American Hockey League

American Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	1936
No. of teams	31
Country(ies)	United States Canada
Most recent champion(s)	Charlotte Checkers (1st title)
Official website	www.theahl.com

The American Hockey League (AHL) is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based primarily in the United States that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League (NHL). During the 2013-14 season, all of the 30 NHL teams have primary affiliation agreements with one of the AHL's active member clubs of which 26 are located in the United States and the remaining four 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 (1917–1943) of the NHL. The current champions are the Charlotte Checkers.

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 playoff 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)

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. (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—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.

Absorption IHL teams (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 (as Utah), Winnipeg (as Manitoba), and Grand Rapids—from the International Hockey League when that long time rival circuit folded after fifty-six seasons of operation (1945–2001). 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), and Milwaukee Admirals (2004) have each already won a Calder Cup playoff title since joining the AHL from the IHL. Chicago and Milwaukee have made multiple trips to the playoff finals since their inception into the league. One oddity caused by this expansion is that the league now has two teams with the same nickname: the Milwaukee Admirals and the Norfolk Admirals.

Major Realignment of franchises 2015-

The league will be realigned with a major western shift as the western teams in the NHL have wanted to have their affiliates closer to their city as some players could take upwards of a day to a day and a half of travel to join the NHL teams on an emergency basis.  Some of the western NHL teams have kept up to two extra players with the NHL team in case of an emergency; causing the team a disadvantage of having to count extra players against the salary cap and not keeping two top line AHL level players from getting valuable game play conditioning and experience.

The Oklahoma City Barons announced in December, 2014 that they would be ceasing operations at the end of the 2014-15 AHL Season, as the Edmonton Oilers purchased the Bakersfield Condors franchise of the ECHL and would be creating an AHL team.

On January 29, 2015, the league held a press conference in San Jose, California announcing the formation of the Pacific Division with teams being located in Bakersfield (Edmonton), Ontario (Los Angeles), San Diego (Anaheim), San Jose (San Jose), and Stockton (Calgary).

The teams on the move were the Norfolk Admirals (affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks), Manchester Monarchs (affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings), Worcester Sharks (affiliate of the San Jose Sharks),  Adirondack Flames (affiliate of the Calgary Flames) plus the previously mentioned Oklahoma City Barons (Edmonton Oilers).  Norfolk, Manchester, and Adirondack  became the ECHL affiliates of their NHL organization. Oklahoma City and Worcester may end up as either AHL or ECHL affiliates to some other organization.  Oklahoma City had also been mentioned as a candidate for an NHL team (either by relocation or expansion).  Worcester best possibility for a team could end up with them being the ECHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins as the Bruins have been part of a split affiliation (along with the Washington Capitals) with the South Carolina Stingrays.

On March 12,2015, the league's Board of Governors approved the purchase of the Hamilton Bulldogs franchise by the ownership of the Montreal Canadiens and 2 more franchise moves for the 2015-16 season.  The Winnipeg Jets have been involved with the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario in talks since early 2014 on the construction of a new arena to replace the city's aging Fort William Gardens.  The Jets were planning on moving their affiliation to Thunder Bay from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador when the arena opens (originally planned to be in either 2016 or 2017 however, the construction has not started and the Jets announced the move of their AHL affiliation to Winnipeg to share their home rink, the MTS Centre (where the team played as the Manitoba Moose (and will play again under that name) prior to the Jets relocation to Winnipeg from Atlanta.  The sale of the the Bulldogs opened up the possibility of the Jets move to Winnipeg as they could not break their lease at the Mile One Centre without having a replacement affiliation lined up and the lease in St. John's would be expiring about the same time that a new facility; (Place Bell) was scheduled to open in Laval, Quebec sometime in 2017 or 2018.  The new facility is to be run by the same people that run the Molson Centre in Montreal.  The former owner of the Hamilton Bulldogs purchased the Belleville Bulls franchise in the OHL and announced they would be moving to Hamilton to fill the void in the city taken the name Hamilton Bulldogs. 

The Portland Pirates, (affiliate of the Arizona Coyotes), Lake Erie Monsters (affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche),  and the Utica Comets (affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks) have also been mentioned as possibly being on the move over the next few years. The Colorado Avalanche are reported to be looking at relocating the team to the Denver Coliseum, which was home to the inactive Denver Cutthroats of the former Central Hockey League as well as possible some other locations in Colorado and possibly Salt Lake City, Utah. The Arizona Coyotes were reported to be looking at Prescott Valley, Arizona,  home of the inactive Arizona Sundogs also of the former Central Hockey League.  The Vancouver Canucks are also reported to be looking at nearby Abbotsford, British Columbia (the former home of the Abbotsford Heat of the AHL) Anchorage, Alaska (the current home of the ECHL's Alaska Aces) and Allen, Texas (the current home of the ECHL's Allen Americans) for their affiliate.

