Kerby Rychel represents Marlies at AHL All Star Weekend

The American Hockey League had its own All-Star Weekend in Glen Falls, New York, just off to the side of the NHL’s festivities in much further away Los Angeles. Auston Matthews represented the Leafs in the big-league game, but down below? Look no further than Brendan Leipsic and Kasperi Kapanen to represent the Marlies and the North Division!

Well, until those two got hurt. But hey, Kerby Rychel was on a massive hot streak, so he earned the opportunity to go in their place. Not just that, he was pretty good too!

What was interesting about seeing Rychel in the skills competition and the 3-on-3 tournament was the fact that both required elements of his game that aren’t quite like what the Marlies have been using him for. He’s been getting his goals from the slot and his assists from the boards throughout the season, so to see him picking goalie’s corners and unleashing cannons like this one:

Would be a surprise, as long as you had never seen the Rychel that ripped up the OHL and had moments of promise with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Lake Erie (now Cleveland) Monsters. 

On top of having ripping up the goalie challenge and nearly winning the Hardest Shot competition (but missing his shot in the shootout relay), Rychel obviously played in the actual games themselves. The North Division didn’t make it to the final but played in three round-robin games against the other divisions that were ten minutes a piece. He made his biggest impact in the first game, a 6-3 win over the Pacific, by scoring a goal on his only shot and adding an assist:

The North Division hit a bit of a wall in their games against the Central and Atlantic, and those games ended with Rychel coming away with no points and a combined three extra shots on goal. Overall, it was a fun weekend for the youngster, who returns to the Marlies this weekend to build on his 26 points in 41 games.