JONI ORTIO AND EMILE POIRIER NAMED 2015 AHL ALL-STARS

Glens Falls, NY - The American Hockey League announced today that Joni Ortio and Emile Poirier have been named All-Stars for the 2015 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Turning Stone Resort Casino, which will take place Jan. 25-26 in Utica, N.Y.

Ortio, 23, is in the midst of his second season in the AHL and is currently tied for second in the league with 16 victories, putting him tops in the Western Conference. Ortio has amassed a .915 save percentage and a 2.54 goals against average in 26 appearances so far this season. In his rookie season a year ago, Ortio comprised a 27-8-0 record for the Abbotsford Heat, with a 2.33 goals against average and a .926 save percentage.

A native of Turku, Finland, Ortio was originally a sixth round draft pick of the Calgary Flames in 2009. Ortio made his AHL debut with the Heat on April 10, 2011 against the Toronto Marlies. He recorded his first career victory on January 11, 2012, with 35 saves on 37 shots in a 5-2 win over the Charlotte Checkers and his first AHL shutout on November 23, 2013 with 25 saves against the Iowa Wild. Ortio made his NHL debut last season with Calgary, on February 27, as he made 22 saves on 24 shots in a loss to the Los Angeles Kings. He recorded his first NHL victory on March 5, with a 30 save effort against the Ottawa Senators.

Poirier, 20, has collected 20 points (10-10-20) over 28 games played this season. Poirier's 10 goals rank second on the Flames roster and are tied for third amongst all AHL rookies during the 2014-15 season. Poirier, who is second amongst active Flames with a +5 rating, is also ranked ninth amongst first year players in points.

The Montreal, QC native made his professional debut last season with the Abbotsford Heat, on April 18, 2014, where he scored his first career AHL goal. Poirier scored three points (1-2-3) the next evening and scored his first career Calder Cup Playoffs goal on April 26, 2014 against the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Each team comprises 23 players: 12 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders. Rosters were determined by committees of AHL coaches, and all 30 AHL teams are represented by at least one All-Star.

The 2015 squads feature 34 first-time AHL All-Stars, eight rookies and 18 former first- and second-round draft choices, including standouts David Pastrnak of the Providence Bruins, Ryan Pulock of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Ty Rattie of the Chicago Wolves, Derrick Pouliot of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Jacob Markstrom of the host Utica Comets. In addition, 17 of the All-Stars named have appeared in the National Hockey League already this season.

Utica’s Travis Green and Chicago’s John Anderson will coach the Western Conference All-Star team; Mike Stothers of the Manchester Monarchs and Roy Sommer of the Worcester Sharks will guide the Eastern Conference club.

Fans will have the opportunity to vote for the starting lineups for the 2015 AHL All-Star Game via official CCM AHL All-Star Fan Balloting. Details will be announced soon.

A very limited number of tickets remain available for the 2015 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Turning Stone Resort Casino. They can be purchased in person at the Utica Memorial Auditorium box office (10-4 ET), by phone at 800-693-8000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets for the two-day event are priced as low as $69 and include admission to both the All-Star Skills Competition at 8 p.m. on Jan. 25 and the All-Star Game at 7 p.m. on Jan. 26.

The 2015 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Turning Stone Resort Casino will feature the top young talent in the American Hockey League: Of the 644 players to take part in the AHL All-Star Classic since 1995, more than 94 percent have competed in the National Hockey League, including Patrice Bergeron, Ben Bishop, Ryan Callahan, Zdeno Chara, Logan Couture, Jimmy Howard, Chris Kunitz, Ryan Miller, Gustav Nyquist, Zach Parise, Tuukka Rask, Pekka Rinne, Bobby Ryan, Martin St. Louis, Cory Schneider, Patrick Sharp, Jason Spezza, Eric Staal and P.K. Subban.