Four of the AHL teams had their affilations change for the 2015-16 season. The affilation of the Lake Erie Monsters changed from the Colorado Avalanche to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Portland Pirates are changing from the Arizona Coyotes to the Florida Panthers. The San Antonio Rampage are changing from Florda Panthers to the Colorado Avalanche. The Springfield Falcons are changing from the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Arizona Coyotes.

The ECHL is presently at 28 teams with affiliations with 29 of the 30 NHL teams (all but the New Jersey Devils for 2014-15) with many ECHL teams splitting affiliations with multiple NHL teams and some NHL teams affiliated with multiple ECHL teams  This practice has gradually been worked on being phased out.  This has lead to an expansion of the ECHL to 30 teams, which has stated it wanted to cap its membership at 30 teams. The ECHL has announced the addition of a team in Worcester, Massachusetts for 2017-18 to replace the departed AHL team to bring membership in that league up to 29 teams and an appllication has been filed to another expansion team (with 2017-18 start up dated planned) for Portland, Maine to replace their recently departed team.

The New York Islanders relocation to Brooklyn after their lease is up at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the end of the 2014-15 NHL season may also trigger another set of future moves.  The ownership of the coliseum chose the management group of the Barclays Center to conduct a study on the redevelopment of the arena and the surrounding area.  The plan is to have a minor league hockey team play out of the new facility when it is expect to open in 2018; most likely candidate would be the relocated Bridgeport Sound Tigers. However, the team has a lease with the of Bridgeport through 2021 to play at the Webster Bank Arena.  The lease could be sold to the New York Rangers who have their AHL franchise, the Hartford Wolf Pack, playing in the former home of the Hartford Whalers. The city of Hartford has had discussions on replacing the aging XL Center with a new state of the art arena in the hopes of landing another NHL franchise.  The XL Center location has been mentioned as the site for the new arena leaving the team without a home.

On April 19, 2016 the owner of the Springfield Falcons and the NHL's Arizona Coyotes announced an agreement in principle for the Coyotes ownership to acquire the Falcons franchise and to relocate the team to the Tucson Convention Center in Tucson, Arizona for the 2016-17 season and join the Pacific Division.  The move was pending league Board of Governors approval. Shortly (on May 4, 2016) after the Springfield Falcons were sold to the Arizona Coyotes and the Falcons were announced as moving to Tucson, Arizona, the Pirates organization was reported to be moving to Springfield, Massachusetts to replace the Falcons in the MassMutual Center.  Both moved were approved in April of 2016 by the AHL's Board of Governors.  The Springfield franchise would choose the name Springfield Thunderbirds as the team name on June 16th and the Tucson team would chose the name Tucson Roadrunners on June 18th.

When the NHL announced they would be adding the Las Vegas team for 2017-18, the AHL was put on notice that they will probably need to expand in short order.  The noted cities included Fresno, California, Reno, Nevada, Salt Lake City, Utah and even Las Vegas.  The Colorado Eagles of the ECHL would end up jumping up to the AHL to serve as the Golden Knights AHL affiliate

In the fall of 2016 the Ottawa Senators announced that they would be relocating their AHL affilate, the Binghamton Senators to Belleville, Ontario which lost its Ontario Hockey League team prior to the 2015-16 season.  As a result of that move the Albany Devils put in an application to relocate to Binghamton as the team was last in the league in attendance.

The St. Louis Blues were planning on moving their AHL affiliate to the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri for the 2017-18 season. This move may lead the Vegas Golden Knights to set up an affiliation with the Chicago Wolves for the 2017-18 season.

On June 26, 2019 th  Seattle NHL team would announce that it chose Palm Springs, California as the location for its' AHL affiliate starting with the 2021-22 season.  The team will be based out of a new arena to be built in the city.  The arena is to be built in a partnership between the Oak View Group (who are working on the renovation of the Key Arena in Seattle) and the Seattle team ownership.  Palm Springs was chosen over Boise, Idaho as the location for the team.

