The American Hockey League on Wednesday announced the 2025 AHL All-Star Rosters presented by FloHockey, with Grand Rapids Griffins forward Austin Watson serving as a representative at the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Spotlight 29 Casino, to be held Feb. 2-3 in Palm Desert, California. Austin Watson, a 13-year veteran, will also make his first AHL All-Star Classic appearance. The Ann Arbor, Michigan, native is tied for first on the roster with 25 points (9-16—25) in 31 games, while also tying for the team lead in assists (16) and power-play goals (4). Watson, who is in his first season as a Griffin, enjoyed a team-high four-game point streak from Dec. 1-8 (2-2—4) and has secured a point in 11 of his past 16 games (7-7—14). The 32-year-old tied his career-high for assists in a game with two on four separate occasions this year and tied his career-best mark of three points on Nov. 15, 2024, against the Chicago Wolves (1-2—3). Prior to this season, Watson had spent his entire AHL career with the Milwaukee Admirals (2010-11; 12-15; 16-17; 18-19) and compiled 132 points (73-59—132) in 234 outings. The 18th overall pick by the Nashville Predators in 2010 logged a career-high 46 points (22-24—46) in 2013-14 and a season later posted a career-best 26 goals. Watson has spent much of his career in the NHL with 118 points (60-58—118) in 518 regular-season appearances across 11 seasons since 2012-13. He has made stops with Nashville (2012-13; 15-20), the Ottawa Senators (2020-23), Tampa Bay Lightning (2023-24), and Detroit Red Wings (2024-25). Watson had his best NHL campaign in 2017-18 with the Predators when he registered a career-high 19 points (14-5—19) alongside a career-best 14 goals and 123 penalty minutes in 76 games. Watson has also added 19 points (10-9—19) in 45 Stanley Cup Playoff games, reaching the finals in 2017 with Nashville with nine points (4-5—9) in 22 outings.
