By Kara Keating, griffinshockey.com

This upcoming Sunday and Monday the Grand Rapids Griffins will have two veteran forwards of Matthew Ford and Chris Terry showcasing their skills at the AHL All-Star Classic.

Not only will this be the first appearance of Ford’s career participating in the annual event, but he will also serve as the Western Conference captain. Captains were announced back on Dec. 18 after being selected by the league’s president each year based on their leadership and service.

“It’s quite an honor to not only represent Grand Rapids and Detroit’s organization but also the league,” Ford said. “I don’t take it for granted playing in the American Hockey League and being around as long as I have, I don’t take any of that for granted.”

Terry will enter his fourth consecutive all-star game and fifth overall. In his second season as a Griffin, he is the sixth player to go to the competition in back-to-back years, joining the list of Michel Picard (1997-1998 in IHL), Niklas Kronwall (2004-2005), Gustav Nyquist (2012-2013), Xavier Ouellet (2015-2016) and Matt Lorito (2017-2018).

“It’s an honor every year to go,” Terry said. “To be recognized throughout the league by not only your peers but your coaches, it’s something I’ll treasure for as long as I live. It’s an honor to represent this organization along with Fordo.”

This year the game will take place on the opposite side of the country following previous events being held on the East Coast. The new location will be held at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif. as the Ontario Reign will host.

As an Orange County native, Ford will return to his home state and will play in front of family and friends along with his wife Cassie and sons, Bennett and Charlie, and is looking forward to this special moment.

“It’s always pretty special to go back and play in your hometown,” Ford said. “Having my immediate and extended family and friends to be out there is something pretty special to me.I also have no complaints to go somewhere to wear shorts for a few days.”

During the weekend activities, the weather is set to be in the high 60s and low 70s compared to last year’s game being held in Springfield, Mass., where the average temperature during the month of January hovers around freezing.

Not only does the weather draw an appeal, but there will also be a different experience heading into the two-day event.

“It’s awesome it’s in California,” Terry said. “We’re in the dead of winter right now so to get some sunshine there will be nice. The other cities are obviously a little colder that I’ve been to but they all had casinos or entertainment. All-star games are always fun to go to.”

Joining Ford for the trip, Terry looks forward to sharing this hometown experience with his teammate of two seasons.

To Terry, he believes his fellow AHL veteran earned his spot for his first appearance but the “C” on his chest for the event as well.

“It’s an honor for him, Fordo has over 700 games in this league,” Terry said. “He’s been in this league for a long time and it’s well deserved. For him, it’s a homecoming since it’s near his hometown, so it will be cool to experience that with him and see how many friends and family support him.”

After being invited to the event for the fifth time in Terry’s career, Ford values the hard work that his teammate has put in to be alongside him.

“He’s a grizzled vet for the all-star game,” Ford said. “I know this isn’t his first rodeo, but there is a reason why he is there every year. He’s always been one of his team’s top performers and we’re lucky to have him in this organization.”

Some of the skills that will be incorporated into this year’s event will include the Inglasco Puck Control Relay, CCM Fastest Skater, AHLTV Rapid Fire and CCM Hardest Shot to name a few.

The one event that Ford is hoping for is the Lucas Oil Accuracy Shooting. In this event, the player with the most hits in the fewest shots will earn one goal for their team and the team with the most total hits in the fewest attempts will earn one goal in the skills competition.

“That’s one of the things I pride myself in,” Ford said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

As for Terry, outside of the skills competition, he is looking forward to seeing new faces and reconnecting with other familiar ones from previous years. In his 11th year pro, the Griffins are his fifth AHL team.

The two will look to help the Griffins make their playoff push following the all-star break when they head to Iowa on Jan. 31.

Photos at top by Sam Iannamico/Griffins