Future Teams

Timeline (List)

Team	Location	Arena	Tenure	Notes
Buffalo Bisons (IHL)	Fort Erie, Ontario	Peace Bridge Arena	1936-1936	fold when arena roof collapses and lack of an adequate substitute arena
Cleveland Falcons	Cleveland, Ohio	Elysium Arena	1936-1937	renamed Cleveland Barons (1937-73)
New Haven Eagles	New Haven, Connecticut	New Haven Arena	1936-1943	fold; return in 1945
Philadelphia Ramblers	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Philadelphia Arena	1936-1941	renamed Philadelphia Rockets
Pittsburgh Hornets	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Duquesne Gardens	1936-1956	went on hiatus waiting on new arena; return in 1961
Providence Reds	Providence, Rhode Island	Rhode Island Auditorium (1936-1972); Providence Civic Center (1972-1976)	1936-1976	renamed Rhode Island Reds
Springfield Indians	West Springfield, Massachusetts	Eastern States Coliseum	1936-1942	suspend operations due to arena being commandeered for war effort; return in 1946
Syracuse Stars	Syracuse, New York	State Fair Coliseum	1936-1940	relocated to Buffalo; renamed Buffalo Bisons (AHL)
Cleveland Barons (1937-73)	Cleveland, Ohio	Cleveland Arena	1936-1973	relocated to Jacksonville, Florida in February 1973; renamed Jacksonville Barons
Hershey Bears	Hershey, Pennsylvania	Hersheypark Arena (1938-2002); GIANT Center (2002-present)	1938-present
Indianapolis Capitals	Indianapolis, Indiana	Indiana State Fairground Coliseum	1939-1952	folded
Buffalo Bisons (AHL)	Buffalo, New York	The Aud	1940-1970	fold when city gets National Hockey League team
Philadelphia Rockets	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Philadelphia Arena	1941-1942	folded
Washington Lions	Washington, D.C.	Uline Arena	1941-1943	folded
St. Louis Flyers	St. Louis, Missouri	St. Louis Arena	1944-1953	folded
Springfield Indians	West Springfield, Massachusetts	Eastern States Coliseum	1946-1951	relocated to Syracuse, New York; renamed Syracuse Warriors
Philadelphia Rockets	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Philadelphia Arena	1946-1949	folded
New Haven Ramblers	New Haven, Connecticut	New Haven Arena	1946-1950	renamed New Haven Eagles
Washington Lions	Washington, D.C.	Uline Arena	1947-1950	moved to Cincinnati, Ohio rename Cincinnati Mohawks
Cincinnati Mohawks	Cincinnati, Ohio	Cincinnati Gardens	1949-1952	join International Hockey League (1945-2001)
New Haven Eagles	New Haven, Connecticut	New Haven Arena	1950-1951	folded
Syracuse Warriors	Syracuse, New York	Onondaga County War Memorial	1951-1954	moved back to West Springfield, Massachusetts; revert to Springfield Indians name
Springfield Indians	West Springfield, Massachusetts	Eastern States Coliseum	1954-1967	renamed Springfield Kings
Rochester Americans	Rochester, New York	Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial (known as Rochester Community War Memorial prior to 1998)	1956-present
Quebec Aces	Quebec City, Quebec	Colisee de Quebec	1959-1971	moved to Richmond, Virginia; renamed Richmond Robins
Pittsburgh Hornets	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh Civic Arena	1961-1967	fold when city gets National Hockey League team
Baltimore Clippers	Baltimore, Maryland	Baltimore Civic Center	1962-1976	folded
Springfield Kings	West Springfield, Massachusetts (1967-1972); Springfield, Massachusetts (1972-1974)	Eastern States Coliseum (1967-1972); Springfield Civic Center (1972-1974)	1967-1974	renamed Springfield Indians
Montreal Voyageurs	Montreal, Quebec	Montreal Forum	1969-1971	relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia; renamed Nova Scotia Voyageurs
Nova Scotia Voyageurs	Halifax, Nova Scotia	Halifax Forum (1971-1978); Halifax Metro Centre (1978-1984)	1971-1984	relocated to Sherbrooke, Quebec; renamed Sherbrooke Canadiens
Boston Braves	Boston, Massachusetts	Boston Garden	1971-1974	suspend operations; become New Brunswick Hawks in 1982
Cincinnati Swords	Cincinnati, Ohio	Cincinnati Gardens	1971-1974	folded
Richmond Robins	Richmond, Virginia	Richmond Coliseum	1971-1976	folded
Tidewater Wings	Norfolk, Virginia	Norfolk Scope	1971-1972	renamed Virginia Wings
Virginia Wings	Norfolk, Virginia	Norfolk Scope	1972-1975	relocated to Glens Falls, New York; renamed Adirondack Red Wings
Jacksonville Barons	Jacksonville, Florida	Jacksonville Coliseum	1973-1974	folded
New Haven Nighthawks	New Haven, Connecticut	New Haven Coliseum	1972-1992	renamed New Haven Senators
