The Huntington Center is about to welcome a major event, as the Toledo Walleye are preparing to host the 2019 ECHL All-Star Game.
Home to the Walleye since its 2009 opening, downtown Toledo’s Huntington Center will host the ECHL All-Star Game on January 21. The game will cap a days-long series of events that begins Friday, and includes a Winter Brewfest at nearby Fifth Third Field–home to baseball’s Mud Hens (Class AAA; International League)–on Saturday and a Hall of Fame luncheon on Sunday.
As a city with a rich hockey history, Toledo has hosted a few major events over the years–including an outdoor game in 2014–but next week’s contest will mark its first ECHL All-Star Game. That makes this year’s event all the more noteworthy, especially since the Walleye and the Huntington Center have been points of success for the league over the years. More from Toledo Blade:
Former ECHL commissioner Brian McKenna, who will be inducted into the league’s hall of fame during this year’s festivities, said Toledo deserves to be hosting the event.
“It’s totally appropriate that the ECHL is holding its showcase event in Toledo,” McKenna said. “The town has such a great hockey tradition going back more than a half-century. It’s not just one game. It’s going to be an event. It will attract a ton of people. The Walleye have raised the bar in terms of the entertainment with the product and facility they play in. No one works harder in terms of looking for ways to raise the value of the product.”
[Walleye general manager Neil] Neukam said the weekend is the perfect way to celebrate the organization’s 10th anniversary. The main event will pit the hometown Walleye against the top players from the ECHL’s Eastern and Western conferences in a 3-on-3 tournament and skills competition.
“The whole weekend is going to be a lot of fun,” Neukam said. “I’m looking forward to all the above. The game itself is going to be a lot of fun.”
The All-Star Game will begin at 7:00 p.m. eastern, and will be televised on NHL Network.
