SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that the head coaches Ryan Mougenel of the Providence Bruins, Pascal Vincent Laval Rocket, Dan Watson of the Grand Rapids Griffins and Mark Letestu of the Colorado Eagles won the award for being a coach in The 2026 AHL All-Star Classic is presented by BMOto be held February 10-11 in Rockford, Ill.
The Bruins, Rockets, Griffins and Eagles will all have the best record in their divisions as of the predetermined deadline, the end of the game on January 11.
Ryan Mougenel will guide the Atlantic Division All-Star team as Providence owns a 24-6-1-0 record (49 points, .790), the best mark in the Eastern Conference. Mougenel is in his eighth season with the Bruins, including three (2018-21) as an assistant coach and the last five as head coach. He was previously an assistant for the Hershey Bears (2013-14), Worcester Sharks (2014-15) and San Jose Barracuda (2015-18), and also spent eight years coaching in the ECHL. This is Mougenel’s first selection in the AHL All-Star Classic.
Two-time winner of the Louis AR Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL’s top coach (2017-18, 2024-25), Pascal Vincent will lead the North Division thanks to Laval’s 22-11-0-1 record (45 pts., .662) so far in 2025-26. Vincent joined the Rockets last season from Columbus, where he spent the 2023-24 season as head coach of the NHL’s Blue Jackets following two seasons as an associate coach. He previously spent 10 seasons in the Winnipeg Jets organization, including five years as head coach of the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, and will be making his second trip to the AHL All-Star Classic after coaching the Central Division in 2018.
Dan Watson is headed to his second consecutive AHL All-Star Classic for the Griffins, whose record-setting start to the 2025-26 season sees them have just two losses in regulation through their first 33 games (29-2-1-1, 60 pts., .909). Watson’s club also leads the AHL in goals scored (3.76 per game), goals allowed (1.76 per game) and penalty kill efficiency (87.5%). He is in his third season as head coach in Grand Rapids and his 17thth A full season with the Detroit Red Wings organization, having served in several capacities with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye from 2009 to 2023.
Rookie coach Mark Letestu he will lead the Pacific Division for his Colorado Eagles with a record of 21-7-1-2 (45 pts., .726). Letestu was named to the Eagles position on July 5, 2025, after four years as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Monsters, where he helped the club to a title in 2023-24 and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals that spring. Letestu’s 13-year professional playing career includes 567 games in the NHL and 255 contests in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Cleveland.
I The 2026 AHL All-Star Classic is presented by BMO features the AHL All-Star Skills tournament on Tuesday, February 10followed by the AHL Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony at Wednesday, February 11 and the 2026 AHL All-Star Challenge that night. The Skills Tournament pits the Elites from the two divisions of the Eastern Conference against those from the two divisions of the Western Conference in seven skill events. The All-Star Challenge is a round-robin, 3-on-3 tournament between four divisions to determine the All-Star champions. For ticket information, fans can visit icehogs.com/asc26.
I The 2026 AHL All-Star Classic is presented by BMO will have some of the top talent in the American Hockey League: since 1995, more than 94 percent of All-Star Classic participants have competed in the National Hockey League, including Yaroslav Askarov, Drake Batherson, Jordan Binnington, John Carlson, Brandt Clarke, Thatcher Demko, Lukas Dostal, Ryker Evans, Thomas Harley, Connor Hellebuyck, Joel Hofer, Tristan Jarry, Jordan Kyrou, Jonathan Marchessault, Jacob Markstrom, JT Miller, Brandon Montour, William Nylander, Kyle Palmieri, Mikko Rantanen, Dylan Strome, Tyler Toffoli, Linus Ullmark, Dustin Wolf again Mats Zuccarello.
Operating since 1936, the American Hockey League serves as the premier league for the development of players, coaches, managers, administrators, broadcasters and personnel for all 32 National Hockey League teams. About 90 percent of today’s NHL players graduated from the American Hockey League, and more than 100 members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent time in the AHL during their careers.
