Frank, Capitals prospect, shines at AHL Skills Competition
Sets record in Fastest Skater event; Woll earns top goalie honors
By
Patrick Williams
NHL.com Independent Correspondent
The Eastern Conference defeated the Western Conference 16-10 in the AHL Skills Competition, which consisted of seven events, with players earning "goals" for their conference by winning each individual head-to-head criterion.
One of the highlights from the evening came from Hershey (Washington Capitals) forward Ethen Frank, who set an AHL record in the Fastest Skater event with a time of 12.915 seconds. He is the first skater in AHL history to complete the event in under 13 seconds.
Frank, who turned 25 on Sunday, is currently playing on an AHL contract he signed with Hershey on April 11, 2022. That came after he led the NCAA with 26 goals in 38 games as a senior for Western Michigan, and in September, he attended rookie camp and training camp with the Capitals.
Frank has continued that success with Hershey this season, ranking second among AHL rookies with 37 points (21 goals, 16 assists) in 38 games, behind fellow All-Star forward Sammy Walker of Iowa (Minnesota Wild). Frank's 21 goals are also tied with Walker for the most among rookies and tied for fifth overall in the league.
He was named the AHL Rookie of the Month in January after getting 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in 10 games.
"[I've shown] that I can play at this level," Frank said. "There was some doubt that I heard over the end of my college career that I wasn't going to be able to transfer this [to the pros], and I think it's worked out."
Another notable performance on Sunday came from Syracuse (Tampa Bay Lightning) defenseman Darren Raddysh, who won the Hardest Shot competition with a shot that reached 102.0 mph. None of the other seven players hit 100 mph.
Raddysh, 26, has scored 12 goals this season, which is tied for first among AHL defensemen, and his 44 points in 42 games are second among defensemen and tied for 10th overall.
Toronto (Toronto Maple Leafs) goalie Joseph Woll earned top goalie honors for the evening. He first stopped eight of 10 shots in the Rapid Fire competition from Texas (Dallas Stars) defenseman Thomas Harley and Rockford (Chicago Blackhawks) forward Brett Seney. He then made all three saves in the Pass and Score competition before stopping four of five attempts in the Breakaway Relay challenge.
This season, Woll is 13-1-0, and among goalies to play at least 10 AHL games, he ranks eighth in goals against average (2.36) and third in save percentage (.930).
But Woll wasn't the only goalie who excelled in the Breakaway Relay. Dustin Wolf of Calgary (Calgary Flames) stopped all five shots he faced from the Eastern Conference.
Wolf, who was named the AHL's top goalie last season, leads the league in games played (34), wins (26) and shutouts (four), is third in GAA (2.19), and fourth in save percentage (.928).
The 2023 AHL All-Star Classic will conclude on Monday (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN, RDS) with the AHL All-Star Challenge, a round-robin 3-on-3 tournament featuring each of the AHL's four divisions.
The Classic, which is being held in Quebec and by a Canadiens affiliate for the first time, was originally supposed to be hosted by Laval in 2021, but the event was cancelled each of the previous two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Laval has featured two players at the event: captain Alex Belzile and forward Anthony Richard, who played seven games earlier this season with the Canadiens and had two points (one goal, one assist).
Richard, a 26-year-old native of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, estimated that he had between 40 and 50 family members in attendance on Sunday.
"When I got the call, it was really special for me and my family," said Richard, who was sent back down to the AHL by Montreal shortly before hearing the news. "Getting the call to come (to the All-Star Classic), it was a roller-coaster week."