Springfield Indians	Springfield, Massachusetts	Springfield Civic Center	1974-1994	relocated to Worcester, Massachusetts; renamed Worcester Ice Cats
Syracuse Eagles	Syracuse, New York	Onondaga County War Memorial	1974-1975	folded
Rhode Island Reds	Providence, Rhode Island	Providence Civic Center	1976-1977	relocated to Binghamton, New York; renamed Binghamton Dusters
Hampton Gulls	Hampton, Virginia	Hampton Coliseum	1977-1978	folded
Binghamton Dusters	Binghamton, New York	Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena	1977-1980	renamed Binghamton Whalers
Maine Mariners	Portland, Maine	Cumberland County Civic Center	1977-1992	relocated to Providence, Rhode Island; renamed Providence Bruins
Philadelphia Firebirds	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Philadelphia Civic Center	1977-1979	relocated to Syracuse, New York; renamed Syracuse Firebirds
New Brunswick Hawks	Moncton, New Brunswick	Moncton Coliseum	1978-1982	renamed Moncton Alpines
Adirondack Red Wings	Glens Falls, New York	Glens Falls Civic Center	1979-1999	folded
Syracuse Firebirds	Syracuse, New York	Onondaga County War Memorial	1979-1980	folded
Binghamton Whalers	Binghamton, New York	Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena	1980-1990	renamed Binghamton Rangers
Erie Blades	Erie, Pennsylvania	Erie County Field House	1981-1982	merged into Baltimore Skipjacks
Fredericton Express	Fredericton, New Brunswick	Aitken Centre	1981-1988	relcoated to Halifax, Nova Scotia; renamed Halifax Citadels
Baltimore Skipjacks	Baltimore, Maryland	Baltimore Arena	1982-1993	relocated to Portland, Maine; renamed Portland Pirates
Moncton Alpines	Moncton, New Brunswick	Moncton Coliseum	1982-1984	renamed Moncton Golden Flames
Sherbrooke Jets	Sherbrooke, Quebec	Palais des Sports (Sherbrooke)	1982-1984	folded
St. Catharines Saints	St. Catharines, Ontario	Garden City Arena	1982-1986	relocated to Newmarket, Ontario; renamed Newmarket Saints
Nova Scotia Oilers	Halifax, Nova Scotia	Halifax Metro Centre	1984-1988	relocated to Sydney, Nova Scotia; renamed Cape Breton Oilers
Sherbrooke Canadiens	Sherbrooke, Quebec	Palais des Sports (Sherbrooke)	1984-1990	relocated to Fredericton, New Brunswick; renamed Fredericton Canadiens
Moncton Golden Flames	Moncton, New Brunswick	Moncton Coliseum	1984-1987	folded
Newmarket Saints	Newmarket, Ontario	Ray Twinney Complex	1986-1991	relocated to St. John's, Newfoundland; renamed St. John's Maple Leafs
Moncton Hawks	Moncton, New Brunswick	Moncton Coliseum	1987-1994	folded
Utica Devils	Utica, New York	Utica Memorial Auditorium	1987-1993	relocated to Saint John, New Brunswick; renamed Saint John Flames
Cape Breton Oilers	Sydney, Nova Scotia	Centre 200	1988-1996	relocated to Hamilton, Ontario; renamed Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL)
Halifax Citadels	Halifax, Nova Scotia	Halifax Metro Centre	1988-1993	relocated to Cornwall, Ontario; renamed Cornwall Aces
Binghamton Rangers	Binghamton, New York	Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena	1990-1997	relocated to Hartford, Connecticut; renamed Hartford Wolfpack
Capital District Islanders	Troy, New York	Houston Field House	1990-1993	relocated to Albany, New York; renamed Albany River Rats
Fredericton Canadiens	Fredericton, New Brunswick	Aitken Centre	1990-1999	relocated to Quebec City, Quebec; renamed Quebec Citadelles
St. John's Maple Leafs	St. John's, Newfoundland	Memorial Stadium (St. John's) (1991-2001); Mile One Stadium (2001-2005)	1991-2005	relocated to Toronto, Ontario; renamed Toronto Marlies
Providence Bruins	Providence, Rhode Island	Dunkin' Donuts Center (known as Providence Civic Center 1992-2001)	1992-present
Hamilton Canucks	Hamilton, Ohio	Copps Coliseum	1992-1994	relocated to Syracuse, New York; renamed Syracuse Crunch
New Haven Senators	New Haven, Connecticut	New Haven Coliseum	1992-1993	relocated to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island; renamed Prince Edward Island Senators
Albany River Rats	Albany, New York	Times Union Center (known as Knickerbocker Arena (1993-1997) and Pepsi Arena (1997-2007))	1993-2010	relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina; renamed Charlotte Checkers (2010-)
Portland Pirates	Portland, Maine (1993-2012, 2014-2016) Lewiston, Maine (2012-2014)	Cumberland County Civic Center (1993-2012) Androscoggin Bank Colisee (2012-2014) Cross Insurance Arena (2014-2016)	1993-2016	relocated to Springfield, Massachusetts; renamed Springfield Thunderbirds
