American Hockey League

American Hockey League

Current season, competition or edition: 2014–15 AHL season
American Hockey League logo
Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	1936 (IHL/C-AHL Interlocking schedules); 1938 (IHL/C-AHL formally merged)
President	David Andrews
No. of teams	30
Countries	United States (27 teams) Canada (3 teams)
Most recent champion(s)	Texas Stars
Most titles	Hershey Bears (11)
TV partner(s)	Canada (English): Sportsnet/Sportsnet One Canada (French): TVA Sports Europe: Premier Sports United States: NHL Network
Official website	www.theahl.com

The alternate logo of the AHL.

The American Hockey League (AHL) is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the league has an affiliation agreement with an NHL team; in the past, one or two NHL teams would not have an AHL affiliate and so assigned players to AHL teams affiliated with other NHL teams. Twenty-seven AHL teams are located in the United States and the remaining three are in Canada. The league offices are located in Springfield, Massachusetts, and its current president is David Andrews.

The annual playoff champion is awarded the Calder Cup, named for Frank Calder, the first President (1914–1943) of the NHL. The current champions are the Texas Stars.

History

Predecessor leagues

The AHL traces its origins directly to two predecessor professional leagues: the Canadian-American Hockey League (the "Can-Am" League), founded in 1926, and the first International Hockey League, established in 1929. Although the Can-Am League never operated with more than six teams, after the 1935–36 season it reduced down to just four member clubs – Springfield, Philadelphia, Providence, and New Haven – for the first time in its history. At the same time, the then-rival International Hockey League lost half of its eight members after the 1935–36 season, also leaving it with just four member teams: Buffalo, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland.

1936–38

With both leagues down to the bare minimum in membership, the governors of each recognized the need for action to assure their member clubs' long-term survival. Their solution was to play an interlocking schedule. Styled as the International-American Hockey League, the two older leagues' eight surviving clubs began joint play in November 1936 as a new two-division "circuit of mutual convenience" with the four Can-Am teams comprising the I-AHL East Division and the IHL quartet playing as the West Division. The IHL also contributed its former championship trophy, the F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy, which would go to the regular-season winners of the West Division in the new I-AHL until 1952. The Oke Trophy is now awarded to the regular-season winners of the AHL's Northeast Division.

A little more than a month into that first season, the balance and symmetry of the new combined circuit suffered a setback when its membership unexpectedly fell to seven teams. The West's Buffalo Bisons were forced to cease operations on December 6, 1936, after playing just 11 games, because of what proved to be insurmountable financial problems and lack of access to a suitable arena; the Bisons' original arena, Peace Bridge Arena, had collapsed the previous season. (A new Buffalo Bisons would return in 1940 after a new arena was constructed for them.) The makeshift new I-AHL played out the rest of its first season (as well as all of the next) with just seven teams.

At the end of the 1936-37 season, a modified three-round playoff format was devised and a new championship trophy, the Calder Cup, was established. The Syracuse Stars defeated the Philadelphia Ramblers in the finals, three-games-to-one, to win the first-ever Calder Cup championship. The Calder Cup continues on today as the AHL's playoff championship trophy.

Formal consolidation of the I-AHL

After two seasons of interlocking play, the governors of the two leagues' seven active teams met in New York City on June 28, 1938, and agreed that it was time to formally consolidate. Maurice Podoloff of New Haven, the former head of the Can-Am League, was elected the I-AHL's first president. The former IHL president, John Chick of Windsor, Ontario, became vice-president in charge of officials.

The new I-AHL also added an eighth franchise at the 1938 meeting to fill the void in its membership left by the loss of Buffalo two years earlier with the admission of the then two-time defending Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL) champion Hershey Bears. The Bears remain the only one of these eight original I-AHL/AHL franchises to have been represented in the league without interruption since the 1938–39 season. The newly merged circuit also increased its regular-season schedule for each team by six games from 48 to 54.

