1994-1995 AHL ALL STAR GAME -PROVIDENCE, RI
|
During my freshman year in college I had the fortune of being friends with a number of hockey fans who took me to see the local AHL franchise the Providence Bruins. A big 'hub-bub' was in the air when they announced that after 35 years, the AHL would have an ALL Star Game and it would be held in Providence, RI. I admit, as an 19 year-old I got suckered in, bought tickets so my friend Joe Madigan and I could go see the game, and eagerly looked forward to it.
So many players I liked were in the game: former Utica Devil Kevin Dean (with Albany) was selected along with Albany teammates Steve Sullivan and Corey Schwab; former Hershey Bears Stand-out Tim Tookey (now with Providence) and Providence Bruins Fred Knipsheer; Providence College Alumni Craig Darby with Fredricton with David Wilkie and Valeri Bure; AHL stand-outs Len Esau and Steve Larouche; and the list goes on and on. Since then, I misplaced the AHL pictures I had from that night (absolutely frustrated as I thought I had them this entire time). However, getting the jerseys of the players will 'have to do' and something tells me I'll remember and enjoy this a lot more than a photo. I really enjoyed the uniforms which seemed to be unique and unlike anything I've ever seen to that point in time. The stitching, crest location, and numbers were all completely different than anything the AHL or NHL had ever done. The St. Louis Blues adopted the number style the following year I believe, but I don't think anyone else did ever again. In regards to how many were worn, I believe there were two sets. I have seen that many of certain players, but not all. My thinking is that they wore one for a photo opportunity and then one for the whole game. The photo opportunity jersey might also have been used in a period of the game or two. However, there is no way to know. Custom Crafted lettered and numbered the jerseys back then and stamp the inside hem with their tagging. Somewhere along the way they made a bunch of blanks with the same stamp on the inside hem and allowed fans to customize the jerseys. The customization was different than the real game worn jerseys in that the AHL All Star Patch was NOT affixed to the jersey, the numbers were not 'slanted', and the "C's" and "A's" were single color tackle twill. |
TEAM U.S.A. |
FORWARDS |
DEFENSE |
GOALIES
TEAM CANADA |
FORWARDS |
DEFENSE |