2020 Warrior Hockey/ECHL All-Star Classic details unveiled

The ECHL, in conjunction with the Wichita Thunder, announced on Tuesday several details for the 2020 Warrior Hockey/ECHL All-Star Classic, taking place at INTRUST Bank Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020.

At a special event held earlier in the day at INTRUST Bank Arena, two major partnerships were unveiled. The Warrior Hockey/ECHL All-Star Classic will be presented by Toyota and the Skills Competition will be presented by Kansas Star Casino. Toyota is not only in the business of making great cars, but also works every day to help benefit people, the community and our planet in order to build a better tomorrow. Kansas Star Casino is Kansas’ leading gaming entertainment destination. The Skills Competition will consist of Hardest Shot, Accuracy Shooting and Fastest Skater.

Also unveiled at the event today were the jerseys for the four All-Star teams. The Thunder will be divided into two teams known as the Bolts, who will wear blue, and the Hammers, who will wear grey. The Eastern Conference All-Stars will be in red while the Western Conference All-Stars will wear white.

The game format for the event was also unveiled. The four teams will compete in a 3-on-3 round-robin tournament to crown a winner. Rally scoring will be featured, pitting all four teams against each other. Each team will consist of 10 players – six forwards, three defensemen and a goaltender. All-Star players will be announced in January 2020 via a vote of ECHL coaching staffs, captains and media. The two Thunder teams will be chosen via a live draft at a time and date to be announced in December.

The first round will be round-robin style, with each team competing against each other in six consecutive running clock games. All four teams will advance to the second round and will be re-seeded based on total score. The second round will feature two running clock games with the #1 vs. #4 seeds and the #2 vs. #3 seeds. The top two highest scoring teams after Round 1 and Round 2 will meet in the third round for the final matchup. The finals will feature the #1 vs. #2 seed in a running clock game to determine the tournament champion.

The All-Star Classic festivities will kick off on Tuesday, Jan. 21 with the All-Star FanFest at the official host hotel of the All-Star Week, the Drury Plaza Hotel Broadview. FanFest, presented by Visit Wichita, will feature a live band, autographs with the players, numerous interactive games, as well as displays from the Hockey Hall of Fame, including past Wichita memorabilia items.  Fan Fest will start at 7 p.m. following the annual ECHL Hall of Fame Induction Dinner.

About the ECHL

Began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states, the ECHL has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 26 teams in 19 states and two Canadian provinces for its 32nd season in 2019-20. There have been 662 players who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League after starting their careers in the ECHL, including 20 who made their NHL debuts in the 2018-19 season. The ECHL had affiliations with 25 of the 31 NHL teams in 2018-19, marking the 22nd consecutive season that the league had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL. Further information on the ECHL is available at ECHL.com as well as on Twitter and Facebook .