Contraction, resurrection, and expansion

After the 1939-40 season the I-AHL renamed itself the American Hockey League. It generally enjoyed both consistent success on the ice and relative financial stability over its first three decades of operation. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, however, the cost of doing business in professional ice hockey began to rise sharply with NHL expansion and relocation (a process which involved the placing of teams in Pittsburgh and Buffalo, forcing long-time AHL clubs Pittsburgh Hornets and Buffalo Bisons to fold) and especially the 1972 formation of the World Hockey Association (WHA), which forced the relocation and subsequent folding of the Cleveland Barons, Baltimore Clippers and Quebec Aces. The number of major-league teams competing for players rose from six to thirty in just seven years. Player salaries at all levels shot up dramatically with the increased demand and competition for their services.

To help compensate for this increased expense, many NHL clubs cut back on the number of players they kept under contract for development, and players under AHL contracts could now also demand much higher paychecks to remain with their clubs. As a result, within a period of just three years from 1974 to 1977, half of the AHL's teams folded, paring the league down to just six teams from twelve. The league bottomed out on the eve of the 1977–78 season with news that the Providence Reds – the last surviving uninterrupted franchise from 1936–37 – had decided to cease operations after 51 years in Rhode Island.

The AHL appeared in serious danger of folding altogether if this downward trend was not reversed. However, two events in the fall of 1977 helped reverse the trend. The first of these was the decision of the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers to return to the league as a team owner, and the second was the unexpected collapse of the North American Hockey League just weeks before the start of the 1977–78 season.

The Flyers' new AHL franchise became the immediately successful Maine Mariners, which brought the new AHL city of Portland, Maine both the regular-season and Calder Cup playoff titles in each of that club's first two seasons of operation. The folding of the NAHL, meanwhile, suddenly left two of its stronger teams, the Philadelphia Firebirds and Binghamton, New York-based Broome Dusters, without a league to play in. The owners of the Dusters solved their problem by buying the Reds franchise and moving it to Binghamton as the Binghamton Dusters, while the Firebirds crossed over to the AHL from the NAHL. The Dusters and Firebirds, together with the Hampton Gulls (who had joined the league from the Southern Hockey League), boosted the AHL to nine member clubs as the 1977–78 season opened. Hampton folded on February 10, 1978, but was replaced the next year by the New Brunswick Hawks. With franchise stability improving after the demise of the WHA in 1979, the league continued to grow steadily over the years, reaching 20 clubs by the 2000–01 season.

Absorption of the IHL

In 2001–02, the AHL's membership jumped dramatically to 27 teams, mostly by the absorption of teams in six cities – Milwaukee, Chicago, Houston, Salt Lake City, Utah, Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Grand Rapids – from the International Hockey League. The IHL had established itself as the second top-level minor league circuit in North America, but had folded in 2001 due to financial problems. One oddity caused by the AHL's 2001 expansion was that the league had two teams with the same nickname: the Milwaukee Admirals and the Norfolk Admirals. The latter team transferred to the league from the mid-level ECHL in 2000. This situation lasted until the end of the 2014-2015 season when the Norfolk team moved to San Diego and was replaced by another ECHL team with the same name.

The Utah Grizzlies suspended operations after the 2004–05 season (the franchise was sold in 2006 and returned to the ice in Cleveland in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters). The Chicago Wolves (2002, 2008), Houston Aeros (2003), Milwaukee Admirals (2004), and Grand Rapids Griffins (2013) have all won Calder Cup titles since joining the AHL from the IHL. Chicago and Milwaukee have also made multiple trips to the Calder Cup Finals, and Houston made their second Finals appearance in 2011.

The Manitoba Moose moved to St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador in 2011 and were renamed the St. John's IceCaps after the NHL's Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg as the second incarnation of the Winnipeg Jets. In 2013, Houston moved to Des Moines, Iowa to become the Iowa Wild. This left Chicago, Grand Rapids and Milwaukee as the only ex-IHL teams still in their original cities until the 2015 relocations when St. John's would return as the Manitoba Moose in Winnipeg.

