Milwaukee, WI—Admirals netminder Yaroslav Askarov and defenseman Spencer Stastney have been selected to play in the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic in San Jose, CA on February 5 and 6.
Askarov is coming off an impressive weekend where he stopped all 56 shots thrown his way in a pair of shutout wins over the Colorado Eagles. That feat earned him AHL Player of the Week Honors, the third time in his career his been selected for the award. In 17 games for Milwaukee this season, Askarov (10-6-1) ranks second in the AHL with a 2.14 goals-against average and sixth with a .920 save percentage. He has also made two appearances with Nashville in 2023-24, earning his first career NHL win with a 27-save effort at Washington on Dec. 30.
A 21-year-old native of Omsk, Russia, Askarov was the Predators’ first-round choice (11th overall) and the first goaltender selected in the 2020 NHL Draft. He went 26-16-5 with a 2.69 GAA, a .911 save percentage and three shutouts for Milwaukee as a rookie in 2022-23 before helping the Admirals reach the Western Conference Finals. He also became the youngest goaltender in Nashville franchise history to start a game when he made his NHL debut against Montreal on Jan. 12, 2023.
A Mequon, WI native, Stastney skated in 27 games for the Admirals this season and registering a pair of goals and eight assists for 10 points to go along with a +10 rating, which is tied for tops among Admirals blueliners. Stastney has been even or better in 23 of the 27 games he has played in this season for Milwaukee.
Skating in his first AHL All-Star Classic, Stastney began his pro career last season by playing in 56 games with the Ads, scoring five goals and adding eight assists in the regular season and then contributing six points as the Ads made their run to the Western Conference Finals. Stastney’s goal with 27 seconds left in game five against Manitoba was the series clincher and immediately went down as one of the most memorable goals in franchise history.
Stastney, a University of Notre Dame alum, has seen 17 games of action with the Nashville Predators over the past two seasons and scored his first NHL goal on November 24th in a Preds win over St. Louis.
The 2024 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Tech CU will feature the top young talent in the American Hockey League: since 1995, more than 94 percent of All-Star Classic participants have gone on to compete in the National Hockey League.
In operation since 1936, the American Hockey League serves as the top development league for the players, coaches, managers, executives, broadcasters and staff of all 32 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent time in the AHL in their careers.
