Coming off his inclusion in the Spengler Cup for Team Canada, Texas Stars captain Curtis McKenzie has been named a playing captain for the AHL's All-Star Classic next month in Palm Desert, CA.
McKenzie has been an all-everything player for Texas for years, but this is his first All-Star selection. Part of the reason why is the unfortunate timing of his breakout rookie season. In 2014, the AHL decided to change their All-Star format and send a team of AHL standouts to St. John's, NL to play against Färjestad BK. This cut the size of the All-Star squad in half.