there for Manitoba. Saros should be in for Hellebuyck. And why on Earth is Jeff Hoggan in this? He has 4 points (4 goals, 0 assists). You don’t even have to look further than his own team for better options: Andy Miele and Eric Tangradi. … Go home, AHL. You’re drunk.