Athletic Trainer, Equipment Manager named for 2019 CCM/ECHL All-Star Classic

The ECHL on Wednesday announced that Scott Allison of the Kalamazoo Wings has been named the athletic trainer and Joe Franke of the Fort Wayne Komets has been named the equipment manager for the 2019 CCM/ECHL All-Star Classic presented by ProMedica, to be hosted by the Toledo Walleye on Monday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. ET at the Huntington Center. The game will air LIVE exclusively on NHL Network.

Allison and Franke will be joined by Brad Fredrick (athletic trainer) and Dave Aleo (equipment manager) of the host Toledo Walleye.

For the second consecutive year, the CCM/ECHL All-Star Classic will feature a 3-on-3 tournament with four teams competing for the top spot. New in 2019, the host team will make up two of the four teams and face-off against the other two teams made up of All-Star players from the Eastern and Western Conference. These four teams will compete in a 3-on-3 tournament with rally scoring in order to crown a winner. The 2019 CCM/ECHL All-Star Skills Competition will take place in between rounds of the tournament, highlighting the talents of the ECHL Players, and showcasing the future of hockey as they develop in the League.

Allison is in his 11th year with Kalamazoo split between two separate stints with the team. A native of Vicksburg, Michigan, he began working with the K-Wings as a stick boy during the 1999-00 season, before moving behind the bench as an equipment manager and trainer from 2000-03. Allison rejoined the K-Wings for the 2011-12 season and has been the athletic trainer ever since. 

Franke began his career as a professional hockey equipment manager when he started with the Komets in the International Hockey League in 1978, where he remained until joining Indianapolis of the Central Hockey League in 1983. He then logged four years with Muskegon of the IHL before his move to the National Hockey League with Pittsburgh in 1989 where he earned a Stanley Cup ring in 1991. Franke returned to Fort Wayne in 1991-92 and worked the Komets locker room for an additional 15 years through the 2005-06 season, collecting two league championships. From 2008-10, Franke was a member of the New York Islanders’ organization before returning again to Fort Wayne in 2011

The 12th class of the ECHL Hall of Fame will be officially inducted at a luncheon, presented by BFL CANADA and Sutton Special Risk, on Sunday, January 20 at 1 p.m. at the SeaGate Center, in conjunction with the Toledo Hockey Hall of Fame, presented by Cooper Tire.

Anchored by the CCM/ECHL All-Star Classic presented by ProMedica, there will be multiple activities that showcase the Toledo community including the All-Star Fanfest in Hensville Park and All-Star Winter Brewfest at Fifth Third Field. The Hall of Fame luncheon will be followed by a regular-season matchup between the Walleye and the Fort Wayne Komets at the Huntington Center. 

CCM/ECHL All-Star packages and individual tickets can be purchased by calling (419) 725-9255 or by visiting www.toledowalleye.com/allstar.

About the ECHLBegan in 1988-89 with five teams in four states, the ECHL has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 27 teams in 20 states and two Canadian provinces for its 31st season in 2018-19. There have been 651 players who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League after playing in the ECHL, including 10 who have made their NHL debuts in the 2018-19 season. The ECHL has affiliations with 25 of the 31 NHL teams in 2018-19, marking the 22nd consecutive season that the league has affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL. Further information on the ECHL is available on its website at ECHL.com as well as on Twitter and Facebook.