2015 Eastern Conference AHL All-Stars

G Anton Forsberg, Springfield Falcons (1st appearance) -- 16-4-0, 1.93, .931, 2 SO

G Connor Hellebuyck, St. John’s IceCaps (1st) -- 13-9-2, 2.54, .923, 2 SO

G Jeff Zatkoff, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (2nd) -- 11-6-2, 1.69, .932, 3 SO

D Austin Madaisky, Springfield Falcons (1st) -- 36gp, 9-20-29, +6

D Brandon Manning, Lehigh Valley Phantoms (2nd) -- 31gp, 6-17-23, +3

D Colin Miller, Manchester Monarchs (1st) -- 29gp, 7-15-22, +3

D Nikita Nesterov, Syracuse Crunch (1st) -- 32gp, 3-11-14, +4

D Derrick Pouliot, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (1st) -- 23gp, 7-13-20, E

D Ryan Pulock, Bridgeport Sound Tigers (1st) -- 29gp, 12-5-17, -1

D Matt Taormina, Worcester Sharks (1st) -- 33gp, 4-13-17, -5

D Chris Wideman, Binghamton Senators (1st) -- 32gp, 12-17-29, +6

F Alexandre Bolduc, Portland Pirates (1st) -- 27gp, 10-11-21, E

F Chris Bourque, Hartford Wolf Pack (3rd) -- 33gp, 14-16-30, +4

F Tim Kennedy, Hershey Bears (1st) -- 34gp, 2-25-27, -1

F Alexander Khokhlachev, Providence Bruins (1st) -- 27gp, 7-18-25, +1

F Tom Kostopoulos (“C”), Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (2nd) -- 33gp, 6-11-17, +5

F Vladislav Namestnikov, Syracuse Crunch (1st) -- 14gp, 7-8-15, -1

F Brian O'Neill, Manchester Monarchs (1st) -- 34gp, 10-32-42, +17

F David Pastrnak, Providence Bruins (1st) -- 24gp, 10-17-27, +14

F Nick Shore, Manchester Monarchs (1st) -- 34gp, 19-19-38, +23

F Chris Wagner, Norfolk Admirals (1st) -- 21gp, 9-8-17, -7

F Jordan Weal, Manchester Monarchs (1st) -- 34gp, 11-22-33, +4

F Joe Whitney, Albany Devils (2nd) -- 32gp, 13-19-32, +4

Coach: Mike Stothers, Manchester Monarchs (3rd; 1st as head coach)

Coach: Roy Sommer, Worcester Sharks (2nd as head coach)

2015 Western Conference AHL All-Stars

G Magnus Hellberg, Milwaukee Admirals (1st appearance) -- 7-4-2, 1.89, .928, 1 SO

G Jacob Markstrom, Utica Comets (1st) -- 10-2-1, 1.91, .932, 4 SO

G Joni Ortio, Adirondack Flames (1st) -- 16-8-1, 2.54, .915, 3 SO

D T.J. Brennan, Rockford IceHogs (2nd) -- 36gp, 7-21-28, +15

D Matt Dumba, Iowa Wild (1st) -- 14gp, 3-8-11, +3

D Stefan Elliott, Lake Erie Monsters (1st) -- 33gp, 9-11-20, +3

D Maxime Fortunus (“C”), Texas Stars (1st) -- 33gp, 4-9-13, -9

D Brad Hunt, Oklahoma City Barons (2nd) -- 20gp, 7-15-22, +9

D Ryan Murphy, Charlotte Checkers (1st) -- 23gp, 0-17-17, -7

D Xavier Ouellet, Grand Rapids Griffins (1st) -- 21gp, 1-7-8, +5

D Bobby Sanguinetti, Utica Comets (3rd) -- 27gp, 8-9-17, +16

F Connor Brown, Toronto Marlies (1st) -- 35gp, 9-19-28, +6

F Bobby Butler, San Antonio Rampage (3rd) -- 31gp, 14-17-31, -1

F Charles Hudon, Hamilton Bulldogs (1st) -- 35gp, 10-23-33, +6

F Anton Lander, Oklahoma City Barons (1st) -- 29gp, 9-22-31, +8

F Travis Morin, Texas Stars (2nd) -- 23gp, 10-14-24, -1

F Joakim Nordstrom, Rockford IceHogs (1st) -- 17gp, 8-5-13, +2

F Cal O'Reilly, Utica Comets (3rd) -- 34gp, 4-26-30, -1

F Emile Poirier, Adirondack Flames (1st) -- 28gp, 10-10-20, +5

F Teemu Pulkkinen, Grand Rapids Griffins (1st) -- 32gp, 19-19-38, E

F Ty Rattie, Chicago Wolves (1st) -- 35gp, 15-8-23, +4

F Drew Shore, San Antonio Rampage (2nd) -- 33gp, 9-21-30, +1

F Phil Varone, Rochester Americans (1st) -- 35gp, 8-21-29, -3

Coach: Travis Green, Utica Comets (1st as head coach)

Coach: John Anderson, Chicago Wolves (2nd as head coach)

Adirondack Flames Hockey • Fired Up

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