Joakim Lindstrom And Clay Wilson Of The Syracuse Crunch Named To PlanetUSA AHL All-Stars

MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com – Syracuse, NY (January 10, 2008) - The Syracuse Crunch announced today that the American Hockey League has selected left wing Joakim Lindstrom and defenseman Clay Wilson to play on the PlanetUSA AHL All-Star Team for the 2008 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Reebok. Lindstrom was voted to the team’s starting lineup through online fan balloting.

Lindstrom, 24, has appeared in 29 games with the Crunch this season, tallying 15 goals, 23 assists and 50 penalty minutes. He has also appeared in 9 games for Columbus this season, notching 2 goals, 4 assists and 6 penalty minutes. Lindstrom was named the Rbk/AHL Player of the Week for the week ending November 25, 2007 after posting 7 points (3g, 4a) in just two games. Lindstrom also recorded a Crunch season-high 11-game point-scoring streak from October 12 to November 2. He recorded a separate 8-game point scoring streak from November 23 to December 19, picking up 20 points (6g, 14a) during that span. Lindstrom had a Syracuse season-high 6 points (1g, 5a) in a 9-2 win over Hamilton on December 15. A native of Skelleftea, Sweden, Lindstrom was drafted by Columbus in the second round, 41st overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

Lindstrom becomes the fourth player in team history voted to a starting lineup (Mark Wotton – Canadian, 1998), (Chris O’Sullivan – PlanetUSA, 2000), (Mike Gaul – Canadian, 2001).

Wilson, 24, has appeared in 37 games for the Crunch and Portland this season, racking up 6 goals, 17 assists and 20 penalty minutes. Wilson is currently tied for fifth on the Crunch in scoring and tenth in the AHL in scoring among defenseman. Wilson recorded 3 assists in a 3-1 win against Albany on December 1. He recorded his 100th career AHL point on December 19 @ Toronto. A native of Sturgeon Lake, Minnesota, Wilson was acquired by Columbus from Anaheim along with defenseman Aaron Rome in exchange for center Geoff Platt on November 15, 2007.

With rookie center Derick Brassard’s selection to the Team Canada AHL All-Stars yesterday, this marks the first time in history that the Crunch will have three representatives at the AHL All-Star Classic.

In fourteen seasons, Syracuse has had 23 players participate in the AHL All-Star Classic. Previous participants include Lonny Bohonos and Scott Walker (1994- 95), Brian Loney (1995-96), Larry Courville and John Namestnikov (1996-97), Mark Wotton and Robert Dome (1997- 98), Boris Protsenko and Valentin Morozov (1998-99), Harold Druken and Chris O’Sullivan (1999-00), Mike Gaul (2000-01), Derrick Walser and Duvie Westcott (2001-02), Karl Goehring (2002- 03), Aaron Johnson (2003-04), Alexander Svitov (2004-05), Andy Delmore and Mark Hartigan (2005- 06), Filip Novak (2006-07), Derick Brassard, Joakim Lindstrom and Clay Wilson (2007-08).

The 2008 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Reebok will take place at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton, home of the AHL’s Senators. The AHL All-Star Classic will feature the top young talent in the American Hockey League competing in the 2008 CCM AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday, January 27, and the 2008 AHL All-Star Game on Monday, January 28. The event will be televised nationally in the United States and Canada.