2015 relocations

Seven franchises will move for the 2015-16 season, representing nearly a quarter of the 30-team league.

In January 2015, the AHL announced the formation of a new 'Pacific Division', to be composed of existing AHL franchises relocated to California. The teams are all affiliates of teams in the NHL's Pacific Division.

• The Adirondack Flames, affiliate of the Calgary Flames, will relocate to Stockton to become the Stockton Heat. The ECHL Stockton Thunder will relocate to Glens Falls, New York, to become the ECHL Adirondack Thunder.
• The Manchester Monarchs, affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings, will relocate to Ontario, California, to become the AHL Ontario Reign. The ECHL Ontario Reign will relocate to Manchester, New Hampshire, to become the ECHL Manchester Monarchs.
• The Norfolk Admirals, affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks, will relocate to San Diego to become the San Diego Gulls.
• The Edmonton Oilers' AHL franchise will relocate to Bakersfield to become the AHL Bakersfield Condors, after the Oklahoma City Barons team folds at the end of the 2014-15 season. The ECHL Bakersfield Condors will relocate to Norfolk, Virginia, and become the ECHL Norfolk Admirals.
• The Worcester Sharks, affiliate of the San Jose Sharks, will relocate to San Jose to become the San Jose Barracuda.

In March 2015, the AHL announced more relocations, this time in Canada.

• The current St. John's IceCaps franchise, affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets, will relocate to Winnipeg and become the Manitoba Moose, where it played from 1996 to 2011 using the same name.
• The Hamilton Bulldogs, affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens, will relocate to St. John's, Newfoundland, and become a new iteration of the IceCaps. The name will be kept but the color scheme is expected to change to reflect the one of the Canadiens. However, the team is expected to move again after the 2016-17 season to a new arena in Montreal's suburb of Laval.

Teams

Current

* Relocating at end of season to the AHL's new Pacific Division.

