Glendening, Youds to represent Walleye in Colorado

1/4/2013

Defenseman Ben Youds and forward Luke Glendening will represent the Toledo Walleye at the ECHL All-Star Game on Jan. 23.

The league announced the reserves on Thursday for the all-star game that will be held in Loveland, Colo.

Youds is tied for first among all ECHL defensemen with 26 points. Youds has scored four goals and has dished out a team-high 22 assists.

Youds, 24, is in his second full season as a pro. The Minnesota native is in his first year with the Walleye.

Glendening, who is currently called up to Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League, is third among all ECHL rookies with 14 goals. Glendening has 21 points in 27 games and has a plus-minus rating of plus-13.

Glendening, 23, is a native of Grand Rapids, Mich. and was a captain at the University of Michigan.

The Walleye have no starters in the all-star game that will feature the Colorado Eagles taking on the ECHL All-Stars.

Glendening is among nine rookies on the all-star team.

Each of the 21 players is making his first all-star game appearance.

The starters and reserves were selected in voting by ECHL coaches, team captains, and media members.

The starters are: Reading goalie Philipp Grubauer, Reading defenseman Denny Urban, Stockton defenseman Nathan Deck, Gwinnett forward Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Idaho forward Justin Dowling, and Ontario forward C.J. Stretch.

Youds, who played in one game with Toledo and in 57 games for Rockford of the AHL last season, leads all ECHL defensemen in assists with 22 so far this year.

Youds ranks third on the team in scoring and is also a plus-8. Youds started the year in Rockford, appearing in three games and had two assists.

Glendening was Toledo's third-leading scorer when he was promoted to Grand Rapids on Dec. 18. Glendening also was fifth among ECHL rookies in scoring at the time. Two of his 14 goals were shorthanded. With the Griffins, he has one goal and one assist in six games.

The all-star event begins on Jan. 22 with a skills competition and the game will be played Jan. 23 at 9:05 p.m. at the Budweiser Events Center in Colorado.

More than 50 players that have competed in the ECHL all-star game have gone on to play in the NHL, including 39 since 2002.

The ECHL all-star game was not held last year. The format shifted to the host team taking on the ECHL all stars in 2011. Before that, the all stars from each conference squared off.

The Walleye play at Kalamazoo on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. before hosting Orlando on Saturday night and Kalamazoo on Sunday afternoon at the Huntington Center.