Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Options Author
Here’s what that you must know because the American Hockey League will get set for opening evening.
GOING FOR THREE
The Hershey Bears have an opportunity to make much more historical past this season.
Coming off back-to-back championships, the Bears can grow to be the primary staff to win the Calder Cup three consecutive occasions because the Springfield Indians did so in 1960, 1961 and 1962. It’s been 109 days since Matt Strome’s extra time winner in opposition to Coachella Valley in Sport 6 of the Finals at Large Heart delivered Hershey its thirteenth title.
Logan Day, Ethen Frank, Vincent Iorio, Jake Massie, Aaron Ness, Hunter Shepard, Riley Sutter and Mike Vecchione had been all a part of the Bears’ back-to-back titles, and all are on Hershey’s roster to start the 2024-25 season. Dylan McIlrath, who captained the Bears to each championships, received a job with the Washington Capitals out of coaching camp. In the meantime Mike Sgarbossa, who was injured for a lot of the 2023 postseason and in Washington for the 2024 run, is again with the Bears.
Head coach Todd Nelson, who has received 5 Calder Cups in his profession as a participant (1994), an assistant coach (2008) and head coach (2017, 2023, 2024), will once more lead the Bears, who’re the primary staff to be in place for a championship three-peat since 2010-11, when Hershey once more was coming off a pair of Calder Cup victories. Rochester (1965, 1966), Nova Scotia (1976, 1977), Maine (1978, 1979) and Springfield (1990, 1991) have additionally fallen in need of a 3rd straight Cup because the Indians’ run within the early 1960’s.
The Bears start their 87th AHL season Saturday evening at residence in opposition to the Cleveland Monsters, the staff that they ousted in a seven-game battle within the Japanese Convention Finals in June. That recreation would be the Dwell on Social Saturday AHL Sport of the Week, streaming free on FloHockey’s Fb, X and YouTube accounts.
WOLVES, HURRICANES TOGETHER AGAIN
After one season aside, the Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Wolves are again collectively. The groups introduced a brand new three-year affiliation this previous Could, which means that each one 32 NHL groups once more have a sole AHL affiliate.
Final season the Wolves had been unaffiliated, the primary AHL staff to take action because the 1994-95 Worcester IceCats, whereas the Hurricanes scattered their high prospects throughout a number of AHL groups. Of their first stint collectively (2020-23), the Wolves went 106-54-11-10 (.644) – the most effective three-year document within the league over that span – and received the Calder Cup in 2022. Seth Jarvis, Jalen Chatfield, Pyotr Kochetkov and Stefan Noesen had been among the many gamers who frolicked in Chicago earlier than graduating to full-time NHL work.
Cam Abbott steps behind the Chicago bench as head coach after a profitable tenure with Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League. In 2021-22, his membership received the Champions Hockey League, and he was named SHL coach of the 12 months.
COACHING CHANGES
Together with the Wolves, eight groups could have a brand new head coach this season.
Two acquainted names are again behind AHL benches, as Pascal Vincent is the brand new head coach in Laval whereas Derek Laxdal takes over Coachella Valley. Vincent, who guided the Columbus Blue Jackets final season, received the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award because the AHL’s most excellent head coach in 2017-18 with Manitoba. Laxdal, a Calder Cup champion as a participant who led Texas to the Finals in 2018, takes over for Dan Bylsma after he and assistant coach Jessica Campbell earned promotions to the Seattle Kraken. Laxdal additionally went to the Ontario Hockey League finals final season with Oshawa.
Abbott, Mike Leone (Rochester), Steve Konowalchuk (Springfield), Kirk MacDonald (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton), Manny Malhotra (Abbotsford) and Grant Potulny (Hartford) are all first-time AHL head coaches. For the reason that finish of the 2022-23 season, 17 groups have had not less than one head-coaching change.
The longest-tenured AHL head coach with the identical group is Charlotte’s Geordie Kinnear, who’s again for his eighth season main the AHL prospects of the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
NHL PROMOTIONS
12 months after 12 months the AHL prepares and graduates expertise to the NHL, and this season is not any completely different.
In all, 594 AHL graduates made NHL opening-night rosters, good for than 83 p.c of the participant base. Ahead Logan Stankoven, final season’s AHL rookie of the 12 months with the Texas Stars, has moved as much as the Dallas Stars. Mavrik Bourque, the reigning AHL MVP and scoring champion, is predicted to affix him within the Dallas lineup when he returns from harm.
Stankoven, Brandt Clarke (Los Angeles), Simon Edvinsson (Detroit), Jiri Kulich (Buffalo) and Shane Wright (Seattle) had been all chosen to the 2023-24 AHL Prime Prospects Crew; all made NHL rosters out of coaching camp.
Hendrix Lapierre, essentially the most useful participant of the Calder Cup Playoffs, is with Washington. After scoring a league-leading 44 targets with Springfield, Adam Gaudette secured a job with the Ottawa Senators. Defensemen Jake Christiansen, a Second Crew AHL All-Star with Cleveland, and David Jiricek made the reduce with Columbus.
Already this season, eight AHL gamers have made their NHL debuts together with 2024 AHL All-Stars Joel Blomqvist (Pittsburgh) and Dennis Hildeby (Toronto); each received their first NHL begins on Thursday evening.
NEW FACES
The 2022 NHL Draft’s first-round class is closely represented because the AHL season opens.
Jiricek, Wright, and Simon Nemec (New Jersey) are already 2022 first-rounders who’ve moved as much as the NHL.
From that 2022 class, Rockford has defenseman Kevin Korchinski, who went seventh general to the Chicago Blackhawks and spent final season within the NHL. Ahead Frank Nazar, the thirteenth choice, is with the IceHogs after turning professional out of the College of Michigan. From the eighth spot, ahead Marco Kasper returns to Grand Rapids. Ninth choose Matthew Savoie is with Bakersfield after being a part of a Buffalo-Edmonton swap.
Cleveland could have one other high blueliner in Denton Mateychuk, who impressed in a short playoff stint final June after being named the Western Hockey League’s high defenseman. Columbus took him twelfth general two years in the past. In Abbotsford there may be the fifteenth choose, ahead Jonathan Lekkerimäki, who was the SHL’s rookie of the 12 months final season. Rochester will function ahead Noah Östlund from the sixteenth spot. Texas defenseman Lian Bichsel went 18th.
Milwaukee has returnees Joakim Kemell (seventeenth) and Reid Schaefer (thirty second) whereas Ivan Miroshnichenko already has a championship ring from final season with Hershey. San Diego’s Nathan Gaucher returns for his second professional season as does 2023-24 AHL All-Rookie ahead Brad Lambert (Manitoba). Among the many rookies, defensemen Maveric Lamoureux (Tucson), Owen Pickering (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) together with forwards Filip Mešár (Laval) and Filip Bystedt spherical out the 2022 first-round class.
PLAYER RETIREMENTS
Various long-time AHL names have hung up the skates. That group contains Gabriel Bourque (Laval), Steven Fogarty (Iowa), Michael Mersch (Rochester), and Brett Sutter (Calgary), who all have served as AHL captains. Sutter will stay with the Wranglers as he begins a brand new profession as an assistant coach. Chicago defenseman Matt Donovan additionally retired and has joined the rival Milwaukee Admirals as an assistant coach.
On the American Hockey League beat for twenty years, TheAHL.com options author Patrick Williams additionally at the moment covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a daily contributor on SiriusXM NHL Community Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his excellent protection of the league in 2016.
