Wranglers Finish 2024 As Top Team In AHL Pacific Division

Although the Calgary Wranglers' head coach Trent Cull is currently serving as an NHL assistant with the Calgary Flames, his team under Joe Cirella defeated the Abbotsford Canucks 4-3 on Monday to finish 2024 as the top team in the AHL Pacific Division.

Thanks to the victory and the Wranglers' early-season dominance, with the most points in the league, their head coach, Cull or Cirella, will be the bench boss for the Pacific Division All-Stars at the upcoming AHL All-Star Classic in February.

This year will mark the third consecutive season that a Wranglers head coach will lead the Pacific Division, which has won the last two All-Star Classics. In 2023, Neil Graham was behind the bench, while Cull was there last year in San Jose.

On top of being the best team in the AHL with a 21-9-1 record and 43 points, Wranglers' forward Rory Kerins ranks third in the league's scoring race with 32 points in 31 games.

Related: Flames & Wranglers Shuffle Their Coaching Decks

Meanwhile, netminder Devin Cooley leads the AHL in wins (16) and save percentage (.939) and ranks second in GAA (1.90). Both should be selected for the All-Star Classic when official rosters are announced in a couple of weeks.

Moreover, the Calgary Flames will be represented at the event, as the AHL announced Tuesday morning that Lorne Henning and Grant Fuhr will serve as honorary captains. Fuhr, a native of St. Albert, AB, played the final 23 games of his Hall of Fame career with the Flames in 1999-2000.

The 2025 AHL All-Star Classic and Skills Competition will be held on Feb. 2-3, 2025, at the Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, CA.