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Ontario Reign

Samuel Fagemo and family enjoying a memorable experience at the AHL All-Star Classic

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As Samuel Fagemo prepares to represent the Ontario Reign in tonight’s AHL All-Star Classic, he has a lot to look forward to.

He’ll have his whole immediate family in attendance, with his parents and three brothers present in Palm Desert to take in the experience with him along with his girlfriend, and he’ll be in an arena where he’s scored eight goals over the past three seasons since Coachella Valley joined the American Hockey League for the 2022-23 campaign.

Fagemo opened up the event on Sunday evening with the All-Star Skills Competition and participated in the Hardest Shot, Accuracy Shooting and Breakaway Relay events.

His first shot clocked in at 98 miles per hour and a second attempt registered 95.2, placing him third in the event’s final results behind Charlotte’s Trevor Carrick, who was at the top of the leaderboard with a 100.9 MPH blast, and San Jose’s Andrew Poturalski (98.3).

Fagemo said prior to the event that it was the first time he’s ever had one of his shots timed.

In the next event, Accuracy Shooting, Fagemo was one of five skaters to hit all four targets in each corner of the net. He did so by using all eight of his attempts, which placed him in a tie for third place behind Springfield’s Dalibor Dvorsky and Lehigh Valley’s Olle Lycksell.

It was also the first time Fagemo has attempted the accuracy competition, but he mentioned that he believed his father had done it once when he played during his 14-year pro career that saw him suit up for teams in Sweden, Germany, Denmark, as well as for the CHL’s Arizona Sundogs in the now-defunct Central Hockey League.

Finally, his attempt in the Breakaway Relay was stopped by goaltender Dylan Garand of the Hartford Wolf Pack, who lunged to his left to make the save as Fagemo tried to patiently wait for an opening on a sweeping forehand bid.

Certainly a solid showing for the fifth-year forward, despite not being able to bring any hardware back with him to the Inland Empire.

“It’s been great to see the facility here in Coachella, it’s a perfect spot,” Fagemo said when he arrived to Palm Desert. “I’m super excited to have my family and my girlfriend here and be part of this fun event.”

Tonight, Fagemo and the Pacific Division will aim to win the league’s 3-on-3 tournament for the third consecutive season. Two years ago, Ontario forward TJ Tynan helped claim a victory at the event in Laval, before current LA Kings defender Brandt Clarke had a big role in last season’s title in San Jose.

Fagemo is someone who plays a lot during 3-on-3 overtime situations for Marco Sturm’s Ontario Reign team and has plenty of experience being on the ice during the crucial moments of the game. He’s looking forward to trying to showcase himself during the exhibition event.

“It’s going to be great,” Fagemo said. “That’s the most fun thing about OT is 3-on-3. Hopefully we’re going to score some goals.”

He’ll also have a familiar face behind him on the bench, as former Reign captain Brett Sutter, now an Assistant Coach with the Calgary Wranglers will be filling in as the bench boss for the Pacific Division squad.

It will be a different feeling for him, playing for a former teammate, but also great to have someone he knows well to experience the event with.

“It’s a special feeling,” Fagemo said. “My first two years here in the minors here with Ontario, he was the captain. He was a great leader for me, and I learned a lot from him. It’s for sure going to feel special to have him as a coach. I’m really looking forward to it.”

Tonight’s round-robin tournament gets underway at 6 p.m. inside Acrisure Arena, home of the Coachella Valley Firebrids. The event will be shown live to a national audience on NHL Network and the AHL’s streaming service, AHLTV on FloHockey.

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