SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that head coaches Ryan Mougenel of the Providence Bruins, Pascal Vincent of the Laval Rocket, Dan Watson of the Grand Rapids Griffins and Mark Letestu of the Colorado Eagles have clinched the honor of coaching at the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic presented by BMO, to be held February 10-11 in Rockford, Ill.
The Bruins, Rocket, Griffins and Eagles will all own the best record in their respective divisions as of the pre-determined deadline, the end of play on January 11.
Ryan Mougenel will guide the Atlantic Division All-Star team as Providence owns a record of 24-6-1-0 (49 points, .790), the best mark in the Eastern Conference. Mougenel is in his eighth season with the Bruins, including three (2018-21) as an assistant coach and the last five as head coach. He was previously an assistant with the Hershey Bears (2013-14), Worcester Sharks (2014-15) and San Jose Barracuda (2015-18), and also spent eight years coaching in the ECHL. This is Mougenel’s first selection to the AHL All-Star Classic.
A two-time winner of the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding coach (2017-18, 2024-25), Pascal Vincent will lead the North Division thanks to Laval’s record of 22-11-0-1 (45 pts., .662) so far in 2025-26. Vincent joined the Rocket last season from Columbus, where he had spent the 2023-24 season as head coach of the NHL’s Blue Jackets following two seasons as their associate coach. He previously spent 10 seasons in the Winnipeg Jets organization, including five years as head coach of the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, and will be making his second trip to the AHL All-Star Classic after having coached the Central Division in 2018.
Dan Watson heads to his second consecutive AHL All-Star Classic representing the Griffins, whose record-setting start to the 2025-26 season sees them with just two regulation losses through their first 33 games (29-2-1-1, 60 pts., .909). Watson’s club also leads the AHL in goals scored (3.76 per game), goals allowed (1.76 per game) and penalty-killing efficiency (87.5 percent). He is in his third season as head coach in Grand Rapids and his 17th season overall with the Detroit Red Wings organization, having worked in several capacities with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye from 2009 to 2023.
Rookie head coach Mark Letestu will guide the Pacific Division by virtue of his Colorado Eagles owning a 21-7-1-2 record (45 pts., .726). Letestu was named to the Eagles’ post on July 5, 2025, following four years as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Monsters, where he helped the club to a division title in 2023-24 and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals that spring. Letestu’s 13-year professional playing career included 567 games in the NHL and 255 contests in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Cleveland.
The 2026 AHL All-Star Classic presented by BMO includes the AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Tuesday, February 10, followed by the AHL Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, February 11 and the 2026 AHL All-Star Challenge that evening. The Skills Competition pits the All-Stars from the two Eastern Conference divisions against those from the two Western Conference divisions in seven skills events. The All-Star Challenge is a round-robin, 3-on-3 tournament among the four divisions to determine the All-Star champions. For ticket information, fans can visit icehogs.com/asc26.
The 2026 AHL All-Star Classic presented by BMO will feature the top young talent in the American Hockey League: since 1995, more than 94 percent of All-Star Classic participants have gone on to compete in the National Hockey League, including Yaroslav Askarov, Drake Batherson, Jordan Binnington, John Carlson, Brandt Clarke, Thatcher Demko, Lukas Dostal, Ryker Evans, Thomas Harley, Connor Hellebuyck, Joel Hofer, Tristan Jarry, Jordan Kyrou, Jonathan Marchessault, Jacob Markstrom, J.T. Miller, Brandon Montour, William Nylander, Kyle Palmieri, Mikko Rantanen, Dylan Strome, Tyler Toffoli, Linus Ullmark, Dustin Wolf and Mats Zuccarello.
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.