American Hockey League

by Jared Shafran | AHL On The Beat A week ago, when staring at the reality of having to ice a lineup without one of the team’s leading scorers Charles Hudon, Ontario Reign head coach Marco Sturm set out to motivate one of his other offensive weapons. Sturm pulled Akil Thomas aside for a conversation

The Tucson Roadrunners and Ontario Reign both clinched berths in the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs on Wednesday evening. The Roadrunners return to the postseason for the second year in a row; Tucson fell to Coachella Valley in a best-of-three first-round series in 2023. The Reign will participate in the Calder Cup Playoffs for the sixth

Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer As challenging as times have been for the Texas Stars, captain Curtis McKenzie knows that even more obstacles await. Players don’t come much more playoff-tested than McKenzie. The 11th-year pro has made three trips to the Calder Cup Finals, winning a championship as a rookie in 2014. This year’s postseason

by Alec Lessner | AHL On The Beat When Cody Franson departed British Columbia for Des Moines, he temporarily left his family and most of his physical possessions behind. One thing Franson made sure to bring was an item that contained the better part of a decade of preparation for his first professional coaching job.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Ontario Reign forward Akil Thomas has been selected as the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending March 24, 2024. Thomas notched four goals, two assists and a plus-6 rating and recorded all three game-winning goals during Ontario’s perfect 3-0-0 week. On

Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer A player’s path through the AHL is rarely an easy one. But few players embody the ups and downs quite like Jamieson Rees, a fourth-year forward now with the Belleville Senators in the most trying season yet of his pro career. It’s not supposed to be easy, but at just

The Milwaukee Admirals clinched a berth in the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs on Friday thanks to the Chicago Wolves’ 2-1 shootout loss to the Iowa Wild. The Central Division-leading Admirals are the first Western Conference team to punch their playoff ticket. Milwaukee, which is bidding for its seventh division title since joining the AHL in

Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer One call can change a lot of plans. After taking the Rochester Americans to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, Malcolm Subban earned himself a contract with the St. Louis Blues organization on the first day of free agency last summer. He had spent this season with the Springfield Thunderbirds,

by Nicole Boldrin | AHL On The Beat Colorado Eagles forward Riley Tufte faces a dual challenge in his professional hockey journey: navigating the demands of the sport while managing the complexities of living with type 1 diabetes. Despite the hurdles, the 25-year-old Tufte remains determined and resilient, refusing to let his condition hinder his

When Jack St. Ivany reached out to his parents Darin and Tricia to let them know he’d be making his NHL debut on Friday in Dallas, he didn’t share the big news right away. “He’s always really calm about things. Whenever he calls you, if he’s got big news, we talk about how he likes

The Coachella Valley Firebirds clinched a berth in the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs on Friday night, securing a chance to defend their Western Conference championship. A year after reaching the Calder Cup Finals in their inaugural season, the Firebirds sit atop the Pacific Division and own the second-best record in the entire league. The top

“That goal he scored against Vegas, the track,” Vincent said. “The defense that was there; he did a real good job. His speed from here to there between the blue lines. He caught that guy, created the turnover, so that’s the defensive side, the intensity side of the shift. And then to re-attack, the skill

The San Jose Barracuda have signed defenseman/forward Akim Aliu to a professional tryout contract. Aliu last played during the 2019-20 season, when he skated in six games for HC Litvinov in the Czech Extraliga. A second-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2007 NHL Draft, Aliu began his pro career in the AHL and

Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer It only seems that Coachella Valley Firebirds forward Shane Wright is older than his birth certificate indicates. Wright, after all, has been a household hockey name for years. Nothing has been normal or routine for him. He was barely a teenager when he was already attracting attention as an emerging

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League’s Player Safety Committee today announced that Texas Stars defenseman Gavin Bayreuther has been suspended for three (3) games as a consequence of his actions at the conclusion of the second period in a game at Tucson on Mar. 17. Bayreuther will miss Texas’s games Wednesday (Mar. 20) at

by Justin Vézina | AHL On The Beat Patience is a virtue, as the old saying goes. No one has understood this lesson better than Laval Rocket forward Brandon Gignac. On March 9, 2019, the Quebec-born center played his first career NHL game while wearing the New Jersey Devils uniform. Little did he know that

Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer Another weekend’s arrival, and another step on the ice for Brad Hunt. At 35 years old with 288 National Hockey League games to his name, the Colorado Eagles captain spent his weekend doing exactly what he wants to be doing. On Friday night he picked up an assist and helped

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Manitoba Moose goaltender Thomas Milic has been selected as the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending March 17, 2024. Milic allowed only four goals on 85 shots last week (3-0-0, 1.30, .953) as the Moose earned three critical road wins over