- For the American Hockey League of the early 1930s, see American
Hockey Association (1926-42)
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America, that serves as the primary
developmental circuit for the National Hockey League (NHL). All 30 NHL teams have
either exclusive or joint affiliation agreements with one or more of the AHL's 29 active clubs.
The League offices are located in Springfield, Massachusetts. The AHL's
current president is David Andrews. Until the early 1990s, the headquarters were located in West Springfield, Massachusetts, along with charter member franchise, the
Springfield Indians.
The annual playoff champion is awarded the Calder Cup, named for Frank Calder, the first President (1917-1943) of the National
Hockey League. The defending 2006-07 champions are the Hamilton Bulldogs. This is the first Calder Cup in Bulldogs history.
Formation and growth of the AHL
Predecessor leagues (1926-1936)
The AHL traces its origins directly to two predecessor professional leagues: the Canadian-American Hockey League (aka "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, for the first time in its history it dropped after the 1935-36 season to
just four member cities: Springfield, Philadelphia, Providence and New Haven. At the same time the then rival International Hockey League lost half of its eight
members after the 1935-36 season leaving it as well with just four clubs located in Buffalo, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland.
A "circuit of mutual convenience" (1936-38)
With both leagues down to the barest minimum in membership needed to operate, the governors of each recognized the necessity
to take proactive steps to assure the long-term survival of their member clubs. To that end they all decided the logical solution
to their common problem was for the two leagues to play an interlocking schedule with each other. Styled as the
International-American Hockey League, the two older leagues' eight surviving clubs thus began joint play in November 1936,
as a new two division "circuit of mutual convenience" with the four Can-Am teams constituting the I-AHL East Division and the
IHL's quartet playing as the West Division. In addition, the IHL also contributed its former championship silver, 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 current seven-team East Division.)
A little more than a month into that first season, however, the balance and symmetry of the new combined circuit suffered an
early setback when its membership unexpectedly fell to seven as the West's Buffalo
Bisons were forced to cease operations on December 6, 1936, after playing just eleven games because of what proved to be insurmountable financial problems and lack of
access to a suitable arena. The makeshift new I-AHL thus played out the rest of its first season (as well as all of the next)
with just seven teams.
A modified three-round play-off format was devised and a new championship trophy, the Calder
Cup, was established which was awarded for the first time at the end of the 1936-37 season play-offs to the
Syracuse Stars who defeated the Philadelphia
Ramblers in the finals, three-games-to-one. Now second only to the Stanley Cup in
both age and prestige among North American hockey's championship awards, the Calder Cup continues on today as the AHL's play-off
trophy.
Formal consolidation of the I-AHL (June 28, 1938)
The Philadelphia RECORD, June 29, 1938
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 C-AHL which had also been operating as the combined league's
Eastern Division, was elected the I-AHL's first president. Former IHL president John Chick of Windsor, Ontario, and head of the I-AHL's Western Division, 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 EAHL
champion Hershey Bears.[1] (Almost seven decades later, Hershey remains the only one of these eight original
I-AHL/AHL cities to have been represented in the league without interruption since the 1938-39 season.) Beginning with 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 (1967-2001)
The AHL (as it was renamed after the 1939-40 season) 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 pro hockey began to rise precipitously with the frequent expansions of the NHL in 1967, 1970, 1972, and 1974, and
especially the advent in 1972 of the twelve-team World Hockey Association
(WHA), increased the number of major league teams competing for players 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 way 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 dropping the league from twelve clubs to just six. Making the AHL's
situation even bleaker as the 1977-78 season approached was the news that the Providence Reds—the last surviving uninterrupted
franchise from 1936-37—had decided to cease operations.
The AHL appeared in serious danger of folding altogether in another year or two if this dangerous downward trend were not
reversed. As these clouds appeared their darkest, however, two events in the Fall of 1977 helped reverse the trend and began the
league back to the great health it enjoys today. The first of these was the decision of the Philadelphia Flyers to return to the league as a team owner. 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 play-off titles in each of that club's first two seasons of operation. The folding of the NAHL
meanwhile left two of its member cities which wanted to continue to operate teams—Philadelphia and Binghamton, New York—suddenly without a
league to play in. Binghamton solved its problem by acquiring and moving the Reds' franchise from Providence and joined the league as the Binghamton
Dusters (aka Broome Dusters). The Philadelphia Firebirds acquired an
expansion franchise as did the new Hampton (VA) Gulls, to boost 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.) The league continued to grow
steadily over the years reaching 20 clubs by the 2000-01 season.
