Monsters Center T.J. Tynan Added to the AHL All-Star Classic

CLEVELAND – With previous All-Star selection Kerby Rychel currently called up by the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, Cleveland’s Lake Erie Monsters announced Tuesday that second-year center T.J. Tynan was added to the Central Division roster for the 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic, scheduled for Sunday, January 31st and Monday, February 1st at the Onondaga County War Memorial Arena in Syracuse, NY, home of the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch.

A 5’8”, 165 lb. right-handed native of Orland Park, IL, Tynan supplied three goals, 26 points and 28 penalty minutes in 43 appearances for the Monsters this season and currently leads Lake Erie in both assists (23) and overall scoring. Selected by Columbus in the third round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft with the 66th overall pick, Tynan posted 16 goals, 74 points and 78 penalty minutes in 121 career AHL appearances spanning parts of three seasons from 2014 to 2016 for the Monsters and Springfield Falcons.

Prior to his professional career, Tynan, 23, registered 54 goals, 161 points, 132 penalty minutes and a +24 rating in 164 NCAA appearances spanning four varsity seasons for the University of Notre Dame from 2010 to 2014. In one USHL season with the Des Moines Buccaneers in 2009-10, Tynan contributed 17 goals, 72 points and 55 penalty minutes in 60 games played.

The 2016 Toyota AHL All-Star Classic will include the AHL All-Star Skills Competition at 8:00 pm on Sunday, January 31st, followed by the AHL All-Star Challenge at 7:00 pm on Monday, February 1st. This year’s All-Star Challenge will feature an innovative new game format in which, in lieu of a traditional 60-minute game, the league’s All-Stars will be divided into four teams, one representing each of the AHL’s divisions (Atlantic, North, Central and Pacific).

The four teams will then compete in a round-robin tournament consisting of six nine-minute games with the first half of each game contested at four-on-four and the second-half played at three-on-three. The two teams with the best records at the conclusion of the round-robin will subsequently go head-to-head in a six-minute, three-on-three championship game.

Next up for the Monsters, it’s a Friday home tilt vs. the Texas Stars with full coverage underway from The Q at 7:00 pm.