BOUCHER, RAFFERTY EARN LEAGUE HONORS
Utica, N.Y. – The American Hockey League announced the 2019-20 AHL First and Second All-Star Teams, as voted by AHL coaches, players and media in each of the league’s 31 member cities.
2019-20 AHL First All-Star Team
G – Kaapo Kahkonen, Iowa Wild (34gp, 25-6-3, 2.07gaa, .927sv%, 7so)
D – Jake Bean, Charlotte Checkers (59gp, 10+38=48pts., 3 PPG, 18 PPA)
D – Brennan Menell, Iowa Wild (57gp, 5+42=47pts., +8, 3 PPG, 23 PPA)
LW – Reid Boucher, Utica Comets (53gp, 34+33=67pts., +8, 9 PPG, 7 GWG)
C – Josh Norris, Belleville Senators (56gp, 31+30=61pts., +9, 10 PPG, 4 GWG)
RW – Sam Anas, Iowa Wild (63gp, 20+50=70pts., 7 PPG, 35 PPA)
2019-20 AHL Second All-Star Team
G – Connor Ingram, Milwaukee Admirals (33gp, 21-5-5, 1.92gaa, .933sv%, 2so)
D – Jacob MacDonald, Colorado Eagles (56gp, 16+26=42pts., +7, 7 PPG, 14 PPA)
D – Brogan Rafferty, Utica Comets (57gp, 7+38=45pts., +17, 3 PPG, 17 PPA)
LW – Gerry Mayhew, Iowa Wild (49gp, 39+22=61pts., +16, 13 PPG, 10 GWG)
C – Alex Barre-Boulet, Syracuse Crunch (60gp, 27+29=56pts., +2, 9 PPG, 3 GWG)
RW – Drake Batherson, Belleville Senators (44gp, 16+38=54pts., +14, 3 PPG, 2 GWG)
Each All-Star Team member will receive a custom-designed crystal award in recognition of his selection to the 2019-20 AHL First and Second All-Star Teams.
Recent First and Second Team AHL All-Star selections include Cory Schneider (2009), Johnny Boychuk (2009), Ben Lovejoy (2009), P.K. Subban (2010), Jonathan Bernier (2010), Kyle Palmieri (2012), Ben Bishop (2012), Tyler Johnson (2013), Jonathan Marchessault (2013), Justin Schultz (2013), Sami Vatanen (2013), Gustav Nyquist (2013), Brett Connolly (2013), Jake Allen (2014), Mike Hoffman (2014), Petr Mrazek (2014), Colton Sceviour (2014), Matt Murray (2015, 2016), Jacob Markstrom (2015), Jordan Weal (2015), Colin Miller (2015), Brandon Montour (2016), Frank Vatrano (2016), Mikko Rantanen (2016), Travis Boyd (2017), Austin Czarnik (2018), Andreas Johnsson (2018), Mason Appleton (2018) and Carter Verhaeghe (2019).
The winner of the 2019-20 Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award (sportsmanship, determination, dedication to hockey) will be announced Thursday.
2019-20 AHL First All-Star Team
Reid Boucher, Left Wing:
One of the AHL’s most prolific scorers over the last several years, Reid Boucher set career highs in 2019-20 with 34 goals, 33 assists and 67 points in just 53 games with Utica, finishing second in the league in overall scoring and first with an average of 1.26 points per game. Boucher authored a 16-game scoring streak from Nov. 23 to Dec. 31 – the longest in the AHL this year – and went consecutive contests without a point only twice all season. A 26-year-old native of Grand Ledge, Mich., Boucher has appeared in 133 career National Hockey League games with New Jersey, Nashville and Vancouver.
2019-20 AHL Second All-Star Team
Brogan Rafferty, Defenseman:
Brogan Rafferty had a standout 2019-20 season with Utica, placing third among all AHL defensemen in scoring with 45 points and first among all league rookies with 38 assists. The 24-year-old native of Naperville, Ill., also posted a plus-17 rating in 57 games and contributed 20 points on a Comets power play that ranked fourth in the AHL. Rafferty, who was also voted to the 2019-20 AHL All-Rookie Team, signed as a free agent with Vancouver on April 1, 2019.
