When the ECHL heads to Wichita, Kansas, for the annual installment of their All-Star Game, North America’s premier “AA” hockey league will once again provide a fascinating display of a critical layer of player development that most seem to overlook.

Now in its 32nd season, the former East Coast Hockey League has long since outgrown its old name, having blossomed into a 26-team league with clubs in 19 states and two Canadian provinces that has produced a whopping 670 players that have gone on to graduate to the National Hockey League.

The odds would seem to favor at least a handful of those participating in the 2020 Warrior Hockey ECHL All-Star Classic at Intrust Bank Arena on Wednesday night one day adding their names to that illustrious list; the All-Star Game has produced 68 future NHL’ers, with 52 of those coming since 2002, when the league shifted focus to become the primary development league for both the NHL and American Hockey League.

Although the game’s relatively new format – a three-on-three round-robin tournament that includes two “teams” from the host city, in this case the “Bolts” and “Hammers” made out of the Thunder squad – somewhat limits the roster sizes, history shows that current Cincinnati Cyclones goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen may very well have the best chance to go from the mid-Winter showcase to the show.

Goaltenders make up a significant percentage of the league’s overall alumni that have gone on to play in the NHL, and account for 24 of the 68 players with at least one ECHL All-Star Game appearance to have played at the game’s highest level. 

Luukkonen, just 20 years old, is the latest in a very long line of legitimate prospects between the pipes to have seen time in the “E,” with his parent organization — the Buffalo Sabres, who drafted the Finn with the 54th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft — choosing to give him the starter’s share of games in Cincinnati to better develop rather than share the net with fellow prospect Jonas Johansson, who spent the past two seasons with the Cyclones, or veteran stopgap Andrew “Hamburglar” Hammond.

So far this year, the former World Junior Championship standout has posted a 12-5-3 record in 20 games, with his 2.12 goals against average putting him third-best among the league’s qualifying netminders, not to mention a .917 save percentage that has him just outside of the top 10. Luukkonen has won both Goaltender of the Week and Goaltender of the Month awards this season, and seems primed to one day join the likes of current NHL starters Mike Smith, Braden Holtby, and Phillip Grubauer as some of the league’s prominent goalie alumni.

For the time being, however, he’ll be playing for the Western Conference team in the All-Star Game, where he’ll be joined by an intriguing mix of league veterans and young prospects, perhaps most notably Joey Duszak, a 22-year-old defenseman with the Newfoundland Growlers who saw some time in the AHL’s Calder Cup Playoffs last year as a member of the Toronto Marlies following his signing as a coveted undrafted free agent out of Mercyhurst College.

Full rosters for the East and West teams — which were determined in a vote of coaches, team captains, media relations directors, broadcasters and members of the media — are listed below, with the event set to start at 7 PM. 

The first round will be round-robin style, with each team competing against each other in six consecutive running clock games. All four teams will advance to the second round and will be re-seeded based on total score. The second round will feature two running clock games with the #1 vs #4 seeds and the #2 vs #3 seeds. The top two highest-scoring teams after Round 1 and Round 2 will meet in the third round for the final matchup. The finals will feature the #1 vs. #2 seed in a running clock game to determine the tournament champion.

Eastern Conference All-Stars

• G – Parker Milner, South Carolina Stingrays
• D – Michael Brodzinski, Orlando Solar Bears
• D – Joseph Duszak, Newfoundland Growlers
• D – T.J. Melancon, Brampton Beast
• D – Logan Roe, Florida Everblades
• F –Roman Ammirato, Norfolk Admirals
• F – Ralph Cuddemi, Reading Royals
• F – Jake Elmer, Maine Mariners
• F – Tommy Marchin, Atlanta Gladiators
• F – Robbie Payne, Adirondack Thunder
• F – Liam Pecararo, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
• F – Jordan Samuels-Thomas, Worcester Railers
• F – Brendan Warren, Jacksonville Icemen

Western Conference All-Stars

• G – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Cincinnati Cyclones
• D – Brady Norrish, Idaho Steelheads
• D – Taylor Richart, Utah Grizzlies
• D – Justin Woods, Kansas City Mavericks
• F – Cam Brown, Wheeling Nailers
• F – Josh Kestner, Toledo Walleye
• F – J.J. Piccinich, Tulsa Oilers
• F – Peter Quenneville, Rapid City Rush
• F – Dylan Sadowy, Kalamazoo Wings
• F – Tyler Sheehy, Allen Americans
• F – Shawn St-Amant, Fort Wayne Komets
• F – Spencer Watson, Indy Fuel

Mike Ashmore has 17 years of experience covering professional and college sports. You can follow him on all social media channels at @mashmore98.