Rockford IceHogs hosted AHL All-Star Classic for the 1st time
ROCKFORD — Games are on pause in the NHL, but there is no Winter Olympics freeze for the AHL. Instead, there was a brief hiatus this week as the league’s best gathered at the BMO Centre.
The Rockford IceHogs hosted the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic on Tuesday and Wednesday. Not only was it the first time the Chicago Blackhawks affiliate hosted the event, but the All-Star festivities returned to the Midwest for the first time since 2004, when they were held in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
“When we announced this event a year ago, we received a great response and I could tell how important this was going to be for this community,” said AHL President and CEO Scott Howson. “Rockford’s proximity to Chicago means they don’t have a lot of these events, and for us to have this event here was very meaningful.
“We haven’t been (to the Midwest) in 20 years, and we have a lot of teams here. It was really fitting with the Hawks’ 100th anniversary (and the AHL’s 90th season). There’s a lot to celebrate.”
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The IceHogs faithful did not hide their enthusiasm. They offered cheers throughout Wednesday night during the All-Star Challenge — and some taunts toward rivals Chicago Wolves and Milwaukee Admirals All-Stars.
It wouldn’t be an All-Star event in Rockford without some IceHogs in the mix. Forward Nick Lardis, captain Brett Seney and defenseman Kevin Korchinski were greeted with resounding applause.
“They did a tremendous job in that arena,” Hawson said. “The Blackhawks took ownership in July of 2021, and the way they’ve run this franchise and turned it around, the attendance is strong, there were so many positives to bring.”
After participating in the All-Star Skills Competition on Tuesday, it was an active Wednesday for the players. They started their day with kids from Conklin Academy Elementary School, teaching them the tricks of the hockey trade.
“Hang out with some kids, the future of sports and give back to the community,” Korchinski, 21, said. “You get to see (parts of) Rockford that you don’t get to see normally and just interact with your friends and have a good time.”
Lardis added, “I remember when I was a kid, all the support from the hockey teams in my community. It was cool to go to their games and see all these players growing up, getting autographs and learning a thing or two from them. It was special to receive that when I was younger and then give it back to the kids.”
The AHL Hall of Fame induction and awards ceremony followed the community event. Chris Bourque, Alexandre Giroux, Jim Wiemer and Wendell Young made up the 2026 class.
Finally, it was time for the players to take the ice.
The round robin, division versus division, began with Central facing Atlantic. It was a 3-on-3 format with seven matches in two periods to crown a champion. A line of IceHogs skated in their red jerseys representing the Central, and the home crowd prepared as if it were another Rockford faceoff.
“We don’t always have full buildings at All-Star (weekend), we didn’t have one last year at Coachella Valley (in Palm Desert, Calif.), so to have a full building (shows that) people are really excited about having this event here,” Hawson said. “The players feed off it, make no mistake. Our players always deliver a very good event.”
Central’s stars faced Pacific in the championship game, with Pacific winning 3-1 for the title. Korchinski gave up the All-Star MVP trophy he won last year to Colorado Eagles center Jayson Megna, who had four goals and three assists on the night to win the champions award.
But the IceHogs skaters still performed well, with Lardis and Seney finishing with three points each in four games.
Lardis, 20, has been a highlight this season for the Hawks and IceHogs, and the All-Star Classic was more of the same. He let a floater fly past Providence Bruins goaltender Michael DiPietro, a goal that briefly distracted hockey fans from the Winter Olympics.
He didn’t say it outright, but it’s safe to say he wanted to show off a little for his hometown fans.
“If you’re having fun in practice and you get a breakaway, I’ll try that move sometimes,” Lardis said. “I knew if I had good ice cream, I (wanted) to try to make it happen.
“I wanted to do something cool (Tuesday), but the ice was pretty rough. I didn’t want to move the puck in front of the fans.”
Korchinksi playfully teased Lardis both days, nitpicking the target he missed during Tuesday’s marksmanship competition. However, he was quite impressed with his teammate and all the other participants, who will get back to work on Friday when the AHL season resumes.
“There’s not a single guy who can identify him, that would probably be disrespectful,” Korchinksi said. “It’s a different vibe, you’re just talking… and stuff like that, and then you have to go to war on Saturday and Sunday (because) we need those points.”
Lardis added of the two-day event: “Honestly, that’s what we expect from these fans. They’ve been incredible all year (with) the support they’ve given us.”
