SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … NHL Coaches’ Association (NHLCA) program members Emily Ach, Chris Pascall, Dennis Ruppe and Karli Whitaker have been invited to participate in the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic presented by BMO, taking place Feb. 10-11 at the BMO Center in Rockford, Ill.
In 2023, the AHL launched an initiative to provide professionals from diverse backgrounds with an opportunity to work with, and be mentored by, various staffs in the locker rooms and on the benches at the AHL All-Star Classic.
Ach and Whitaker are members of the NHLCA Female Coaches Program. Ach, a former all-conference player at Augsburg University in Minnesota, is in her second season as an assistant coach with the women’s hockey team at St. Cloud State University following two seasons as an assistant at Mercyhurst University. Whitaker is currently head coach of the Freedom High School junior varsity team in Tampa, Fla., the first female coach in the Lightning High School Hockey League.
Pascall and Ruppe are members of the NHLCA BIPOC Coaches Program. Pascall is a video coach whose experience includes Trois-Rivières in the ECHL, McGill University and the Lac St-Louis Lions midget AAA program. Ruppe serves as the manager of hockey operations and a travel team coach for Hockey in New Jersey, a non-profit organization that provides underserved youth the opportunity to play hockey for free.
They will shadow All-Star coaches Ryan Mougenel, Pascal Vincent, Dan Watson and Mark Letestu throughout the event.
In operation since 1936, the American Hockey League serves as the top development league for the players, coaches, managers, executives, broadcasters and staff of all 32 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent time in the AHL in their careers.