Joel L’Esperance Selected to 2020 AHL All-Star Classic

Jan 3, 2020

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts – The Texas Stars, American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars, and the American Hockey League announced today that center Joel L’Esperance has been selected to represent the Stars at the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Ontario International Airport. It is the second career selection for L’Esperance who skated in the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts.

 

L’Esperance, 24, is the Stars leading scorer with 24 points (15-9=24) in 31 games and is tied for seventh in the AHL this year with 15 goals. The second-year forward was one of the top goal-scorers in the month of December and an offensive catalyst since mid-November. Twelve of his 15 goals have been scored in the last 20 games which ranks second-most among AHL skaters.

 

The 6-foot-2 Brighton, Michigan native joined Denis Gurianov last season at the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic during a breakout rookie campaign. L’Esperance scored 30 goals and added 15 assists in 54 games while also logging 18 games in the NHL with the Dallas Stars. Since turning pro from Michigan Tech University, he has scored 49 goals and recorded 25 assists in 115 NHL and AHL games.

The 2020 AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday, Jan. 26 (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT) will pit the All-Stars from the two Eastern Conference divisions against those from the two Western Conference divisions in seven skills events.

 

In the 2020 AHL All-Star Challenge on Monday, Jan. 27 (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT), the four teams will participate in a 3-on-3, round-robin tournament featuring six games of 10 minutes each. The two teams with the best records at the end of the round-robin will face off for the championship, a six-minute, 3-on-3 game.

 

Tickets for the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Ontario International Airport, which includes admission to both the AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday, Jan. 26, and the AHL All-Star Challenge on Monday, Jan. 27, are available now by visiting ontarioreign.com/allstar.

 

Complete rosters for the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic can be found here.

 

The Stars return to H-E-B Center at Cedar Park on Saturday to begin a stretch of five consecutive home games. Puck drop on Jan. 4 is set for 7 p.m. as the Stars face the Grand Rapids Griffins for the fourth time this season and the first time since Oct. 25.

Photo Credit: Mollie Kendall