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Heat news and notes: Brust picked for all-star game, Flames assign four to Abby

Quintin Laing will have company at the AHL all-star game.
Abbotsford Heat vs Toronto Marlies
Heat goalie Barry Brust

Quintin Laing will have company at the AHL all-star game.

Abbotsford Heat goalie Barry Brust was picked for the league's midseason showcase on Thursday, joining Laing, who was named captain of the Western Conference squad by AHL president David Andrews last month.

Brust leads the league in goals against average at 1.54, and his .944 save percentage ranks second to Robin Lehner of the Binghamton Senators. His signature accomplishment was breaking Johnny Bower's 55-year-old AHL record for longest shutout streak – he kept opponents off the scoreboard for 268 minutes and 17 seconds over the course of five games, erasing Bower's mark of 249:51.

The AHL All-Star Classic runs runs Jan. 27-28 in Providence, R.I.

HEAT GET FOUR FROM FLAMES

The Heat received reinforcements on Friday as the Calgary Flames finalized their roster going into the NHL regular season.

Forwards Ben Street and Paul Byron and defenceman Chris Breen were returned to Abbotsford, while blueliner Brett Carson was also sent down.

Carson is on a one-way NHL contract, but he was part of a deep group of defencemen at Flames training camp and wasn't able to stick. He suited up for 34 games last season with the Heat, posted two goals, six assists and a -10 rating.

Recent Heat players Sven Baertschi, Roman Horak, T.J. Brodie and Leland Irving did make the cut in Calgary. Irving, who struggled to get playing time in Abbotsford this season with Brust and Danny Taylor turning in consistently elite performances, beat out Henrik Karlsson for the backup goalie job behind Miikka Kiprusoff.

It's unclear at this point whether the Flames will send Karlsson to Abbotsford or assign him elsewhere, be it in the AHL or in Europe.

Steve McCarthy, who started this season with the Heat, was released from his professional tryout agreement by the Flames, but they continue to discuss options with the defenceman.

TRIO SENT TO UTAH

To make room for the new arrivals, the Heat sent Mitch Wahl, Adam Estoclet and David Eddy to the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL.

Wahl, who didn't register a point during his recent three-game stint with the Heat, has been selected for the ECHL's all-star game. He's posted 39 points (11 goals, 28 assists) in 30 games with the Grizzlies.