Hershey Bears net minder Vitek Vanecek named AHL All-Star
The Hershey Bears will have one representative going to the AHL All Star classic this season. That rep will be the 1A/1B goaltender for Hershey Vitek Vanecek. This season Vitek has been over shadowed by the rookie “phenom” Ilya Samsonov. However Samsonov’s season has been quite the roller coaster to start. Sammy has a 5-10 record in 15 games so far this season. To go with that poor record so far Samsonov has a 3.88 goals against average, and an .863 save percentage. Because of the lack of progress, and the struggle he has had between the pipes for the Bears, Vitek has taken the 1A roll for Hershey. Vitek has play 16 games for the Bears, and has collected an assist, with a shut out, and a 2.55 goals against average. The .909 save percentage however has been the number to watch for Vitek. He has been a real bright spot on a team that has had a rocky start to the season. If the Bears are going to succeed going forward, Vanecek will need to continue his hot streak and build on his 7-7-2 record.
Hershey Bears media release from HersheyBears.com:
01/03/2019 – The American Hockey League announced today that goaltender Vitek Vanecek of the Hershey Bears has been selected to play for the Atlantic Division in the 2019 Lexus AHL All-Star Classic presented by MGM Springfield on Jan. 27-28 in Springfield, Massachusetts. This marks Vanecek’s first All-Star Classic selection.
Vanecek, 22, ranks eighth in the AHL with a 2.55 goals against average this season. He has collected a 7-7-2 record this year, posting a .909 save percentage and one shutout. The native of Havlickuv Brod, Czech Republic has allowed two or less goals in nine of his 16 starts this year. He posted a career-high 40 saves in Hershey’s win at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Oct. 17, and was named the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 21. In that span, Vanecek posted a 2-0-1 record with a 1.62 goals against average and a .949 save percentage on the week, stopping 94 of 99 shots in three road starts.
Vanecek was selected in the second round, 39th overall, by the Washington Capitals in the 2014 NHL Draft. After posting a 2.03 goals against average and landing on the ECHL All-Rookie Team with the South Carolina Stingrays in 2015-16, Vanecek collected a win in his first AHL start for the Bears on Apr. 17, 2016, beating Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 2-1, in a shootout. He joined the Bears full-time for the 2016-17 campaign, and in total, has appeared in 88 career games with Hershey, going 38-30-11 with a 2.70 goals against average, .902 save percentage, and eight shutouts.
The 2019 Lexus AHL All-Star Classic presented by MGM Springfield will include the AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Sunday, Jan. 27, followed by the AHL Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony on Monday, Jan. 28, with the 2019 AHL All-Star Challenge taking place that evening. The All-Star Challenge consists of a round-robin, 3-on-3 tournament pitting the four AHL divisions against one another.
