Chris Gordon

HERSHEY, Pa. — Bobby Butler, a first-year pro with the Binghamton Senators, was named the most valuable player in the American Hockey League All-Star Classic, which was held Monday night before a sellout crowd of 10,376.

Butler, 23, scored one goal and had three assists in the minor league showcase that saw 19 goals and no penalties. “It just moving the puck, just making passes and putting the puck in the net,” said Butler, a native of Marlborough, Mass. “Nothing crazy. It was a good time.”

The N.H.L. has the glitz with its millionaire superstars and heavily promoted events. But the A.H.L., which is 75 seasons old, is a proving ground for many of the players who eventually make it in the N.H.L. Twenty-seven of the players in this year’s N.H.L. All-Star game in Raleigh, N.C. have previously played in the American League.



What the A.H.L. lacks in glamor it makes up in enthusiasm — at least in Hershey, a hockey town if there ever was one. The Hershey Bears, a minor league affiliate of the Washington Capitals and the league champion last year, have a proud tradition and a fierce rivalry with the nearby Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

There was nothing fancy about how the A.H.L. organized the game and no fantasy draft to pick the teams. Instead, the Eastern Conference played (and defeated) the Western Conference.

Like the N.H.L. All-Star game, the A.H.L.’s was a demonstration of offensive prowess with virtually no checking and little attempt at defensive play. The heaviest contact appeared to be during the first intermission when the mascots took the ice for a quick pickup game. Tux, the mascot of the Penguins, emerged later with his arm in a fake sling. The contest was a seesaw affair with the West taking a 4-1 lead only to end fall behind 6-4 halfway through the second period. The teams keep notching goals up to the final minute with the East winning, 11-8.

Still, the fans got a glimpse of erstwhile and potentially future N.H.L. players. Andrew Gordon, a right wing with the Bears, who has been already done a stint with the Capitals this season, set a record by scoring 16 seconds into the game. He scored again midway through the third period.

Alexandre Giroux, a former Hershey Bears fan favorite who now plays for the Oklahoma City Barons, received a thunderous ovation from the crowd in his first trip back to the city where he first became an A.H.L. star. As the captain of the Western Conference team, Giroux chalked up a goal and an assist.

The festivities started with a skills competition on Sunday afternoon. The glass was taken down, providing a level of intimacy between the crowd and players who lingered to sign autographs. Viatcheslav Voynov, a defenseman from Chelyabinsk, Russia, who plays for the Manchester Monarchs, was the fastest skater.

Bears defensive Brian Fahey took home the hardest shot honors, registering his winner at 96.9 miles per hour. His two allotted shots missed the net, but he was given an extra one, which he converted. Fahey acknowledged the extra shot was “probably the advantage of being the home town Hershey guy.” Connecticut Whale forward Jeremy Williams won the shooting accuracy contest while John Curry of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton won the goaltending award.

The slickest move during the skills competition came when Linus Klasen of the Milwaukee Admirals did a 360-degree spin during the breakaway contest to beat Martin Jones, a goalie for the Monarchs. “I didn’t know what he was doing,” said Jones. “I thought he might have lost the puck.”

A.H.L. president David Andrews told reporters the league was exploring the possibility of playing next year’s All-Star classic against a team from Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, Swedish Elite League or Finnish Elite League. Under one scenario, the A.H.L.’s Eastern Conference All-Stars would play the foreign club in an Eastern city and the Western Conference would take on the foreign team in a Western city two nights later.

“We are investigating whether it has legs for television,” he said. “If you have the best team out of the KHL or the Swedish Elite league, you’d have a hell of a game.”

Andrews acknowledged, however, that it was not clear if a European league would allow its team to travel for the event. Whatever format is chosen, two cities are already interested in hosting next’s year classic, he said, although the formal bidding process has not started.

Given the relative lack of drama in Monday night’s game, it is understandable the A.H.L. might be considering a change. But Gordon, a crowd favorite whose play prompted chants of “Gordo, Gordo,” said the contest grew more intense as the game went on.

“It was looking pretty grim early,” he said of his Eastern Conference team. “A few tic-tack-toe plays got us back into it. You know it’s going to be a high-scoring game. You’ve just got to keep plugging away.”