TRIO OF AMERKS NAMED TO AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE NORTH DIVISION ALL-STAR ROSTER
Rosén, Helenius, Jones to represent Rochester at 2026 AHL All-Star Classic in Rockford next month
Jan 15, 2026The American Hockey League announced today that Rochester Americans forwards Isak Rosén and Konsta Helenius along with defenseman Zac Jones have all been named to the North Division All-Star roster for the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic presented by BMO. The annual event will take place Feb. 10-11 at the newly renovated BMO Center in Rockford, Illinois, home of the Rockford IceHogs.
It marks the second straight year the Amerks, who will be represented by their top three scorers, will send a trio of players to the event. Rochester is also one of only five teams to have three players selected.
Rosén, who’s in his fourth season with the Amerks, earns his third straight All-Star Classic invitation. He currently leads the team with 15 goals and ranks third in points (26) despite appearing in only 21 games this season for Rochester. He’s also tied for fifth in the AHL with eight power-play goals. The highlight of this season for Rosén came between Oct. 22 and Jan. 13 when he amassed 18 points (11+7) over a career-best 13-game point streak, the second-longest in the AHL this season behind Laval’s Laurent Dauphin (16 games).
Even more impressively, Rosén, who was named the AHL’s Player of the Month for October, has recorded at least one point in 18 of his 21 appearances this season, never going more than back-to-back games without a point.
A native of Stockholm, Sweden, Rosén has also recorded eight points (3+5) in 28 career NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres, including seven points (3+4) in 13 games this season. He scored his first NHL goal in Buffalo’s 4-3 shootout win over Washington in his season debut back on Nov. 1 before providing all the offense in a 5-2 loss at Utah on Nov. 12 with his first multi-goal effort at the NHL level.
A first-round pick (14th overall) of the Sabres in 2021, Rosén has totaled 77 goals and 91 assists for 168 points in 215 career games with Rochester while also recording 16 points (11+5) in 27 Calder Cup Playoffs contests since the start of the 2022-23 campaign. Since making his pro debut, the Amerks boast a 42-1-2-0 record when Rosén has scored two or more goals in the same game.
Internationally, Rosén has represented Sweden on four occasions (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023), earning bronze medals at the 2021 IIHF U18 World Championship and the 2022 World Junior Championship.
On the heels of being named to the AHL Top Prospects Team following the 2024-25 campaign, Helenius picked up right where he left from a year ago, leading all Amerks forwards with 30 points (9+21) while appearing in all but one game for Rochester in 2025-26.
Helenius, who earns his first AHL All-Star selection, shows 20 points (5+15) over his last 20 contests since Nov. 14, including goals in four straight over that span. The second-year pro has also registered at least one shot on goal in all but three games this season and has scored the game-winning goal in four of Rochester's 19 victories.
As the youngest player in the AHL last season, Helenius tallied 14 goals and 21 assists for 35 points in 65 regular-season games for Rochester before chipping in three goals and three assists in eight contests during the Calder Cup Playoffs. He opened the postseason with a point in five straight games.
Over 99 career games with the Amerks, Helenius has totaled 65 points (23+42) while also adding six points (3+3) in eight playoff contests.
A native of Ylojarvi, Finland, Helenius helped his home country capture a silver medal at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, recording six assists in seven tournament games. He was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the first round (14th overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft.
The arrival of Jones has provided a significant boost to the Amerks blueline, but it's his offensive contributions that have made the most impact so far this season. Coming off a two-goal effort in last night’s 3-0 win over Syracuse, Jones has logged 24 points (5+19) since the start of November with all five of his goals over that span coming on home ice.
Jones, who earns his second AHL All-Star selection and first since 2023, is currently tied for lead the league lead with 29 assists and ranks second in scoring behind only Milwaukee's Ryan Ufko for points by a defenseman with 34 despite playing in four fewer games than Ufko. He and Ufko are also the only two AHL defensemen to lead their respective teams in scoring.
Jones also leads the AHL in power-play scoring with 22 points (1+21), notching all but eight of his career-high 29 assists on the man-advantage. Jones, who hasn't gone more than back-to-back games without a point since the start of the season, has recorded two or more assists on six occasions. Rochester is 6-3-0-0 when he records a multi-point game.
Jones, who’s only one point from tying his previous career-high from his 2021-22 rookie campaign with Hartford, is one of three Amerks to be producing at or above a point-per-game (1.17). Since making his pro debut with the New York Rangers during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, Jones has amassed 23 goals and 78 assists for 101 points across 137 games at the AHL level with Rochester and Hartford.
A native of Richmond, Virginia, Jones has also recorded 28 points (4+24) in 115 career NHL games for thew York Rangers after being selected in the third-round (68th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft.
Internationally, Jones has represented the United States on three occasions, most recently winning bronze at the 2021 IIHF World Championship in Latvia. He also helped the Americans to a sixth-place finish at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship and was a member of Team USA’s gold-medal winning team at the 2018 World Junior A Challenge.
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.
The two-day event begins on Tuesday, Feb. 10 with the 2026 AHL All-Star Skills Competition at 9:00 p.m. ET. In keeping with its traditional format, the All-Stars from the two Eastern Conference divisions will be squaring off against the All-Stars from the two Western Conference divisions in seven skills events, including hardest shot, fastest skater and accuracy shooting.
The 2026 AHL All-Star Challenge will then take place the evening of Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 9:00 p.m. ET. For the ninth straight year, instead of a traditional 60-minute game, the league’s All-Stars will be divided into four teams, one representing each of the league’s divisions (Atlantic, North, Central, Pacific). The teams will then play a round-robin tournament featuring six games of 10 minutes each played entirely at 3-on-3. The two teams with the best records at the end of the round-robin tournament will face-off for the championship, a six-minute game also played using the 3-on-3 format. Rosters for each team will be composed of 11 skaters and two goaltenders.
Ticket packages for the 2026 AHL All-Star Classic presented by BMO, which include admission to both the 2026 AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Tuesday, Feb. 10, and the 2026 AHL All-Star Challenge on Wednesday, Feb. 10, are available now by visiting www.icehogs.com/asc26.