** Relocating at the end of the season to Winnipeg, MB.

*** Relocating at the end of the season to St. John's, NL.

Timeline

AHL teams of the past and present

• Buffalo Bisons (1936; folded)
• Cleveland Falcons (1936–37; renamed the Cleveland Barons)
• New Haven Eagles (1936–43; folded during World War II resurrected 1945)
• Philadelphia Ramblers (1936–41, renamed Philadelphia Rockets)
• Pittsburgh Hornets (1936–56; went on hiatus to wait for new arena, returned 1961)
• Providence Reds (1936–76; renamed Rhode Island Reds)
• Springfield Indians (1936–42; suspended during World War II; returned 1946)
• Syracuse Stars (1936–40; became Buffalo Bisons)
• Cleveland Barons (1937–1973; became Jacksonville Barons)
• Hershey Bears (1938–present)
• Indianapolis Capitals (1939–52; folded)
• Buffalo Bisons (1940–70; folded)
• Philadelphia Rockets (1941–42) folded
• Washington Lions (1941–43; folded)
• St. Louis Flyers (1944–53; folded)
• New Haven Eagles (1945–46, renamed New Haven Ramblers)
• Springfield Indians (1946–51; became Syracuse Warriors)
• Philadelphia Rockets (1946–49; folded)
• New Haven Ramblers (1946–50, renamed New Haven Eagles)
• Washington Lions (1947–49; became Cincinnati Mohawks)
• Cincinnati Mohawks (1949–52; transferred to IHL)
• New Haven Eagles (1950–51, folded)
• Syracuse Warriors (1951–54; became Springfield Indians)
• Springfield Indians (1954–67; renamed Springfield Kings)
• Rochester Americans (1956–present)
• Quebec Aces (1959–71; became Richmond Robins)
• Pittsburgh Hornets (1961–67; folded)
• Baltimore Clippers (1962–76; folded)
• Springfield Kings (1967–74; renamed Springfield Indians)
• Montreal Voyageurs (1969–71; became Nova Scotia Voyageurs)
• Nova Scotia Voyageurs (1971–84; became Sherbrooke Canadiens)
• Boston Braves (1971–74; suspended, became Moncton Hawks)
• Cincinnati Swords (1971–74; folded)
• Richmond Robins (1971–76; folded)
• Tidewater Wings (1971–72; played in Norfolk; renamed Virginia Wings)
• Virginia Wings (1972–75; played in Norfolk; became Adirondack Red Wings)
• Jacksonville Barons (1973–74; folded, franchise purchased and became Syracuse Eagles)
• New Haven Nighthawks (1972–92; became New Haven Senators)
• Springfield Indians (1974–94; became Worcester IceCats)
• Syracuse Eagles (1974–75; folded)
• Rhode Island Reds (1976–77; became Binghamton Dusters)
• Hampton Gulls (1977–78; folded midseason)
• Binghamton Dusters (1977–80; renamed Binghamton Whalers)
• Maine Mariners (1977–92; original franchise became Utica Devils; expansion franchise became Providence Bruins)
• Philadelphia Firebirds (1977–79; became Syracuse Firebirds)
• New Brunswick Hawks (1978–82; became St. Catharines Saints)
• Adirondack Red Wings (1979–99; folded)
• Syracuse Firebirds (1979–80; folded)
• Binghamton Whalers (1980–90; renamed Binghamton Rangers)
• Erie Blades (1981–82; merged into Baltimore Skipjacks)
• Fredericton Express (1981–88; became Halifax Citadels)
• Baltimore Skipjacks (1982–93; became Portland Pirates)
• Moncton Alpines (1982–84; renamed Moncton Golden Flames)
• Sherbrooke Jets (1982–84; folded)
• St. Catharines Saints (1982–86; became Newmarket Saints)
• Nova Scotia Oilers (1984–88; became Cape Breton Oilers)
• Sherbrooke Canadiens (1984–90; became Fredericton Canadiens)
• Moncton Golden Flames (1984–87; folded)
• Newmarket Saints (1986–91; became St. John's Maple Leafs)
• Moncton Hawks (1987–94; folded)
• Utica Devils (1987–93; became Saint John Flames)
• Cape Breton Oilers (1988–96; became Hamilton Bulldogs)
• Halifax Citadels (1988–93; became Cornwall Aces)
• Binghamton Rangers (1990–97; became Hartford Wolf Pack)
