The best players in the Heritage Junior Hockey League (HJHL) will square off in Airdrie Jan. 6, 2019 for the Junior B league’s 2019 all-star game. Hosted by the league-leading Airdrie Techmation Thunder (27-2-0), the game will be held at 1:30 p.m. at the Ron Ebbesen Arena. According to the Thunder’s head coach, Derek Stamp, Airdrie won the bid to host this season’s all-star game, after the annual tilt was brought back by the league last year. “This year, [the league] took applications, and we were one of the teams interested in hosting it – and we happened to be the one that was selected,” he said. “It will be nice to host an event like that." Local hockey fans will see plenty of local representation at the contest – five players from the Thunder will lace up their skates to play for Team North. Jordan McConnell (38 goals, 55 assists in 26 games) and Rylan Plante-Crough (37 goals, 39 assists in 26 games) will line up for Team North. The two forwards have led the league’s scoring charts since the first game of the 2018-19 season, and haven’t looked back. Thanks to their scoring prowess, Airdrie’s most potent points-collectors have each earned HJHL Player of the Week awards this season, and both were named to the league’s Three Stars of the Month multiple times. McConnell, who has averaged 3.6 points per game this year and is on track to challenge single-season scoring records in the HJHL, said he is excited to play in the all-star fixture. “I know we have a lot of guys on our team who are worthy of going to the all-star game, so it’s definitely an honour to be representing the Thunder,” said the 20-year-old forward, who is finishing his junior career in the HJHL after spending three years in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. The former Calgary Canuck said he is looking forward to facing a selection of the HJHL South Division’s strongest players. “It’ll be cool to play against some of the best guys in the league – and play with them, as well,” he said. On the Team North blue line, Jason Wenzel and Kirkland Spencer will also represent Airdrie, while Thunder goaltender Ryan Simpson will man the pipes. With 12 goals and 31 assists this season, Wenzel is the HJHL’s top points-earner among defensive players. Simpson, who has split playing time with Jackson Little this year, boasts a division-best .916 save percentage. According to Stamp, a maximum of five players from Airdrie were allowed to participate in the all-star game. Considering the Thunder’s strength this season, he said, there were many others who could have earned the nod. “With the success we’ve had this first part of the season, there are so many guys who could easily be all-stars,” he said. “The ones who were selected, you can see why. But there were other guys who definitely had strong starts to the season and could be considered.” Stamp will also be a part of the game, as the head coach for Team North. He said being behind the bench for the all-star fixture will be an interesting opportunity to interact with players who have previously been opponents. “For me, I’ve coached against them for the better part of three seasons now, so it’ll be nice to have a bit of interaction and be able to coach some high-end players from other teams,” he said.
