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Klasen and Dekanich Named to AHL All Star Classic

Courtesy of the Milwaukee Admirals

The American Hockey League announced today that Milwaukee Admirals goaltender Mark Dekanich and forward Linus Klasen have been selected to play in the 2011 AHL All-Star Classic, presented by Capital BlueCross, in Hershey, PA on January 30 and 31.  This is the first All-Star selection for both players.

Dekanich currently has a record of 15-5-3 with a 1.77 goals against average and a .938 save percentage, in which he both ranks third in the AHL. So far this season he has recorded four shut outs, which ties him for second in the league, winning three of those contests 1-0. He set the franchise record of consecutive shut out minutes recording 209:31 from November 7-19. In addition, Dekanich has been recalled by Nashville twice this season and made his NHL debut on December 18 against the Los Angeles Kings.

The North Vancouver native holds the Admirals record for lowest goals against average (2.09) and the highest save percentage (.923), both of which he recorded in his rookie season in 2008-09, ranking second and fifth respectively in the AHL. Last year, he ended the season with a 27-16-4 record and ranked fifth in the AHL with a goals against average of 2.33. In his three seasons with the Admirals, he has posted a 57-31-9 record with a goals against average of 2.13 and a save percentage of .922.

In his first season in North America, Klasen leads the Admirals with 29 points (16g-13a) in 31 games and has posted nine multi-point games and two multi-goal games, both of which are also team highs.  He currently ranks 14th in the AHL in goals and 11th in power play tallies (7). On October 24, Klasen was named Reebok AHL Player of the Week after he posted six points in three games, part of a six game-point streak that ran from October 22 through November 7.

The Stockholm, Sweden native has been recalled twice by the Nashville Predators recording no points in four games and averaging 12:53 of ice time.  Prior to joining the Admirals, Klasen played with Sodertalje in the Sweden Elitserien Hockey League (SEL). Last year, he was their leading scorer recording 51 points (19 g, 32a) in 51 games, ranking him fifth overall in the SEL.