Prince Edward Island Senators	Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island	Charlottetown Civic Centre	1993-1996	relocated to Binghamton, New York; renamed Binghamton Senators
Saint John Flames	Saint John, New Brunswick	Harbour Station	1993-2003	relocated to Omaha, Nebraska; renamed Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights
Cornwall Aces	Cornwall, Ontario	Ed Lumley Arena	1993-1996	relocated to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; renamed Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Springfield Falcons	Springfield, Massachusetts	MassMutual Center (known as Springfield Civic Center 1994-2005)	1994-2016	relocated to Tucson, Arizona; renamed Tucson Roadrunners
Worcester IceCats	Worcester, Massachusetts	DCU Center (known as Centrum, 1994-2004)	1994-2015	relocated to Peoria, Illinois; renamed Peoria Rivermen (AHL)
Syracuse Crunch	Syracuse, New York	War Memorial at Oncenter	1994-present
Baltimore Bandits	Baltimore, Maryland	Baltimore Arena	1995-1997	relocated to Cincinnati, Ohio; renamed Cincinnati Mighty Ducks
Carolina Monarchs	Greensboro, North Carolina	Greensboro Coliseum	1995-1997	relocated to New Haven, Connecticut; renamed Beast of New Haven
Philadelphia Phantoms	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Wachovia Spectrum (primary) and Wachovia Center 3-6 games per season	1996-2009	relocated to Glens Falls, New York; renamed Adirondack Phantoms
Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL)	Hamilton, Ontario	First Ontario Centre	1996-2015	relocated to St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador; renamed St. John's IceCaps
Kentucky Thoroughblades	Lexington, Kentucky	Rupp Arena	1996-2001	relocated to Cleveland, Ohio; renamed Cleveland Barons (2001-2006)
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks	Cincinnati, Ohio	Cincinnati Gardens	1997-2005	renamed Cincinnati RailRaiders; but suspend operations before playing under this name. franchise revived in 2007 in Rockford, Illinois as Rockford IceHogs
Beast of New Haven	New Haven, Connecticut	New Haven Coliseum	1997-1999	folded
Hartford Wolf Pack	Hartford, Connecticut	XL Center (known as Harford Civic Center unitl 2007)	1997-2010	renamed Connecticut Whale (AHL) during season
Lowell Lock Monsters	Lowell, Massachusetts	Tsongas Arena	1998-2006	renamed Lowell Devils
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania	Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza (originally Northeastern Pennsylvania Civic Arena and Convention Center (1998–2000), First Union Arena at Casey Plaza (2000–2003), and Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza (2003–2010))	1999-present
Louisville Panthers	Louisville, Kentucky	Freedom Hall	1999-2001	suspend operations; revived as Des Moines, Iowa based Iowa Stars
Quebec Citadelles	Quebec City, Quebec	Colisee de Quebec	1999-2002	merged into Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals	Norfolk, Virginia	Norfolk Scope	2000-2015	relocated to San Diego, California; renamed San Diego Gulls (AHL)
Bridgeport Sound Tigers	Bridgeport, Connecticut	Webster Bank Arena (known as Arena at Harbor Yard (2001-2011))	2001-present
Chicago Wolves	Rosemont, Illinois	Allstate Arena	2001-present
Grand Rapids Griffins	Grand Rapids, Michigan	Van Andel Arena	2001-present
Houston Aeros (1994–2013)	Houston, Texas	Compaq Center (2001-2003); Toyota Center (Houston) (2003-2013)	2001-2013	relocated to Des Moines, Iowa; renamed Iowa Wild
Manchester Monarchs (AHL)	Manchester, New Hampshire	Verizon Wireless Arena	2001-2015	relocated to Ontario, California; renamed Ontario Reign (AHL)
Manitoba Moose	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Winnipeg Arena (2001-2004) MTS Centre (2004-2011)	2001-2011	relocated to St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador when city gets National Hockey League team; renamed St. John's IceCaps
Milwaukee Admirals	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	BMO Harris Bank Center (known as Bradley Center (2001-2012) (2001-2016); UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena (2016-present)	2001-present
Cleveland Barons (2001-2006)	Cleveland, Ohio	Gund Arena	2001-2006	relocated to Worcester, Massachusetts; renamed Worcester Sharks
Utah Grizzlies (1995-2005)	Salt Lake City, Utah	E Center	2001-2005	suspended operations; return as Cleveland, Ohio based Lake Erie Monsters for 2007-08 season
