Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
Start circling dates.
Camps are open, and the AHL’s regular season gets underway October 2 — the earliest start date since 2009.
Among the highlights on the 1,152-game slate are a new (old) city, a banner raising, long-standing rivalries and some new inter-conference clashes.
Let’s break down some of these eye-catching dates.
Friday, October 2
The 91st season of AHL hockey begins with eight games on Oct. 2, including the debut of the Hamilton Hammers as they visit Belleville. The Hammers, the new AHL affiliate of the New York Islanders, bring the AHL back to Steeltown for the first time since the Bulldogs departed in 2015. Before their Oct. 9 home opener at the fully renovated TD Coliseum, the Hammers hit the road for their first of 10 meetings against the provincial rival Senators.
Saturday, October 3
Hamilton’s opening weekend also takes them up the QEW to Toronto, where the Marlies will raise their second Calder Cup championship to the Coca-Cola Coliseum rafters on Oct. 3. Long-time NHL forward Steve Sullivan steps behind the bench as head coach of the Marlies after John Gruden was promoted to the parent Maple Leafs in the offseason.
Friday, October 9
One of the AHL’s longest-running rivalries renews on Oct. 9 when the Hartford Wolf Pack visit the Providence Bruins for the 264th regular-season meeting between the two New England mainstays. Providence enters its 35th season coming off a 110-point showing in 2025-26, and Hartford begins its 30th campaign with a new head coach in former Bruins defenseman and coach Jay Leach.
Also on Oct. 9, in addition to the Hamilton-Toronto showdown, Bakersfield visits Calgary in the AHL’s version of the Battle of Alberta, and Rochester hosts Syracuse to kick off that rivalry’s 33rd year.
Saturday, October 10
It’s 2010 again in Chocolatetown, as the Texas Stars make their first visit to Giant Center since the teams went head-to-head in the Calder Cup Finals during the Stars’ inaugural campaign.
This season’s AHL schedule features 88 games between out-of-conference opponents.
Saturday, November 7
On Nov. 7, 1936, the AHL — then known as the International-American Hockey League — hosted its first games. To commemorate that milestone, all 32 teams will be in action on the 90th anniversary of the league’s launch.
Two of the league’s most historic cities will be represented when the Hershey Bears visit the Springfield Thunderbirds that evening. One of the T-birds’ predecessors, the Springfield Indians, were a charter member of the AHL, while the 13-time Calder Cup champion Bears joined the league in 1938.
Wednesday, November 18
Milwaukee begins an eastern road swing with a stop in Wilkes-Barre on Nov. 18, the site of the Admirals’ Calder Cup victory over the Penguins in 2004.
These clubs also boast two of the longest-standing affiliation partnerships; Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Pittsburgh have been affiliated since 1999, and Milwaukee joined up with the Nashville Predators in 1998, when they were still members of the IHL.
Friday, November 20
Grand Rapids opens a two-game visit to Colorado on Nov. 20, a meeting between two clubs who have made a habit of winning through the years. Last year’s Griffins won 51 games in the regular season, while Colorado followed a second-place finish in the Pacific Division with a trip to the Western Conference Finals. Blue Federal Credit Union Arena is one of the AHL’s loudest buildings, and a Friday night match-up against an opponent like the Griffins should only amplify that.
Saturday, November 21
Chicago and Toronto staged a hard-fought battle for the Calder Cup in June. Now the Wolves return for a pair of games in T.O., beginning Nov. 21 with a Saturday matinee at Scotiabank Arena, home of the Maple Leafs.
Sunday, November 22
Since setting up operations in Laval, the Rocket have become one of the AHL’s biggest success stories on and off the ice. With this season being their 10th anniversary campaign, they have a few surprises ahead. One of them will be a trip to Bell Centre, one of hockey’s grandest arenas and the home of the parent Montreal Canadiens, for a contest on Nov. 22 against the Calgary Wranglers. The matinee will also feature the team’s annual teddy bear toss.
Sunday, December 27
It will be a quiet week in the AHL with the schedule empty between Dec. 22 and Dec. 26. That changes abruptly on Dec. 27 with an 11-game slate that starts with the annual post-Christmas showdown between Belleville and Toronto at Scotiabank Arena.
Thursday, December 31
A New Year’s Eve matinee is a Winnipeg hockey tradition. This year, the Manitoba Moose and Abbotsford Canucks help usher the AHL into 2027 as part of a seven-game schedule.
Friday, January 8
It’s a bi-coastal match-up as the Springfield Thunderbirds get a dose of California sunshine with a visit to San Diego on Jan. 8. It will be the first meeting between clubs from these two cities in 59 years, when the AHL’s Indians battled the Western Hockey League’s Gulls as part of an interlocking schedule between the two leagues.
Sunday, February 7 and Monday, February 8
You have to go back to 1942 to find the last time Cleveland hosted the AHL’s top stars, a fundraiser for the American Red Cross and the Canadian Red Cross during World War II. The 2027 AHL All-Star Classic brings the league’s showcase back to Northeast Ohio as hockey’s top young talent descends on Rocket Arena on Feb. 7-8.
Friday, March 12
A six-game Texas Stars road trip in mid-March includes a visit to Palm Desert on Mar. 12 to take on the Coachella Valley Firebirds. The two teams don’t share a division, but they share plenty else in what has become a competitive rivalry. Firebirds head coach Derek Laxdal’s first AHL head-coaching job came with Texas, and Stars forward Cameron Hughes went to the Calder Cup Finals twice with Coachella Valley.
Sunday, April 4
The final regular-season game for the Calgary Wranglers at Scotiabank Saddledome is set for Apr. 4 against the San Jose Barracuda. One of hockey’s most architecturally unique facilities, the Saddledome opened in 1983 and has hosted three Stanley Cup Finals, the 1985 NHL All-Star Game and the 2000 NHL Draft in addition to the 1988 Winter Olympics. The Wranglers, along with the parent Flames, are scheduled to move into the newly constructed Scotia Place next fall.
On the American Hockey League beat for more than two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2015-16.
