American Hockey League

The Coachella Valley Firebirds have signed forward Damien Giroux to an American Hockey League contract for the 2024-25 season. Giroux played 30 games for the AHL’s Rochester Americans last season, recording four goals and seven assists. He added seven goals and eight assists in 17 contests with Jacksonville of the ECHL. A fifth-round selection by

The Pittsburgh Penguins have named Jason Spezza general manager of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and Amanda Kessel manager of minor league operations and assistant GM of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Spezza, who will also serve as assistant GM for Pittsburgh, will direct all facets of the Penguins’ American Hockey League affiliate. Spezza joined the Penguins organization in 2023 after

The Edmonton Oilers have acquired forward Vasily Podkolzin from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Podkolzin recorded 15 goals and 13 assists for 28 points in 44 games with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks in 2023-24. He added two assists in 19 NHL contests with Vancouver. The 10th

Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer J.D. Forrest is coming home at long last. The native of Auburn, N.Y., has joined the Tampa Bay Lightning organization as an assistant coach with the Syracuse Crunch. After eight seasons with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – including the past four as their head coach, going 113-102-24-13 – his new post

The Carolina Hurricanes have promoted Darren Yorke to associate general manager, and he will serve as the general manager of Carolina’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. Yorke is entering his 16th season with the Hurricanes, first joining the organization as a video scout in 2009. He has been assistant GM since 2021. A

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms have signed goaltender Keith Petruzzelli to an American Hockey League contract for the 2024-25 season. Petruzzelli went 6-8-2 in 17 appearances with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies last season, showing a 3.55 goals-against average and an .867 save percentage. In 47 AHL games over three pro seasons with the Marlies, Petruzzelli has

Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer Many familiar names from across the AHL have found new organizations and fresh opportunities this offseason as National Hockey League teams restock their pipelines heading into the 2024-25 season. Here is a look at some of last year’s key AHL players from the Eastern Conference, and where they’ll be trying

The San Jose Barracuda have signed forward Colin White to a one-year American Hockey League contract. White played 21 games with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last season, recording five goals and five assists. He also appeared in 28 games in the NHL between Pittsburgh and Montreal. Entering his ninth pro season in 2024-25, White has

The Dallas Stars have signed goaltender Magnus Hellberg to a one-year, two-way contract. Hellberg made 27 appearances in the AHL between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Charlotte last season, going 14-10-2 with a 2.75 goals-against average, a .904 save percentage and one shutout. He also had a .922 save percentage over three contests in the NHL with Pittsburgh.

The Colorado Eagles have signed forwards Tye Felhaber and Keaton Mastrodonato and defenseman Bryan Yoon to one-year American Hockey League contracts. Felhaber appeared in 50 games with the Milwaukee Admirals in 2023-24, setting AHL career highs with 10 goals, 13 assists and 23 points. He also made his Calder Cup Playoff debut in 2024, recording

Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer Steven Fogarty is very much at peace with his decision. Fogarty, one of the AHL’s most-respected players of the past decade, announced his retirement last month, wrapping up a career that saw him play 464 AHL games over eight pro seasons. He wore a letter in each of his four

BRIGHTON, Mass. — Among the forward prospects participating in a 1-on-1 possession drill at Boston Bruins development camp last month, Brett Harrison and Matthew Poitras took center stage. Quite literally.  With the rest of the pairs scattered across the ice at Warrior Ice Arena, the two competed on top of the center ice Spoked-B logo.

NEWARK, N.J. — Seamus Casey knows time in the American Hockey League is the step he needs to take on the path to an NHL career with the New Jersey Devils. “It’s hard to make an NHL team and the Devils are doing a great job of acquiring guys, drafting well and signing guys, and

The Coachella Valley Firebirds have signed forward Cam Morrison to a one-year American Hockey League contract. Morrison spent last season with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, recording five goals and six assists in 45 games. In 123 AHL contests over three pro seasons with Charlotte and Rockford, Morrison has totaled 18 goals and 23 assists for

The Colorado Avalanche have signed forward Matthew Phillips to a one-year contract for the 2024-25 season. Phillips won a Calder Cup championship with the Hershey Bears last season, posting three goals and three assists in nine regular-season games before suiting up for six games during the postseason. He also played 31 games in the NHL

Scott Ford and Mike Haviland have been hired by the Columbus Blue Jackets as assistant coaches. Ford joins the Blue Jackets after spending eight seasons (2015-20, 2021-24) as an assistant with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, where he helped the club to three Central Division titles, six postseason appearances and two trips to the Western Conference

Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer It’s August. The weather is steamy. Last season has become a memory, but the upcoming season is still more than two months away. Surely then, it must be time to sit back and relax, right? Not in Belleville, where the parent Ottawa Senators have barely slowed down since their offseason

This is one hat trick Dylan McIlrath won’t soon forget. The Winnipegger recently captained the Hershey Bears to an American Hockey League championship, which gave him three Calder Cups on his resume — including back-to-back titles with the primary affiliate of the Washington Capitals. “It was pretty surreal, to be honest. It hasn’t fully sunk