Springfield, Massachusetts …American Hockey League and Rockford IceHogs to welcome AHL and NHL alumni George Larlac and Andrew Ference Conduct community visits Conklin Academy Elementary School This is part of the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic presented by BMO in Rockford, Illinois.
The appearance follows last year's AHL-first partnership with the National Hockey League Player Inclusion Alliance, which aims to enhance the AHL's annual All-Star Community Appearance through the NHL PIC's player-led community engagement approach.
Several of this year's AHL All-Stars will join Laraque and Ference on Wednesday, February 11, to teach basic hockey skills to students in grades 5-7. The visit was in partnership with the YMCA of Rock River Valley, which recently received a $15,000 grant from the IceHogs Community Fund to support the launch of the NHL Street program at the Good Shepherd YMCA in Rockford later this year.
Laraque is a radio host, public speaker and NHL PIC member who played 13 seasons in the NHL and 144 games with the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs. Ference, currently the NHL's director of social impact and player programs, was an AHL All-Star in 2001 as a member of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and went on to play more than 900 games in the NHL and win a Stanley Cup championship in 2011 with the Boston Bruins.
The NHL Player Inclusion Alliance is comprised of current and former NHL players and women's professional hockey players dedicated to promoting inclusivity within and outside of hockey. League members serve as advisors, ambassadors and catalysts for the growing movement for inclusion in the hockey community. Since 2020, NHL PIC members have taken action to strengthen culture across the game by hosting community events, providing education, investing in grassroots projects and using their platforms to advocate for positive change.
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.
