ASKAROV AND POTURALSKI NAMED TO 2025 ALL-STAR CLASSIC
Jan 8, 2025San Jose, CA – The American Hockey League (@TheAHL) announced today that San Jose Barracuda (@SJBarracuda) goaltender Yaroslav Askarov and forward Andrew Poturalski have been named to the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Spotlight 29 Casino, which will take place at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Ca. from Feb. 2-3, 2025.
Askarov, 22, who is currently up with the San Jose Sharks, has appeared in 14 games for the Barracuda this season, going 9-4-1, with a 2.00 goals-against average, a .938 save percentage, and three shutouts. He ranks first in the AHL in save percentage, T-second in shutouts, and fifth in goals-against average. Askarov began his Barracuda career by collecting consecutive shutouts and went 5-0 with a 1.20 GAA and .959 SV% in October, earning AHL Goaltender of the Month honors.
The Omsk, Russia, native made his Sharks debut on Nov. 21, 2024, at St. Louis, turning aside 31 of 32 in a 3-2 shootout loss. He earned his first win three nights later on Nov. 25, 2024, against Los Angeles, 7-2. In seven games with the Sharks, he has gone 3-2-2, with a 2.30 GAA and .923 SV%.
Last year, the netminder primarily played his season with the Milwaukee Admirals, AHL affiliate of the Nashville Predators. He appeared in 44 games, owning a 30-13-1 record, including six shutouts, a 2.39 GAA, and .911 SV% and was named to the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic at Tech CU Arena in San Jose. He finished the campaign ranked second in the league in shutouts. He won 14 consecutive games from Dec. 23, 2023, through Feb. 22, 2024, tying the franchise record. Over his winning streak, Askarov tallied five shutouts and allowed two goals or fewer in 10 of his 14 appearances.
Prior to playing in North America, Askarov appeared with SKA St. Petersburg in parts of three seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He made history in the 2019-20 season when he made his KHL debut on Nov. 27, 2019, with the club, becoming the second-youngest goaltender to start a KHL game (17 years old). In 16 career KHL games, he posted an 8-5-2 record with a 1.48 GAA and .937 SV% with one shutout.
The six-foot-three, 178-pounder was acquired by San Jose from the Nashville Predators on Aug. 23, 2024, along with Nolan Burke and a third-round pick (Colorado’s choice) in the 2025 NHL Draft in exchange for David Edstrom, Magnus Chrona and a first-round pick (Top-10 protected; San Jose will have the choice to transfer San Jose’s or Vegas’s selection) in the 2025 NHL Draft.
Poturalski, 30, has skated in 32 games with the Barracuda this season, averaging over a point-per-game (13 goals, 20 assists). Among all AHL skaters, he is T-third points (33) and power-play goals (6), T-fourth in assists (20) and T-eighth in goals (13). This is the third time he’s been selected to the AHL All-Star Classic in his career.
A year ago, he played 60 games with the AHL's Coachella Valley Firebirds, finishing with 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) and a plus-8 rating, while pacing the team in power-play goals (9). In addition, he had 10 points (two goals, eight assists) and a plus-six rating in 13 Calder Cup Playoff games, helping the Firebirds reach the finals for the second consecutive year. Poturalski, a two-time Calder Cup champion with the Charlotte Checkers (2019) and the Chicago Wolves (2022), has played in the AHL finals in each of the last three seasons and four of the past six. He also skated in a pair of NHL games this past season with the Seattle Kraken.
In his career, the nine-year veteran has appeared in six games in the NHL with the Carolina Hurricanes and Kraken, collecting a pair of assists. In addition, he has skated in 500 games in the AHL with the Barracuda, Checkers, San Diego Gulls, Wolves, and Firebirds, producing 453 points (144 goals, 309 assists), 201 penalty minutes, and a plus-47 rating. In 2019, he led the AHL in playoff goals (12) and points (23), winning the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as AHL Playoff MVP en route to a championship. He won the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as AHL scoring champion in 2020-21 and 2021-22, posting a career-best 101 points (28 goals, 73 assists) in 71 games in the latter campaign. He also was featured on the AHL's First All-Star Team in 2021-22 and on the league’s Second All-Star Team in 2018-19.
Prior to turning pro, the five-foot-10, 185-pound native of Williamsville, New York, spent two years at the University of New Hampshire, where he was a Hobey Baker Award Finalist as a sophomore in 2015-16. The undrafted forward was originally signed by the Hurricanes on March 8, 2016.
The 2025 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Spotlight 29 Casino will include the AHL All-Star Skills Competition presented by Silvercrest on Sunday, February 2, followed by the AHL Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony presented by Spotlight 29 Casino and Silvercrest on Monday, February 3 and the 2025 AHL All-Star Challenge presented by Spotlight 29 Casino that evening. For ticket information, fans can visit cvfirebirds.com/allstar.
Pacific Division
ABB - Elias Pettersson
BAK - Matthew Savoie
CGY - Devin Cooley, Rory Kerins
CV - Cale Fleury
COL - Jacob MacDonald
HSK - Tanner Laczynski
ONT - Samuel Fagemo
SD - Sam Colangelo
SJ - Yaroslav Askarov, Andrew Poturalski
TUC - Josh Doan
Atlantic Division
BRI - Brian Pinho
CLT - Trevor Carrick, Zac Dalpe ("C", inj.), John Leonard
HFD - Alex Belzile, Dylan Garand
HER - Ethan Bear, Ethen Frank
LV - Olle Lycksell
PRO - Michael Callahan, Michael DiPietro
SPR - Dalibor Dvorsky
WBS - Emil Bemstrom
North Division
BEL - Jeremy Davies
CLE - Luca Del Bel Belluz, Trey Fix-Wolansky, Denton Mateychuk,
LAV - Logan Mailloux, Joshua Roy
ROC - Devon Levi, Isak Rosen
SYR - Brandon Halverson
TOR - Logan Shaw, Alex Steeves
UTC - Seamus Casey
Central Division
CHI - Scott Morrow, Ryan Suzuki
GR - Sebastian Cossa, Austin Watson
IA - Liam Ohgren
MB - Elias Salomonsson
MIL - Vinnie Hinostroza, Matt Murray
RFD - Frank Nazar
TEX - Lian Bichsel, Justin Hryckowian, Curtis McKenzie ("C")
#SJBarracuda