Captains named

Press Release

Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League today announced the captains and alternates for both the Eastern and Western Conference All-Star teams at the 2009 Subway OHL All-Star Classic Wednesday February 4, 2009 in Windsor, Ontario. Defenceman P.K Subban of the Belleville Bulls will lead the Eastern Conference with London Knight star forward John Tavares wearing the “C” for the home team Western Conference.

The assistant captains for the Eastern Conference are forwards Cody Hodgson of the Brampton Battalion and Eric Tangradi of the Belleville Bulls, with defenceman Alex Pietrangelo of the Niagara IceDogs. For the West, forward Chris Terry of the Plymouth Whalers and defencemen Mark Katic of the Sarnia Sting and Ryan Ellis of the host Windsor Spitfires will all serve as assistants.

Subban, a 19-year-old from Rexdale, Ontario, suited up as an alternate captain in the 2008 event in Sault Ste. Marie and most recently during the 2009 World Junior Hockey Championships for Team Canada. He brings forth his gold medal experience from this season and combines three All-Star Game appearances shared with his assistants Pietrangelo and Hodgson who each serve as captains with their OHL clubs. This is the first All-Star Game for Tangradi, but the third year forward, tied for second in league scoring, will provide leadership as he serves as the Bulls team captain with World Junior experience playing for Team USA this winter.

Tavares, an 18-year-old from Oakville, Ontario, comes to Windsor leading the league in scoring and also leads the pack in All-Star Game experience entering his third straight game. He captained the Eastern Conference squad that won 8-7 in a shootout one year ago in Sault Ste. Marie. His assistants bring two years of All-Star Game experience with Terry playing last season, and Katic two seasons ago. Terry serves as team captain in Plymouth. This will be the first All-Star Game for Ellis. The World Junior power play specialist will be wearing the “A” for the first time since last summer with Canada’s Under-18 National Team that won gold at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.

The 2009 Subway OHL All-Star Classic features the Eastern Conference and Western Conference All-Stars in a two-day event including a skills competition on Tuesday February 3 with the game on Wednesday February 4, 2009, both at 7:00pm at the brand new WFCU Centre in Windsor, ON. The game can be seen live on Rogers Sportsnet Ontario or online through INSINC. The game can also be heard on the FAN 590 available at www.fan590.com. Former NHL stars Steve Yzerman and Adam Graves will be present as Honourary Captains for the pre-game ceremonies.

For more about the event including ticket information please visit www.ohlallstarclassic.com

(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)