The 2025 American Hockey League All-Star Classic will once again feature 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 have 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 Eastern Conference who will participate.
Sebastian Cossa, Grand Rapids (Detroit Red Wings)
After establishing himself as a full-time AHL goalie last season, Cossa has continued to progress with Grand Rapids in his third pro season.
Selected in the first round (No. 15) of the 2021 NHL Draft by Detroit, Cossa is 12-7-3 in 22 games this season. His 2.31 goals-against average ranks eighth in the AHL while his .917 save percentage is 10th. The 22-year-old will play for the Central Division.
Cossa also made his NHL debut against the Buffalo Sabres on Dec 9. His 14 saves in 45 minutes in relief of Ville Husso earned him his first NHL win.
Luca Del Bel Belluz, Cleveland (Columbus Blue Jackets)
Selected in the second round (No. 44) of the 2022 NHL Draft by Columbus, Del Bel Belluz has been flirting with the AHL scoring lead.
The 21-year-old forward is fourth in AHL scoring with 37 points (17 goals, 20 assists) in 34 games even though he has not played for Cleveland since Jan. 5 while on recall to the Blue Jackets. Through seven games with the Blue Jackets, he has five points (two goals, three assists).
He will play for the North Division.
Olle Lycksell, Lehigh Valley (Philadelphia Flyers)
The 25-year-old has started to settle in with the Flyers and has played six games.
The Flyers took the forward in the sixth round (No. 168) of the 2017 NHL Draft. After five seasons in the Swedish Hockey League, he came to North America for the 2022-23 season. In 32 career games for the Flyers, he has six points (one goal, five assists). He has 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 25 games for Lehigh Valley and will play for the Atlantic Division.
Logan Mailloux, Laval (Montreal Canadiens)
A critical piece of Montreal’s future after being chosen by the Canadiens in the first round (No. 31) of the 2021 NHL Draft, the 21-year-old defenseman represented Laval as a rookie at the AHL All-Star Classic last season and was later named to the AHL All-Rookie Team.
He had 47 points (14 goals, 33 assists) while playing all 72 regular-season games last season. In his second pro season, he has 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) in 33 games. He will play for the North Division.
Denton Mateychuk, Cleveland (Columbus Blue Jackets)
The rookie defenseman showed that he could handle a top workload as a 20-year-old in the AHL. Like Del Bel Belluz, he will represent the North Division.
His play quickly prompted the Blue Jackets to recall the first-round pick (No. 12) from the 2022 NHL Draft. He joined Columbus and made his NHL debut Dec. 23 against Montreal. He has gone on to play 12 games and has three points (one goal, two assists) while averaging 18:10 per game.
He has 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 27 games for Cleveland, second-most among AHL rookie defenseman and tying him for sixth in the league at the position. His nine goals also tie him tie him for third among defensemen and second among rookies at the position.
Scott Morrow, Chicago (Carolina Hurricanes)
The Hurricanes have their own AHL affiliate again and went heavily with player development.
Morrow, 22, is part of a large contingent of high-end prospects that the Hurricanes elected to get more seasoning in the AHL. The defenseman was chosen by the Hurricanes in the second round (No. 40) of the 2021 draft and will play for the Central Division.
His nine goals tie him with Mateychuk, and he has two hat tricks this season. His 25 points (nine goals, 16 assists) in 36 games rank him third among AHL rookie defenseman.
Simon Nemec, Utica (New Jersey Devils)
The defenseman is back in the AHL for further development after playing 60 games for the Devils last season.
New Jersey selected him in the first round (No. 2) of the 2022 draft. After beginning this season with New Jersey, where he had one assist in nine games, he was reassigned to Utica on Nov. 7. He has 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in 27 games for Utica.
The 20-year-old replaces Utica defenseman Seamus Casey, who is unable to participate for the North Division.
Isak Rosen, Rochester (Buffalo Sabres)
With Jiri Kulich having graduated to the Buffalo roster, Rosen has taken on an even more significant role with Rochester in his third AHL season.
Buffalo took the forward, who will turn 22 on March 15, in the first round (No. 14) of the 2021 draft. He has 31 points (16 goals, 15 assists) in 35 games for Rochester and is already approaching his AHL career-high of 20 goals that he set last season.
He will play for the North Division and has played eight career games for the Sabres, including one this season.