• Capital District Islanders (1990–93; became Albany River Rats)
• Fredericton Canadiens (1990–99; became Quebec Citadelles)
• St. John's Maple Leafs (1991–2005; became Toronto Marlies)
• Providence Bruins (1992–present)
• Hamilton Canucks (1992–94; became Syracuse Crunch)
• New Haven Senators (1992–93; became Prince Edward Island Senators)
• Albany River Rats (1993–2010; became Charlotte Checkers)
• Portland Pirates (1993–present)
• Prince Edward Island Senators (1993–96; became Binghamton Senators)
• Saint John Flames (1993–2003; became Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights)
• Cornwall Aces (1993–96; became Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins)
• Springfield Falcons (1994–present)
• Syracuse Crunch (1994–present)
• Worcester IceCats (1994–2005; became Peoria Rivermen)
• Baltimore Bandits (1995–97; became Cincinnati Mighty Ducks)
• Carolina Monarchs (1995–97; became Beast of New Haven)
• Philadelphia Phantoms (1996–2009; became Adirondack Phantoms)
• Hamilton Bulldogs (1996–2015; will become the St. John's IceCaps in 2015)
• Kentucky Thoroughblades (1996–2001; became Cleveland Barons)
• Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (1997–2005; became Rockford IceHogs)
• Beast of New Haven (1997–99; folded)
• Hartford Wolf Pack (1997–2010; became Connecticut Whale, 2013–present)
• Lowell Lock Monsters (1998–2006; became Lowell Devils)
• Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (1999–present)
• Louisville Panthers (1999–2001; became Iowa Stars)
• Quebec Citadelles (1999–2002; merged with Hamilton Bulldogs)
• Norfolk Admirals (2000–2015; will become the San Diego Gulls)
• Bridgeport Sound Tigers (2001–present)
• Chicago Wolves (2001–present)
• Grand Rapids Griffins (2001–present)
• Houston Aeros (2001–2013; became Iowa Wild)
• Manchester Monarchs (2001-2015; will become the Ontario Reign)
• Milwaukee Admirals (2001–present)
• Cleveland Barons (2001–06; became Worcester Sharks)
• Manitoba Moose (2001–11, 2015–; were the St. John's IceCaps from 2011–2015)
• Utah Grizzlies (2001–05; became Lake Erie Monsters)
• Binghamton Senators (2002–present)
• San Antonio Rampage (2002–present)
• Toronto Roadrunners (2003–04; split from Hamilton Bulldogs, became Edmonton Road Runners)
• Edmonton Road Runners (2004–05; dormant 2005–2010, became Oklahoma City Barons)
• Iowa Stars (2005–08; became Iowa Chops)
• Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights (2005–07; became Quad City Flames)
• Peoria Rivermen (2005–13; became Utica Comets)
• Toronto Marlies (2005–present)
• Lowell Devils (2006–10; became Albany Devils)
• Worcester Sharks (2006–2015; will become the San Jose Barracuda)
• Lake Erie Monsters (2007–present)
• Quad City Flames (2007–09; became Abbotsford Heat)
• Rockford IceHogs (2007–present)
• Iowa Chops (2008–09; became Texas Stars)
• Adirondack Phantoms (2009–14; became Lehigh Valley Phantoms)
• Texas Stars (2009–present)
• Abbotsford Heat (2009–14; became Adirondack Flames)
• Albany Devils (2010–present)
• Charlotte Checkers (2010–present)
• Oklahoma City Barons (2010–2015; will become the Bakersfield Condors)
• Connecticut Whale (2010–13; reverted back to Hartford Wolf Pack)
• St. John's IceCaps (2011–present; original franchise will become the Manitoba Moose in 2015)
• Iowa Wild (2013–present)
• Utica Comets (2013–present)
• Adirondack Flames (2014–2015; will become the Stockton Heat)
• Lehigh Valley Phantoms (2014–present)
• Bakersfield Condors (2015-)
• Ontario Reign (2015-)
• San Diego Gulls (2015-)
• San Jose Barracuda (2015-)
• Stockton Heat (2015-)

