SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The American Hockey League on Friday selected the teams for the 2002 All-Star Classic, to be played Feb. 14 at Mile One Stadium in St. John's, Newfoundland.

The eighth annual All-Star Game pits the league's top players from Canada against the best players from the United States and Europe -- dubbed Planet USA.

John Slaney, a St. John's native and the Most Valuable Player of last year's game, was named captain of the Canadian team.

Slaney, who turns 30 on February 7, leads all AHL defensemen with 38 points this season. The Philadelphia Phantom captured the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL's top defenseman last season.

Others to watch on the Canadian squad are forward prospects Jonathan Cheechoo of Cleveland and Jason Chimera of Hamilton.

The 21-year-old Cheechoo, an All-Star last season and a member of the league's All-Rookie Team, is one of the San Jose Sharks' top prospects.

Chimera, who has appeared in three games with the parent Edmonton Oilers this season, is tied for fourth in the league with a plus-18 rating.

Saint John's Jim Playfair will be behind the bench for the Canadian team after leading the Flames to the Calder Cup championship last season.

Rich Brennan, who was dealt to the Manchester Monarchs from the Milwaukee Admirals last month, will captain the Planet USA squad.

With his selection, the 29-year-old former Boston University star will tie Fred Glover and Dunc Fisher as the only six-time AHL All-Star Game participants. In last season's contest, Brennan set an All-Star Game record by scoring two goals in a 17-second span.

The most prominent prospect on the Planet USA squad will be Rick DiPietro of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers -- the 20-year-old who in 2000 became the first goaltender to be selected first overall in the NHL draft when the New York Islanders picked him.

DiPietro, who appeared in 20 games for the Islanders last season, compiled an eight-game unbeaten streak earlier this season and is 9-10-4 with a 2.72 goals-against average.

Like Brennan, DiPietro honed his skills at Boston University,

Brian Swanson, a forward for the Hamilton Bulldogs, leads the league in scoring and will make his first All-Star appearance in his third AHL season.

Eric Boguniecki of Worcester and Kip Miller of Grand Rapids, who rank second and fourth, respectively, in scoring, round out the forward spots.

The club with the best points percentage on January 20 will send its coach to the Planet USA bench.

The starting lineups were selected by fans via the league's Web site. A committee of AHL coaches selected the remainder of the rosters.

Twenty-seven AHL clubs and 30 NHL affiliates will be represented.

Of the 238 players to participate in the AHL All-Star Classic since 1995, more than 90 percent have competed in the NHL, including Brian Boucher, Valeri Bure, Anson Carter, Pavol Demitra, Mike Dunham, Patrik Elias, Miikka Kiprusoff, Martin Lapointe, John Madden, Mattias Norstrom and Steve Sullivan.