Binghamton Senators	Binghamton, New York	Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena (known as Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena 2002-2014)	2002-2017	relocated to Belleville, Ontario; renamed Belleville Senators
San Antonio Rampage	San Antonio, Texas	AT&T Center	2002-present
Toronto Roadrunners	Toronto, Ontario	Ricoh Coliseum	2003-2004	relocated to Edmonton, Alberta; renamed Edmonton Road Runners
Edmonton Road Runners	Edmonton, Alberta	Rexall Place	2004-2005	suspended operations; revived in 2010 as Oklahoma City Barons
Iowa Stars	Des Moines, Iowa|	Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines)	2005-2008	renamed Iowa Chops
Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights	Omaha, Nebraska	Omaha Civic Auditorium	2005-2007	relocated to Moline, Illinois; renamed Quad City Flames
Peoria Rivermen (AHL)	Peoria, Illinois	Peoria Civic Center	2005-present
Toronto Marlies	Toronto, Ontario	Coca-Cola Coliseum (known as Ricoh Colisuem 2005-2018)	2005-present
Lowell Devils	Lowell, Massachusetts	Tsongas Arena	2006-2010	relocated to Albany, New York; renamed Albany Devils
Worcester Sharks	Worcester, Massachusetts	DCU Center	2006-2015	relocated to San Jose, California; renamed San Jose Barracuda
Lake Erie Monsters	Cleveland, Ohio	Quicken Loans Arena	2007-2016	renamed Cleveland Monsters
Quad City Flames	Moline, Illinois	I wireless Center	2007-2009	relocated to Abbotsford, British Columbia; renamed Abbotsford Heat
Rockford IceHogs	Rockford, Illinois	BMO Harris Bank Center	2007-present
Iowa Chops	Des Moines, Iowa	Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines)	2008-2009	suspend operations; then relocated to Cedar Park, Texas and renamed Texas Stars
Adirondack Phantoms	Glens Falls, New York	Glens Falls Civic Center	2009-2014	relocated to Allentown, Pennsylvania; renamed Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Texas Stars	Cedar Park, Texas	H-E-B Center at Cedar Park (formerly Cedar Park Center 2009-2016)	2009-present
Abbotsford Heat	Abbotsford, British Columbia	Abbotsford Centre	2009-2014	relocated to Glens Falls, New York; renamed Adirondack Flames
Albany Devils	Albany, New York	Times Union Center	2010-2017	relocated to Binghamton, New York; renamed Binghamton Devils
Charlotte Checkers	Charlotte, North Carolina	Time Warner Cable Arena (2010-2014); Bojangles' Coliseum (2014-Present)	2010-present
Oklahoma City Barons	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Cox Convention Center	2010-2015	relocated to Bakersfield, California; renamed Bakersfield Condors (AHL)
Connecticut Whale	Hartford, Connecticut	XL Center	2010-2013	revert to Hartford Wolf Pack name
St. John's IceCaps	St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador	Mile One Centre	2011-2017	relocated to Laval, Quebec; renamed Laval Rocket
Hartford Wolf Pack	Hartford, Connecticut	XL Center	2013-present
Utica Comets	Utica, New York	Adirondack Bank Center at Utica Memorial Auditorium (known as Utica Memorial Auditorium (2013-2017)	2013-present
Iowa Wild	Des Moines, Iowa	Wells Fargo Arena (Des Moines)	2013-present
Lehigh Valley Phantoms	Allentown, Pennsylvania	PPL Center	2014-present
Adirondack Flames	Glens Falls, New York	Glens Falls Civic Center	2014-2015	relocated to Stockton, California; renamed Stockton Heat
Stockton Heat	Stockton, California	Stockton Arena	2015-present
Ontario Reign (AHL)	Ontario, California	Toyota Arena (known as Citizens Business Bank Arena 2015-2019)	2015-present
San Diego Gulls (AHL)	San Diego, California	Pechanga Arena (known as Valley View Casino Center 2015-2018)	2015-present
Bakersfield Condors (AHL)	Bakersfield, California	Rabobank Arena	2015-present
San Jose Barracuda	San Jose, California	SAP Center	2015-present
Manitoba Moose	Winnipeg, Manitoba	Bell MTS Place (known as MTS Center 2015-2017)	2015-present
Springfield Thunderbirds	Springfield, Massachusetts	MassMutual Center	2016-present
Tucson Roadrunners	Tucson, Arizona	Tucson Convention Center	2016-present
Cleveland Monsters	Cleveland, Ohio	Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (known as Quicken Loans Arena 2016-2019)	2016-present
Laval Rocket	Laval, Quebec	Place Bell	2017-present
Belleville Senators	Belleville, Ontario	CAA Arena (known as Yardman Arena 2017-2018)	2017-present
Binghamton Devils	Binghamton, New York	Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena	2017-present
Colorado Eagles	Loveland, Colorado	Budweiser Events Center	2018-present
Palm Springs AHL team	Palm Springs, California	New Arena at Agua Caliente	2021-expansion