AHL All-Star Game

The American Hockey League first held an All-Star Game in the 1941–42 season. The event was not played again until the 1954–55 season, and was then held annually until the 1959–60 season. In the 1994–95 season, the AHL revived the events again, and has been played every season since. The skills competition was first introduced for the 1995–96 season. The PlanetUSA team is made up of players born outside of Canada and the Canada team is made up of players born within Canada.

Date	Arena	City	Winners	Score	Losers	Score
January 26, 2015	Utica Memorial Auditorium	Utica, New York	West All-Stars	14	East All-Stars	12
February 12, 2014	Mile One Centre	St. John's, NL	AHL All-Stars	7	Färjestad BK	2
January 28, 2013	Dunkin' Donuts Center	Providence, Rhode Island	West All-Stars	7	East All-Stars	6
January 30, 2012	Boardwalk Hall	Atlantic City, New Jersey	West All-Stars	8	East All-Stars	7 (SO)
January 31, 2011	Giant Center	Hershey, Pennsylvania	East All-Stars	11	West All-Stars	8
January 19, 2010	Cumberland County Civic Center	Portland, Maine	Canada	10	PlanetUSA	9 (SO)
January 26, 2009	DCU Center	Worcester, Massachusetts	PlanetUSA	14	Canada	11
January 28, 2008	Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena	Binghamton, New York	Canada	9	PlanetUSA	8 (SO)
January 29, 2007	Ricoh Coliseum	Toronto, ON	PlanetUSA	7	Canada	6
February 1, 2006	MTS Centre	Winnipeg, MB	Canada	9	PlanetUSA	4
February 14, 2005	Verizon Wireless Arena	Manchester, New Hampshire	PlanetUSA	5	Canada	4 (SO)
February 9, 2004	Van Andel Arena	Grand Rapids, Michigan	Canada	9	PlanetUSA	5
February 3, 2003	Cumberland County Civic Center	Portland, Maine	Canada	10	PlanetUSA	7
February 14, 2002	Mile One Stadium	St. John's, NF	Canada	13	PlanetUSA	11
January 15, 2001	First Union Arena at Casey Plaza	Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania	Canada	11	PlanetUSA	10
January 17, 2000	Blue Cross Arena	Rochester, New York	Canada	8	PlanetUSA	3
January 25, 1999	First Union Center	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	PlanetUSA	5	Canada	4 (OT/SO)
February 11, 1998	Onondaga War Memorial	Syracuse, New York	Canada	11	PlanetUSA	10
January 16, 1997	Harbour Station	Saint John, NB	World	3	Canada	2 (OT/SO)
January 16, 1996	Hersheypark Arena	Hershey, Pennsylvania	USA	6	Canada	5
January 17, 1995	Providence Civic Center	Providence, Rhode Island	Canada	6	USA	4
December 10, 1959	Eastern States Coliseum	West Springfield, Massachusetts	Springfield Indians	8	AHL All-Stars	3
January 15, 1959	Hershey Sports Arena	Hershey, Pennsylvania	Hershey Bears	5	AHL All-Stars	2
October 6, 1957	Rochester Community War Memorial	Rochester, New York	AHL All-Stars	5	Cleveland Barons	2
October 23, 1956	Rhode Island Auditorium	Providence, Rhode Island	Providence Reds	4	AHL All-Stars	0
January 10, 1956	Duquesne Gardens	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	AHL All-Stars	4	Pittsburgh Hornets	4
October 27, 1954	Hershey Sports Arena	Hershey, Pennsylvania	AHL All-Stars	7	Cleveland Barons	3
February 3, 1942	Cleveland Arena	Cleveland, Ohio	East All-Stars	5	West All-Stars	4

AHL Outdoor Games

Main article: AHL Outdoor Classic

Since the 2009–10 season, at least one team in the AHL has hosted an outdoor ice hockey game each year. The Syracuse Crunch was the first organization to put on an outdoor game in the AHL on February 20, 2010, building a rink at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, New York, and packing a record 21,508 fans in for the Mirabito Outdoor Classic against the Binghamton Senators. The contest, which was also televised to an international audience on NHL Network, was won by the Crunch, 2-1.

The Connecticut Whale hosted the Whale Bowl—the AHL's second outdoor game—on February 19, 2011, as part of a 10-day Whalers Hockey Fest at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn. Attendance for Connecticut's game against the Providence Bruins was announced at 21,673, the largest in AHL history to that point. Providence won, 5-4, in a shootout.

On January 6, 2012, the largest crowd in AHL history saw the Adirondack Phantoms defeat the Hershey Bears, 4-3, in overtime before 45,653 fans at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the final event of the week-long activities associated with the 2012 NHL Winter Classic, which also included a game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers on Jan 2 and an alumni game between retired players (including eight honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame) of those two clubs on December 31, 2011. The contest was the third outdoor game in AHL history and it more than doubled the league's previous single-game attendance mark.

On January 21, 2012, the Steeltown Showdown between Ontario rivals the Toronto Marlies and Hamilton Bulldogs was held at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton, Ont., with the Marlies winning 7-2 in front of 20,565 fans, the largest crowd ever for an AHL game in Canada. The AHL game was preceded the previous night by a game between Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens alumni.

Two outdoor games were announced for the 2012-13 AHL season, but a meeting between the Grand Rapids Griffins and Toronto Marlies at Comerica Park in Detroit as part of the festivities surrounding the NHL Winter Classic was not held because of the cancellation of the NHL Winter Classic. On January 20, 2013, the Hershey Bears and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins met outdoors at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pa. The Penguins earned a 2-1 overtime victory in front of 17,311 fans.