Major expansion through absorption of the IHL (2001-02)
In 2001-02 its membership jumped dramatically to 27 in 2001-02 mostly by absorbing six cities -- Milwaukee, Chicago, Houston, Salt Lake City (Utah), Winnipeg (Manitoba), and Grand Rapids -- from the
International Hockey League when that long time rival circuit
folded after fifty-six seasons of operation (1945-2001). Although the Utah Grizzlies
suspended operations after the 2004-05 season (the franchise was sold in 2006 and will return to
the ice in Cleveland in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters), the Chicago Wolves (2002),
Houston Aeros (2003), and Milwaukee Admirals
(2004) have each already won a Calder Cup playoff title since joining the AHL from the IHL.
Chicago and Milwaukee have also made second trips to the playoff finals before losing to the Philadelphia Phantoms (2005) and Hershey Bears (2006)
respectively.
Teams
2007-08 Teams
| Eastern Conference |
| Division |
Team |
Arena |
City/Area |
NHL Affiliate Team(s) |
Low Minor Affiliate Team(s) |
| Atlantic |
Hartford Wolf Pack |
Hartford Civic Center |
Hartford, CT |
New York Rangers |
Charlotte Checkers/Mississippi
RiverKings |
| Lowell Devils |
Tsongas Arena |
Lowell, MA |
New Jersey Devils |
Trenton Devils |
| Manchester Monarchs |
Verizon Wireless Arena |
Manchester, NH |
Los Angeles Kings |
Reading Royals |
| Portland Pirates |
Cumberland County Civic Center |
Portland, ME |
Anaheim Ducks |
Augusta Lynx |
| Providence Bruins |
Dunkin' Donuts Center |
Providence, RI |
Boston Bruins |
Johnstown Chiefs |
| Springfield Falcons |
MassMutual Center |
Springfield, MA |
Edmonton Oilers |
Stockton Thunder/Odessa Jackalopes |
| Worcester Sharks |
DCU Center |
Worcester, MA |
San Jose Sharks |
Fresno Falcons |
| East |
Albany River Rats |
Times Union Center |
Albany, NY |
Carolina Hurricanes |
Florida Everblades/Arizona Sundogs |
| Binghamton Senators |
Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena |
Binghamton, NY |
Ottawa Senators |
None |
| Bridgeport Sound Tigers |
Arena at Harbor Yard |
Bridgeport, CT |
New York Islanders |
Utah Grizzlies |
| Hershey Bears |
GIANT Center |
Hershey, PA |
Washington Capitals |
South Carolina Stingrays |
| Norfolk Admirals |
Norfolk Scope |
Norfolk, VA |
Tampa Bay Lightning |
Mississippi Sea Wolves |
| Philadelphia Phantoms |
Wachovia Spectrum |
Philadelphia, PA |
Philadelphia Flyers |
Wheeling Nailers |
| Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins |
Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza |
Wilkes-Barre, PA |
Pittsburgh Penguins |
Wheeling Nailers |
| Western Conference |
| Division |
Team |
Arena |
City/Area |
NHL Affiliate Team(s) |
Low Minor Affiliate Team(s) |
| North |
Grand Rapids Griffins |
Van Andel Arena |
Grand Rapids, MI |
Detroit Red Wings |
Muskegon Fury/Toledo Storm |
| Hamilton Bulldogs |
Copps Coliseum |
Hamilton, ON |
Montreal Canadiens |
Cincinnati Cyclones |
| Lake Erie Monsters |
Quicken Loans Arena |
Cleveland, OH |
Colorado Avalanche |
Johnstown Chiefs/Arizona Sundogs |
| Manitoba Moose |
MTS Centre |
Winnipeg, MB |
Vancouver Canucks |
Victoria Salmon Kings |
| Rochester Americans |
Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial |
Rochester, NY |
Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers |
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs |
