The Hershey Bears have secured the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as the AHL’s overall regular-season champions for the 2023-24 season.
Hershey has won the Kilpatrick Trophy four times since becoming the top development affiliate of the Washington Capitals in 2005, and has finished first overall in the AHL nine times since joining the league in 1938.
Guided by head coach Todd Nelson, the defending Calder Cup champions have a league-best record of 51-12-0-5 (.787) after Friday night’s 4-1 victory over Lehigh Valley. With five points over their final four games, the Bears would set an all-time AHL record for best points percentage in a single season; the mark is currently held by the 1992-93 Binghamton Rangers, who went 57-13-10 (.775).
The Kilpatrick Trophy was instituted in 1997 and is named in honor of AHL Hall of Famer Macgregor Kilpatrick.
