The American Hockey League (AHL) is regarded as the top professional hockey league in North America outside the National Hockey League (NHL). It serves as a developmental league for the NHL, and all of its 27 active teams have affiliation agreements with NHL clubs.
The league traces its history back to 1926 with the formation of the Canadian-American Hockey League and teams in Springfield, Boston, Quebec City, Providence and New Haven.However, the American Hockey Association took the name American Hockey League in 1930-31, declaring itself a major league. The league had its setbacks and reverted back to the American Hockey Association and declared itself a minor league again in 1932-33. In 1936, the "Can-Am" League merged with the original International Hockey League (created in 1929) to form the International-American Hockey League. With the withdrawal of its last Canadian teams, the league was renamed the American Hockey League in 1941. The league gained six teams in the 2001-2002 season with the folding of the International Hockey League.
League offices are in Springfield, Massachusetts, moving from West Springfield in the early 1990's. The AHL's current president is David Andrews.
The AHL's annual playoff champion is awarded the Calder Cup trophy.
Teams
(affiliated teams in brackets)
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
- Hartford Wolf Pack (New York Rangers)
- Lowell Devils (New Jersey Devils)
- Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles Kings)
- Portland Pirates (Anaheim Ducks)
- Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins)
- Springfield Falcons (Tampa Bay Lightning)
- Worcester Sharks (San Jose Sharks)
East Division
- Albany River Rats (Carolina Hurricanes,Colorado Avalanche)
- Binghamton Senators (Ottawa Senators)
- Bridgeport Sound Tigers (New York Islanders)
- Hershey Bears (Washington Capitals)
- Norfolk Admirals (Chicago Blackhawks)
- Philadelphia Phantoms (Philadelphia Flyers)
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers)
Western Conference
North Division
- Grand Rapids Griffins (Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers)
- Hamilton Bulldogs (Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers)
- Manitoba Moose (Vancouver Canucks)
- Rochester Americans (Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers)
- Syracuse Crunch (Columbus Blue Jackets)
- Toronto Marlies (Toronto Maple Leafs)
West Division
- Chicago Wolves (Atlanta Thrashers)
- Houston Aeros (Minnesota Wild)
- Iowa Stars (Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers)
- Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville Predators, Edmonton Oilers)
- Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights (Calgary Flames)
- Peoria Rivermen (St. Louis Blues)
- San Antonio Rampage (Phoenix Coyotes)
Future Teams
- Cleveland, OH — (2007-08) relocation of dormant Utah Grizzlies
2006 Calder Cup Playoffs
| Division Semi-finals | Division Finals | Conference Finals | Calder Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| A1 | Portland | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| A4 | Providence | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| A1 | Portland | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| A2 | Hartford | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| A3 | Hartford | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| A2 | Manchester | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| A | Portland | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern | |||||||||||||||||||
| E | Hershey | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | WBS | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E4 | Bridgeport | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | WBS | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Hershey | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Hershey | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E3 | Norfolk | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| E | Hershey | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W | Milwaukee | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Grand Rapids | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| N4 | Toronto | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| N1 | Grand Rapids | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| N3 | Manitoba | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| N2 | Syracuse | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| N3 | Manitoba | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| N | Grand Rapids | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western | |||||||||||||||||||
| W | Milwaukee | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Milwaukee | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W4 | Iowa | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | Milwaukee | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Houston | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | Houston | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W3 | Peoria | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
Defunct teams
AHL All Star Classic
| Year | Won | Lost |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Team World 3 | Canada 2 |
| 1998 | Canada 11 | Planet USA 10 |
| 1999 | Planet USA 5 | Canada 4 |
| 2000 | Planet USA 17 | Canada 12 |
| 2001 | Canada 10 | Planet USA 10 |
| 2002 | Canada 13 | Planet USA 11 |
| 2003 | Canada 10 | Planet USA 7 |
| 2004 | Canada 9 | Planet USA 5 |
| 2005 | Planet USA 5 | Canada 4 SO |
| 2006 | Canada 9 | Planet USA 4 |
| 2007 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
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.
See also
External links
- Official AHL website
- Historic standings and statistics - at Internet Hockey Database