The jokes and friendly banter flowed freely at the Toledo Walleye’s all-star draft on Sunday.

The organization hosted the event to determine the makeup of the Walleye teams that will participate in the ECHL All-Star Game that will be held at the Huntington Center next month.

The team’s fans selected veteran forwards A.J. Jenks and Shane Berschbach to be captains of the all-star team.

A stage was set up at center ice at the downtown arena where Jenks chose members of his “Fins” team and Berschbach picked the members of his “Hooks” team. The two Walleye teams will compete against the All-Star players from the ECHL’s Eastern and Western Conferences.

About 450 fans attended the draft as the captains filled out their rosters with the players making their way up on stage.

“Here’s a good way to make friends with your teammates,” Jenks said jokingly before making his first pick.

Berschbach, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, told the crowd after the draft that he was pleased with his selections.

“It looks like Gold to me. Go Hooks!,” Berschbach said. “A.J. is a competitive guy. I heard there is a little bonus for the team that wins.”

The Walleye also announced that two members of the Toledo Hockey Hall of Fame, former Goaldiggers forward Jim McCabe and former Storm forward Rick Judson, will serve as the honorary coaches of the Walleye all-star teams.

The All-Star Classic game will be held at the Huntington Center on Monday, Jan. 21.

Walleye general manager Neil Neukam told the crowd on Sunday that he expects the all-star event, which will include a skills competition, to be outstanding.

“In our league, other teams are amazed at the fan support we have here in Toledo,” Neukam said. “They’re all excited to come to Toledo. They hear about the enthusiasm and passion you have. I can’t wait for it.”

The all-star game format will consist of a 3-on-3 tournament with four teams competing for the top spot. The Walleye teams will face off against two teams featuring the league’s top players.

Six Walleye players also will represent the team in the ECHL skills competition that will take place between periods of the all-star game.

Matt Register and Jenks will compete in the hardest shot event, Greg Wolfe and T.J. Hensick will participate in the accuracy competition, while Tyler Spezia and Bryan Moore will compete in the fastest skater event.

Those six players were automatically selected to the Walleye all-star teams.

Register was the first player off the board in Sunday’s draft.

“The pressure is high. I hope I can live up to the expectations. But I like the squad so far,” Register said jokingly.

Wolfe, who was Berschbach’s second pick in the draft, also had some fun with the event.

“If I was in his shoes, I would do the exact same thing,” Wolfe said of his early selection.

When Berschbach selected Spezia before Moore, Berschbach joked about Moore’s penchant to pick up penalty minutes.

“I don’t want my team to be shorthanded the whole time. So I’ll take Spezia,” Berschbach said.

Goaltenders Pat Nagle and Kaden Fulcher were next off the board. The rookie Fulcher will play for Berschbach’s Hooks team. The veteran Nagle went to Jenks’ Fins team.

“At least I don’t have to face Jenksy in the shootout,” Nagle said.

Berschbach used some of the players’ nicknames during his selections, referring to forward Dan DeSalvo as “Silky Dan” and forward Marcus Crawford as “Crawfish.”

The players selected in the later rounds took it in stride. The final player picked, rookie Brett D’Andrea, earned a $50 Visa gift card.

“That makes it a little easier,” said D’Andrea, who has appeared in only one game for Toledo. “It’s not much of a surprise. I only played one game before I broke my hand. So I get it.”

The ECHL All-Star Game will be shown live on national television. The game is a culmination of the ECHL’s All-Star Weekend in downtown Toledo. The event, which also will feature youth and high school tournaments, kicks off on Friday, Jan. 18.

The newest classes of both the ECHL and Toledo hall of fames also will be inducted.

The members of the Fins team are Jenks, Hensick, Moore, Nagle, Charlie O’Connor, Kevin Tansey, Jordan Topping, Ryan Obuchowski, Samuel Thibault, Trevor Hamilton, Ben Storm, and D’Andrea.

The members of the Hooks team are Berschbach, Register, Wolfe, Spezia, Fulcher, DeSalvo, Crawford, Brenden Kotyk, Daniel Leavens, Kevin Lohan, Hunter Smith, and Trevor Yates.

Jenks said he believes his team will have the edge.

“I’m thrilled with our group. I think we have what it takes to go the distance,” he said.