Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
The AHL’s 90th anniversary season starts tonight with an eight-game slate.
A league that opened play Nov. 7, 1936, with eight teams now features a 32-team membership that stretches from San Diego to Quebec. Let’s set up this anniversary season.
A NEW CHAMPION
The Abbotsford Canucks took over summer Calder Cup duties from the Hershey Bears.
After Hershey’s Calder Cup three-peat bid fell short, Abbotsford’s five-round charge through the postseason ended with them lifting the Calder Cup on a hot, humid night at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte. It was the first Calder Cup title for a Vancouver Canucks affiliate. Abbotsford’s first step toward a repeat bid starts Friday night on the road when they face the Henderson Silver Knights. Their home opener is Oct. 24 against the Ontario Reign.
Repeating as a Calder Cup champion has proven to be an extremely difficult task. Hershey’s titles in 2023 and 2024 along with championships in 2009 and 2010 are the only times that a team has done so since the Springfield Indians prevailed in 1990 and 1991.
STEPPING BEHIND THE BENCH
Just as with players, developing coaches is a crucial mandate for NHL organizations.
Todd Nelson’s double-championship tenure with Hershey earned him a role with the Pittsburgh Penguins as an assistant coach. Marco Sturm came back to Boston; the former Bruins player is that team’s new head coach following his stint with Ontario. Neil Graham’s coaching climb through the Dallas Stars organization now has him with the NHL club as an assistant coach. Aaron Schneekloth made the jump as well, going from the Colorado Eagles to the Seattle Kraken as an assistant coach, while Trent Cull (Calgary Wranglers) is now a full-time assistant coach with the Calgary Flames after serving part of last season in an interim capacity.
Greg Cronin (Iowa Wild), Derek King (Hershey), Mark Letestu (Colorado), Andrew Lord (Ontario), Jared Nightingale (Rockford IceHogs), Toby Petersen (Texas), John Snowden (Lehigh Valley Phantoms), Brett Sutter (Calgary) and Rocky Thompson (Bridgeport Islanders) all are taking over as head coaches. Ryan Parent, an interim head coach with the Utica Comets last season, now has the full-time tag.
TAKING THE NEXT STEP
First-round picks will again abound in the AHL, and the 2023 NHL Draft class is represented well. There is Tucson Roadrunners forward Daniil But, who went 12th overall that year; he goes 6-foot-6 and 232 pounds. The Manitoba Moose will have two first-round picks up front in Brayden Yager (14th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins and acquired via trade) and Colby Barlow (18th overall). Yager captained Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship last season. Right behind Barlow in that year’s first-round class was forward Oliver Moore, who is with Rockford. The Hartford Wolf Pack’s Gabe Perreault (22nd) enters the AHL as does Quentin Musty (26th) with the San Jose Barracuda. The blue line features Abbotsford’s Tom Willander (11th overall). He joins Tanner Molendyk (24th) of the Milwaukee Admirals and Springfield Thunderbirds first-year addition Theo Lindstein (28th).
Several 2023 first-rounders already got a head start last season in the AHL and are back for more seasoning. They are Dalibor Dvorský (Springfield), David Edstrom (Milwaukee), Sam Honzek (Calgary), Bradly Nadeau (Chicago Wolves), and Eduard Šalé (Coachella Valley Firebirds).
SAYING GOODBYE
Several long-time AHL names brought their playing careers to a close this offseason.
Three captains from last season are among that group – Zac Dalpe (Charlotte Checkers), Gabriel Dumont (Syracuse Crunch) and Stefan Matteau (Cleveland Monsters). Dalpe has since joined the Seattle organization as a player development consultant while Matteau will remain in Cleveland as a Monsters assistant coach. Kyle Clifford wrapped up his playing career with the Toronto Marlies last season and will stay with the Toronto Maple Leafs in a development capacity. Anthony Angello (Syracuse), Aaron Dell (San Jose), Joe Gambardella (Utica) and Garrett Roe (Hershey) also have played their final games.
On the American Hockey League beat for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.