Springfield, Massachusetts … NHL Coaches Association (NHLCA) Program Member Emily Aher, Chris Pascual, Dennis Rupp and Carly Whitaker has been invited to participate BMO presents 2026 AHL All-Star Classicwill be held February 10-11 at the BMO Center in Rockford, Illinois.
In 2023, the AHL launched an initiative to provide professionals from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to work with and receive mentorship from a variety of staff members in the AHL All-Star Classic locker room and on the bench.
Ach and Whitaker are members of the NHLCA Women's Coaching Program. Aher, a former all-conference player at Augsburg University in Minnesota, is in her second season as an assistant coach with the St. Cloud State University women's lacrosse team after two seasons as an assistant coach at Mercyhurst University. Whitaker is currently the head coach of the junior varsity team at Liberty High School in Tampa, Florida and is the first female coach in the Lightning High School Hockey League.
Pascall and Ruppe are members of the NHLCA BIPOC Coaching Program. Pascall is a video coach whose experience includes time with the ECHL in Trois-Rivières, McGill University and the Lac St-Louis Lions Midget AAA program. Lupe serves as the Hockey Operations Manager and travel team coach for New Jersey Hockey, a nonprofit organization that provides underserved youth the opportunity to play hockey for free.
They will follow the all-star coach Ryan Mognell, Pascal Vincent, Dan Watson and Mark Lightstu throughout the event.
The American Hockey League has been in operation since 1936 and is the top developmental league for the players, coaches, managers, executives, broadcasters and staff of all 32 National Hockey League teams. Today, nearly 90 percent of NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 100 honorary members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent their careers in the AHL.