| Syracuse Crunch |
War Memorial at Oncenter |
Syracuse, NY |
Columbus Blue Jackets |
Elmira Jackals/Youngstown
SteelHounds |
| Toronto Marlies |
Ricoh Coliseum |
Toronto, ON |
Toronto Maple Leafs |
Columbia Inferno |
| West |
Chicago Wolves |
Allstate Arena |
Rosemont, IL |
Atlanta Thrashers |
Gwinnett Gladiators |
| Houston Aeros |
Toyota Center |
Houston, TX |
Minnesota Wild |
Texas Wildcatters/Austin Ice Bats |
| Iowa Stars |
Wells Fargo Arena |
Des Moines, IA |
Dallas Stars |
Idaho Steelheads |
| Milwaukee Admirals |
Bradley Center |
Milwaukee, WI |
Nashville Predators |
Cincinnati Cyclones/New Mexico
Scorpions |
| Quad City Flames |
i wireless Center |
Moline, IL |
Calgary Flames |
Las Vegas Wranglers |
| Peoria Rivermen |
Carver Arena |
Peoria, IL |
St. Louis Blues |
Alaska Aces |
| Rockford IceHogs |
Rockford MetroCentre |
Rockford, IL |
Chicago Blackhawks |
Pensacola Ice Pilots |
| San Antonio Rampage |
AT&T Center |
San Antonio, TX |
Phoenix Coyotes |
Phoenix Roadrunners/Laredo Bucks |
Dormant teams
Timeline of teams
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.
| Date |
Arena |
City |
Winners |
Score |
Losers |
Score |
| January 28, 2008 |
Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena |
Binghamton, NY |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 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, NH |
PlanetUSA |
5 |
Canada |
4 (SO) |
| February 9, 2004 |
Van Andel Arena |
Grand Rapids, MI |
Canada |
9 |
PlanetUSA |
5 |
| February 3, 2003 |
Cumberland County Civic Center |
Portland, ME |
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, PA |
Canada |
11 |
PlanetUSA |
10 |
| January 17, 2000 |
Blue Cross Arena |
Rochester, NY |
Canada |
8 |
PlanetUSA |
3 |
| January 25, 1999 |
First Union Center |
Philadelphia, PA |
PlanetUSA |
5 |
Canada |
4 (OT/SO) |
| February 11, 1998 |
Onondaga War Memorial |
Syracuse, NY |
Canada |
11 |
PlanetUSA |
10 |
| January 16, 1997 |
Harbour Station |
Saint John, NB |
World |
3 |
Canada |
2 (OT/SO) |
| January 16, 1996 |
Hersheypark Arena |
Hershey, PA |
USA |
6 |
Canada |
5 |
| January 17, 1995 |
Providence Civic Center |
Providence, RI |
Canada |
6 |
USA |
4 |
|
| December 10, 1959 |
Eastern States Coliseum |
West Springfield, MA |
Springfield Indians |
8 |
AHL All-Stars |
3 |
| January 15, 1959 |
Hershey Sports Arena |
Hershey, PA |
Hershey Bears |
5 |
AHL All-Stars |
2 |
| October 6, 1957 |
Rochester Community War Memorial |
Rochester, NY |
AHL All-Stars |
5 |
Cleveland Barons |
2 |
| October 23, 1956 |
Rhode Island Auditorium |
Providence, RI |
Providence Reds |
4 |
AHL All-Stars |
0 |
| January 10, 1956 |
Duquesne Gardens |
Pittsburgh, PA |
AHL All-Stars |
4 |
Pittsburgh Hornets |
4 |
| October 27, 1954 |
Hershey Sports Arena |
Hershey, PA |
AHL All-Stars |
7 |
Cleveland Barons |
3 |
|
| February 3, 1942 |
Cleveland Arena |
Cleveland, OH |
East All-Stars |
5 |
West All-Stars |
4 |
AHL Hall of Fame
On January 6, 2006, the league announced the first inductees into the AHL's new Hall of Fame: Johnny Bower, Jack Butterfield, Jody Gage, Fred
Glover, Willie Marshall, Frank Mathers and
Eddie Shore.
Trophies and Awards
The following is a list of awards of the American Hockey League.
Individual Awards
Team Awards
† Trophy predates American Hockey League, established 1926-27 in the Canadian Professional Hockey League.
See also
External links