The Rochester Americans hosted an outdoor game in 2013-14, the Frozen Frontier, which was held at Frontier Field in Rochester on December 13, 2013. The Americans took a 5-4 decision in a shootout against the Lake Erie Monsters before a standing-room crowd of 11,015 fans. A year after their originally scheduled date, the Griffins and Marlies played at Comerica Park on December 30, 2013, and Toronto prevailed in a shootout, 4-3, becoming the first AHL team ever with two outdoor wins. Attendance in Detroit was 20,337.

An AHL record crowd of 45,653 watched the Adirondack Phantoms defeat the Hershey Bears, 4-3 in OT, at the 2012 AHL Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

AHL Hall of Fame

The formation of an American Hockey League Hall of Fame was announced by the league on December 15, 2005, created to recognize, honor and celebrate individuals for their outstanding achievements and contributions specifically in the AHL.

On January 5, 2006, the league announced that Johnny Bower, Jack Butterfield, Jody Gage, Fred Glover, Willie Marshall, Frank Mathers and Eddie Shore had been selected as the inaugural class of inductees. They were formally inducted in a ceremony in Winnipeg, Manitoba on February 1, 2006.

Each year, a new class of inductees is enshrined during the AHL's All-Star Classic. Following the 2014 ceremony, the AHL Hall of Fame's membership stands at 38.

Trophies and awards

The following is a list of awards of the American Hockey League.

• AHL Hall of Fame
• hockeydb.com

Individual awards

• Les Cunningham Award - Most valuable player (1947–48)
• John B. Sollenberger Trophy - Top point scorer (1947–48)
• Willie Marshall Award - Top goal scorer (2003–04)
• Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award - Rookie of the year (1947–48)
• Eddie Shore Award - Defenceman of the year (1958–59)
• Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award - Best Goaltender (1983–84)
• Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award - Lowest Goals against average (1947–48)
• Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award - Coach of the year (1967–68)
• Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award - Sportsmanship / Perseverance (1977–78)
• Yanick Dupre Memorial Award - Community Service Award (1997–98)
• Jack A. Butterfield Trophy - MVP of the playoffs (1983–84)

Team awards

• Calder Cup - Playoffs champions (1936–37)
• Richard F. Canning Trophy - Eastern Conference playoff champions (1989–90)
• Robert W. Clarke Trophy - Western Conference playoff champions (1989–90)
• Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy - Regular season champions, League (1997–98)
• Frank Mathers Trophy - Regular Season champions, Eastern Conference (1995–96)
• Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy - Regular Season champions, Western Conference (2001–02)
• Emile Francis Trophy - Regular Season champions, Atlantic Division (2001–02)
• F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy - Regular Season champions, East Division (1936–37)^†
• Sam Pollock Trophy - Regular Season champions, North Division (1995–96)
• John D. Chick Trophy - Regular Season champions, West Division (1961–62)

^† Trophy predates American Hockey League, established 1926–27 in the Canadian Professional Hockey League.

Other awards

• James C. Hendy Memorial Award - Executive of the Year (1961–62)
• Thomas Ebright Memorial Award - Outstanding career contributions (1997–98)
• James H. Ellery Memorial Awards - Outstanding media coverage (1964–65)
• Ken McKenzie Award - Marketing Executive of the Year (1978–79)
• Michael Condon Memorial Award - Outstanding service, On-ice official (2001–02)
• President's Awards - two annual awards given out by the AHL. The first award is presented to an AHL organization and recognizes "excellence in all areas off the ice." The second is given to a player as recognition of outstanding accomplishments in that year (2008–09)

See also

• American Hockey Association (1926–1942)
• List of AHL seasons
• Minor league
• Professional Hockey Players' Association, the collective bargaining union for AHL players
• Sports league attendances

References

• Scott, Jon C. (2006). Hockey Night in Dixie: Minor Pro Hockey in the American South. Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd. pp. 137–201. ISBN 1-894974-21-2.

External links

• Official AHL website
• Historic standings and statistics - at Internet Hockey Database