American Hockey League
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American_Hockey_League_logo.png
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) became the major affiliation league for the National Hockey League upon its amalgamation with the International Hockey League in 2001. It is a professional hockey league playing at the minor triple-A level. All teams are required to have affiliation agreements with National Hockey League teams. As of the 2004-05 season, the league had 28 clubs, most of them based in eastern Canada and the United States. The league can trace its history back to 1926 with the formation of the Canadian-American Hockey League. In 1936, the CAHL merged with the original International Hockey League(created in 1929) to form the International American Hockey League. The league became the AHL in 1941. AHL teams compete annually for the Calder Cup.
see also the East Coast Hockey League, the United Hockey League, and the Central Hockey League, List of ice hockey leagues
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Teams
(affiliated teams in brackets)
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
- Hartford Wolf Pack (New York Rangers)
- Lowell Lock Monsters (Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Flames)
- Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles Kings)
- Portland Pirates (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
- Providence Bruins (Boston Bruins)
- Springfield Falcons (Tampa Bay Lightning)
East Division
- Albany River Rats (New Jersey Devils)
- 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)
Western Conference
North Division
- Cleveland Barons (San Jose Sharks)
- Edmonton Roadrunners (Edmonton Oilers; will not play 2005-06 due to voluntary suspension)
- Hamilton Bulldogs (Montreal Canadiens)
- Manitoba Moose (Vancouver Canucks)
- Rochester Americans (Buffalo Sabres)
- St. John's Maple Leafs (Toronto Maple Leafs)
- Syracuse Crunch (Columbus Blue Jackets)
West Division
- Chicago Wolves (Atlanta Thrashers)
- Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (former Mighty Ducks of Anaheim; will not play 2005-06 due to voluntary suspension)
- Grand Rapids Griffins (Detroit Red Wings)
- Houston Aeros (Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars)
- Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville Predators)
- San Antonio Rampage (Florida Panthers)
- Utah Grizzlies (Phoenix Coyotes; will not play 2005-06 due to voluntary suspension)
Future Teams
- Iowa Stars (Dallas Stars) dormant Louisville Panthers to relocate in 2005
- Peoria Rivermen (St. Louis Blues) Worcester IceCats relocating in 2005
- Toronto Marlies (Toronto Maple Leafs) St. John's Maple Leafs relocating in 2005.
- Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights (Calgary Flames) dormant Saint John Flames to relocate in 2005
Defunct Teams
Rule changes for the 2004-2005 season
During the 2004-2005 season the AHL is trying out several rule changes; the National Hockey League is monitoring their success. These changes are:
- allowing forward passes from behind the blue line across the red line
- widening each blue line to 24 inches, thereby expanding all three zones without changing the dimensions of the rink
- calling icing as soon as the puck crosses the goal line
- allowing a player who has entered the attacking zone ahead of the puck to leave the zone without touching the puck, rather than ruling the player offside immediately (the so-called tag-up offside, used in the NHL from 1986 to 1996)
- moving the goal line back to 11 feet from the end boards (versus 13 in the NHL)
- penalizing goaltenders who play the puck outside a designated area behind each net; the area expands from 18 feet along the goal line – the net and six feet on each side – to 28 feet along the end boards.
External links
- The American Hockey League Official Website (http://www.theahl.com)
- Historic standings and statistics (http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/leagues/ahl1941.html) - at Internet Hockey Databasede:American Hockey League