The announcement was made this morning and there are two Utica Comets players who will be representing the team at this year’s AHL ALL-Star Game in Ontario California. Reid Boucher will be making his third straight trip to the big game, while rookie defender Brogan Rafferty will be making his first.

Boucher wrapped up 2019 with 20 goals and 20 assists, giving him 40 points to lead all AHL skaters when the calendar flipped. Rafferty, for his part, led all AHL defenders with his 30 points in 34 games. Brogan’s 30 points are also just one behind Chicago Wolves forward Lucas Elvenes for the AHL rookie lead.

Piling up points in the AHL is nothing new for Boucher, who became the Comets all-time goal-scoring leader earlier this year when he buried his 76th in a Comets jersey to take the lead from former Comet Darren Archibald.

Boucher has played in 130 games for the Comets over the last three seasons, putting up 76 goals, 72 assists, and 148 points for his efforts. He has also put in the work to round out a nice 200′ game at the AHL level where he has been a staple on the penalty kill for the team while also leading them on the scoreboard.

Rafferty, for his part, entered the AHL as a 24-year-old rookie defender and has adapted his game quite well. The Comets play a system that encourages their defenders to jump up into plays if they see an opportunity for offence and Rafferty has made a meal of that this season.

He has five goals and 25 helpers to give him 30 points on the season and has helped form one of the Comets’ most reliable defensive pairs with Guillaume Brisebois this year. He took on the role of power play quarterback on the Comets first unit after Olli Juolevi missed time with hip soreness and hasn’t looked back.

The Comets current record for points in a single season was set by Bobby Sanguinetti back in the 2014/15 season and at the time of this writing, Rafferty is on pace to obliterate that mark with 67 points. It remains to be seen if Rafferty will be able to keep up his torrid pace, but I for one will enjoy watching him try.