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. From 1996 to 2010, the game took place between a team of players born outside of Canada and a team of players born within Canada. The All-Star Game was replaced by an all-star challenge between the league's divisions from the 2015-16 season onward. The challenge consists of six round-robin games between the league's divisions; the top two divisions in the challenge's round-robin phase advance to a six-minute championship game. The winning division of the championship game is declared the winner of the all-star challenge.

Date	Arena	City	Winner	Score	Runner-up
January 29, 2018	Utica Memorial Auditorium	Utica, New York	Round robin results: Central 2-5 Atlantic Pacific 5-3 North Central 2-4 North Pacific 4-3 Atlantic Pacific 4-3 Central North 4-3 Atlantic
			North Division	1-0	Pacific Division
Date	Arena	City	Winner	Score	Runner-up
January 30, 2017	PPL Center	Allentown, Pennsylvania	Round robin results: Central 1–2 Atlantic Pacific 3–6 North Central 2–1 North (SO) Pacific 1–6 Atlantic Pacific 3–5 Central North 0–2 Atlantic
			Central Division	1–0 (SO)	Atlantic Division
February 1, 2016	Onondaga County War Memorial	Syracuse, New York	Round robin results: Pacific 0–1 North Central 2–1 Atlantic (SO) Central 4–2 North Pacific 1–2 Atlantic Central 4–6 Pacific Atlantic 4–1 North
			Central Division	4–0	Atlantic Division
January 26, 2015	Utica Memorial Auditorium	Utica, New York	West All-Stars	14–12	East All-Stars
February 12, 2014	Mile One Centre	St. John's, NL	AHL All-Stars	7–2	Färjestad BK
January 28, 2013	Dunkin' Donuts Center	Providence, Rhode Island	West All-Stars	7–6	East All-Stars
January 30, 2012	Boardwalk Hall	Atlantic City, New Jersey	West All-Stars	8–7 (SO)	East All-Stars
January 31, 2011	Giant Center	Hershey, Pennsylvania	East All-Stars	11–8	West All-Stars
January 19, 2010	Cumberland County Civic Center	Portland, Maine	Canada	10–9 (SO)	PlanetUSA
January 26, 2009	DCU Center	Worcester, Massachusetts	PlanetUSA	14–11	Canada
January 28, 2008	Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena	Binghamton, New York	Canada	9–8 (SO)	PlanetUSA
January 29, 2007	Ricoh Coliseum	Toronto	PlanetUSA	7–6	Canada
February 1, 2006	MTS Centre	Winnipeg	Canada	9–4	PlanetUSA
February 14, 2005	Verizon Wireless Arena	Manchester, New Hampshire	PlanetUSA	5–4	Canada
February 9, 2004	Van Andel Arena	Grand Rapids, Michigan	Canada	9–5	PlanetUSA
February 3, 2003	Cumberland County Civic Center	Portland, Maine	Canada	10–7	PlanetUSA
February 14, 2002	Mile One Stadium	St. John's, NF	Canada	13–11	PlanetUSA
January 15, 2001	First Union Arena at Casey Plaza	Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania	Canada	11–10	PlanetUSA
January 17, 2000	Blue Cross Arena	Rochester, New York	Canada	8–3	PlanetUSA
January 25, 1999	First Union Center	Philadelphia	PlanetUSA	5–4 (SO)	Canada
February 11, 1998	Onondaga War Memorial Arena	Syracuse, New York	Canada	11–10	PlanetUSA
January 16, 1997	Harbour Station	Saint John, NB	World	3–2 (SO)	Canada
January 16, 1996	Hersheypark Arena	Hershey, Pennsylvania	USA	6–5	Canada
January 17, 1995	Providence Civic Center	Providence, Rhode Island	Canada	6–4	USA
December 10, 1959	Eastern States Coliseum	West Springfield, Massachusetts	Springfield Indians	8–3	AHL All-Stars
January 15, 1959	Hershey Sports Arena	Hershey, Pennsylvania	Hershey Bears	5–2	AHL All-Stars
October 6, 1957	Rochester Community War Memorial	Rochester, New York	AHL All-Stars	5–2	Cleveland Barons
October 23, 1956	Rhode Island Auditorium	Providence, Rhode Island	Providence Reds	4–0	AHL All-Stars
January 10, 1956	Duquesne Gardens	Pittsburgh	AHL All-Stars	4–4	Pittsburgh Hornets
October 27, 1954	Hershey Sports Arena	Hershey, Pennsylvania	AHL All-Stars	7–3	Cleveland Barons
February 3, 1942	Cleveland Arena	Cleveland, Ohio	East All-Stars	5–4	West All-Stars

