As part of the American Hockey League’s 70th anniversary this season, theahl.com will be taking a look at some of the legendary careers that have been carved in the AHL over the last seven decades.
Les Douglas was one of the AHL’s top players of his day, winning two scoring championships and two Calder Cups in his 10 seasons.
Douglas was one of the driving forces behind the Indianapolis Capitals’ Calder Cup championship run in 1941-42. That season, the 23-year-old sniper recorded 48 points in just 21 games in the regular season, then chipped in eight goals and nine assists in 10 playoff matches, including a four-point effort in the Cup-clinching win over Hershey.
Douglas, like many of his AHL colleagues, would eventually be called to military duty, and he missed two seasons while serving in World War II.
In 1945-46, Douglas returned to Indianapolis and led the entire AHL with 90 points. Four years later, with the Cleveland Barons, he was named the league’s most valuable player when he hit the 100-point plateau.
In 1950-51, his final full year in the AHL, Douglas averaged a point per game for the eighth straight season and helped the Barons to a Calder Cup.
Douglas, who passed away in 2002 after a battle with cancer, still sits in 33rd place on the AHL’s all-time scoring list with 621 points in 525 games played.
| Career AHL Statistics – Les Douglas | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||||
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1939-40 | Indianapolis Capitals | 54 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 1940-41 | Indianapolis Capitals | 31 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1941-42 | Indianapolis Capitals | 21 | 15 | 33 | 48 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 6 |
| 1942-43 | Indianapolis Capitals | 33 | 13 | 26 | 39 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1945-46 | Indianapolis Capitals | 62 | 44 | 46 | 90 | 35 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 1946-47 | Indianapolis Capitals | 51 | 26 | 57 | 83 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1947-48 | Buffalo Bisons | 68 | 27 | 50 | 77 | 23 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 1948-49 | Buffalo Bisons | 68 | 20 | 52 | 72 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1949-50 | Cleveland Barons | 67 | 32 | 68 | 100 | 27 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 11 |
| 1950-51 | Cleveland Barons | 70 | 31 | 39 | 70 | 20 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| 1951-52 | Buffalo Bisons | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| AHL Totals | 525 | 226 | 395 | 621 | 181 | 49 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 19 | |
