The 2025 American Hockey League All-Star Classic features some of the NHL’s top prospects.
The annual event will be held Feb. 2-3 in Palm Desert, California, at Acrisure Arena, the home of the Seattle Kraken's AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. The event will feature a skills competition on Feb. 2 along with a 3-on-3 round-robin tournament among teams representing the AHL’s four divisions the next day.
Here is a look at some of the top prospects from the Western Conference who will participate. A breakdown of the Eastern Conference was published last week.
Yaroslav Askarov, San Jose (San Jose Sharks)
The 22-year-old is projected to be the Sharks’ future No. 1 goalie if his development trajectory continues.
San Jose acquired him in a trade with the Nashville Predators on Aug. 23, 2024 with forward Nolan Burke and a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft for goalie Magnus Chrona, forward David Edstrom and a conditional first-round pick in the 2025 draft. The Predators had selected Askarov with the No. 11 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, and he played the past two seasons with Milwaukee, their AHL affiliate, prior to the trade.
The Sharks sent him to the AHL to begin the season, and he was 9-4-2 record with a 2.00 goals-against average, .938 save percentage and three shutouts in 14 games. He has since taken on a heavy workload this month in the NHL, with a 4-5-2 record, 2.87 GAA and .905 save percentage in 12 games (11 starts).
Sam Colangelo, San Diego (Anaheim Ducks)
The Ducks selected the forward in the second round (No. 36) of the 2020 draft, and the 23-year-old has made a quick adjustment to the pro game. Last season at Western Michigan University, he had 43 points (24 goals, 19 assists) in 38 games and was a Hobey Baker award nominee as the top player in NCAA hockey. He signed a two-year entry-level contract with Anaheim on April 11, 2024.
He has one goal in 12 games with the Ducks this season and 25 points (14 goals, 11 assists) in 27 AHL games.
Dalibor Dvorsky, Springfield (St. Louis Blues)
At 19 years old, Dvorsky has shown he can handle the AHL. The Blues selected the forward with the No. 10 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and he is tied for eighth in AHL rookie scoring with 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) in 36 games.
He also went to the IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa in December and represented Slovakia; serving as captain, he was the tournament’s leading scorer with nine points (five goals, four assists) in five games.
Justin Hryckowian, Texas (Dallas Stars)
The 23-year-old went undrafted but has become a top prospect in the Dallas organization.
Twice selected as the top defensive forward in Hockey East with Northeastern University, he was a Hobey Baker nominee as a junior last season with 43 points (13 goals, 30 assists) in 32 games. He signed a two-year entry-level contract March 20, 2024 that began this season; he is second in scoring among AHL rookies with 34 points (13 goals, 21 assists) in 35 games. He made his NHL debut with Dallas at the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 29 and has one assist in five games.
Joakim Kemell, Milwaukee (Nashville Predators)
The 20-year-old forward is among the Predators’ first-round picks who began this season in the AHL; selected by Nashville with the No. 22 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, he was joined by forwards Zachary L'Heureux (No. 27, 2021 NHL Draft) and Fedor Svechkov (No. 19, 2021 draft). The latter two were since been promoted to the NHL. In his third AHL season, Kemell has 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in 37 games.
Rory Kerins, Calgary (Calgary Flames)
In his third pro season, the 22-year-old forward is tied for second in the AHL with 21 goals. He also has 13 assists for 34 points in 34 games.
He had two assists in his NHL debut at Chicago on Jan. 13, and has ]four assists in his first five NHL games. The Flames selected him in the sixth round (No. 174) of the 2020 draft.
Kevin Korchinski, Rockford (Chicago Blackhawks)
The defenseman spent all last season with the Blackhawks as a 19-year-old after being selected with the No. 7 pick in the 2022 draft. He had 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in 76 games last season for Chicago.
After several offseason signings to add more experience to the Chicago roster, management elected to have him develop further in the AHL. Chicago also has defenseman Artyom Levshunov, chosen with the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, with Korchinski in Rockford.
Korchinski has 17 points (two goals, 15 assists) through 32 AHL games this season. He also had a brief recall to Chicago and played nine NHL games before returning to Rockford.
Matthew Savoie, Bakersfield (Edmonton Oilers)
The 21-year-old is another first-round pick who will participate in this season’s All-Star Classic.
Edmonton acquired the forward in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres on July 5, 2024 for forwards Ryan McLeod and Tyler Tullio; the Sabres had selected him with the No. 9 pick in the 2022 draft. Last season in the Western Hockey League with Wenatchee and Moose Jaw, he had 71 points (30 goals, 41 assists) in 34 games. He then had 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in 19 playoff games as Moose Jaw won the WHL championship and advanced to the Memorial Cup. He had four points (one goal, three assists) in four Memorial Cup games.
Savoie ranks third in AHL rookie scoring with 31 points (12 goals, 18 assists) in 39 games for Bakersfield.
Elias Salomonsson, Manitoba (Winnipeg Jets)
In his first AHL season, the 20-year-old defenseman has 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 18 games with Manitoba.
Selected by the Jets in the second round (No. 55) in the 2022 draft, he played four seasons with Skelleftea of the Swedish Hockey League, and won the SHL championship last season.