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, & Eddie Shore. The founding members were formally inducted, on February 1, 2006.

Year	Name	Position
2006	Bower, JohnnyJohnny Bower	G
2006	Butterfield, JackJack Butterfield	Executive
2006	Gage, JodyJody Gage	RW
2006	Glover, FredFred Glover	C
2006	Marshall, WillieWillie Marshall	C
2006	Mathers, FrankFrank Mathers	D
2006	Shore, EddieEddie Shore	D / Owner
2007	Cook, BunBun Cook	Coach
2007	Gamble, DickDick Gamble	LW
2007	Mayer, GillesGilles Mayer	G
2007	Nykoluk, MikeMike Nykoluk	C
2008	Kraftcheck, SteveSteve Kraftcheck	D
2008	Price, NoelNoel Price	D
2008	Tookey, TimTim Tookey	C
2009	Anderson, JimJim Anderson	F
2009	Boudreau, BruceBruce Boudreau	F / Coach
2009	Cunningham, LesLes Cunningham	F
2009	Pieri, LouisLouis Pieri	Owner
2010	Kilpatrick, MacgregorMacgregor Kilpatrick	Owner
2010	Paddock, JohnJohn Paddock	Coach
2010	Paille, MarcelMarcel Paille	G
2010	Sweeney, BillBill Sweeney	C
2011	Lamoureux, MitchMitch Lamoureux	F
2011	Pidhirny, HarryHarry Pidhirny	F
2011	Podoloff, MauriceMaurice Podoloff	Executive
2011	Wilson, LarryLarry Wilson	Coach
2012	Gordon, JackJack Gordon	Coach/GM
2012	Stevens, JohnJohn Stevens	D
2012	Toppazzini, ZellioZellio Toppazzini	F
2013	Bennett Sr., HarveyHarvey Bennett Sr.	G
2013	Gernander, KenKen Gernander	F
2013	White, PeterPeter White	F
2014	Dineen, BillBill Dineen	Coach
2014	MacNeil, AlAl MacNeil	D
2014	Slaney, JohnJohn Slaney	D
2014	Perreault, BobBob Perreault	G
2015	Cassivi, FredericFrederic Cassivi	G
2015	Hendy, JimJim Hendy	executive
2015	Horvath, BroncoBronco Horvath	F
2015	Stratton, ArtArt Stratton	F
2016	Cline, BruceBruce Cline	F
2016	Keller, RalphRalph Keller	D
2016	Labbe, Jean-FrancoisJean-Francois Labbe	G
2016	Landon, BruceBruce Landon	G
2017	Dea, BillyBilly Dea	F
2017	Helmer, BryanBryan Helmer	D
2017	Murray, RobRob Murray	F
2017	Yingst, DougDoug Yingst	executive
2018	Bartlett, JimJim Bartlett	F
2018	Biggs, DonDon Biggs	F
2018	Kilrea, BrianBrian Kilrea	F/Coach
2018	Merkosky, GlennGlenn Merkosky	F

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)

See Also

• List of AHL seasons

External links

• AHL Webpage
• AHL Wikia

This article is part of the North American Minor Professional leagues portal