Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
The AHL officially reached the halfway point of the 2024-25 regular season schedule last weekend.
Three months of play have started to provide some – though hardly all – of the answers that NHL front offices are seeking to learn about their prospects and their respective AHL affiliates.
What’s working? What isn’t? When the pressure builds as teams battle to lock down berths in the Calder Cup Playoffs, which prospects are positioned to take a significant step in the second half? Is there a veteran out there who may be able to come in and lend help?
And how, if at all, will the March 7 NHL trade deadline impact an AHL roster? Will a top prospect depart in a trade that is made to bolster the NHL parent club? Will a group of prospects arrive if an NHL front office opts to trade and build for the future instead?
A few teams have already start to shake up their looks already. In need of scoring help following several recalls to the Nashville Predators, the Milwaukee Admirals snagged proven forward Chase De Leo off AHL waivers; the veteran had signed an AHL contract with Charlotte after beginning this season overseas. Wednesday brought a swap of forwards between Anaheim and San Jose that landed Justin Bailey with the San Diego Gulls and Pavol Regenda with the San Jose Barracuda. The Checkers inked former AHL All-Star forward C.J. Smith. And on Friday, Belleville added 1,043-game NHL vet Sam Gagner on a tryout.
A team-by-team review of the Eastern Conference went first. Now let’s review the Western Conference.
ABBOTSFORD CANUCKS
Just when it seemed like the Canucks might be dragged into a fight simply to stay above the Pacific Division playoff line, they are now sitting a bit more comfortably on the strength of their current eight-game winning streak. First-year head coach Manny Malhotra’s club is now in a position to target second or third place in the Pacific while also still trying to keep teams below them at a distance. Forward Aatu Räty has 13 points in his last seven games and is the reigning Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week.
BAKERSFIELD CONDORS
It was just two weeks ago that the Condors had an even 30 points with Abbotsford. Since then they have fallen eight points behind the Canucks and are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2018 – that’s how tight these playoff races can be. Captain Seth Griffith has been his usual productive self, and top prospect Matthew Savoie is on pace for a 20-goal rookie season.
CALGARY WRANGLERS
Calgary has barely stumbled at all this season, despite a coaching shift last month when Joe Cirella took over in an interim role as Trent Cull moved up to the Calgary Flames’ staff. Devin Cooley has been exceptional in net, Rory Kerins is having a breakout year, and Dryden Hunt is second in the entire league in scoring. Eight players have already reached double-digit goal totals, and with an 18-5-0-0 record at Scotiabank Saddledome, the Wranglers can sock away points rapidly during their long stretches at home.
CHICAGO WOLVES
How would this Wolves team come together this season? It was a fair question. Chicago has reunited with the Carolina Hurricanes after one year apart, meaning that the majority of this season’s roster personnel was at least somewhat, if not completely, new to each other. The Wolves found themselves up against some pretty significant headwinds early, but came through over the first half and sit fourth in the Central Division. Rookies Scott Morrow, Bradly Nadeau and Justin Robidas are among the team’s leading scorers, and Spencer Martin has provided veteran stability in net. Chicago plays a tight defensive game and resides within the AHL’s top-five clubs in shots-against per game.
COACHELLA VALLEY FIREBIRDS
New head coach. A significantly reshaped veteran base. An ongoing shift to owning less experience and more top prospects as the Seattle Kraken have now amassed four draft classes. The two-time defending Western Conference champions have had to sift through a lot of change, and it took them some time to stabilize themselves. But what has not changed is that the Firebirds are once again a top Pacific Division contender. Twenty-year-old Jani Nyman leads all AHL rookies with 16 goals this season.
COLORADO EAGLES
With a roster boasting the likes of two-time AHL MVP T.J. Tynan, sharpshooter Matthew Phillips, reliable captain Jayson Megna, and experienced two-way defensemen Jacob MacDonald and Calle Rosen, among others, it’s no surprise that the Eagles are among the league leaders in both offense and defense. And as always, they have been a dependable reserve of talent for the Colorado Avalanche, sending no fewer than a dozen players up to the NHL already this season.
GRAND RAPIDS GRIFFINS
An 11-3-1-0 start to the season put the Griffins in position to control their destiny and they have barely slowed down, poised to hit the All-Star break in first place in the Central Division. The experienced foursome of Sheldon Dries, Joe Snively, Dominik Shine and Austin Watson have carried much of the offensive output while top Red Wings prospects like Nate Danielson, Elmer Söderblom, Cross Hanas, William Wallinder and Shai Buium continue their development. Sebastian Cossa has become one of the AHL’s elite netminders and won his NHL debut earlier this season.
HENDERSON SILVER KNIGHTS
Rookie forward Braeden Bowman has been one of Henderson’s best stories this season, earning a one-year AHL contract last summer after playing his overage season in the Ontario Hockey League with Guelph. Now Bowman, 21, has the team lead with nine goals to put himself in contention for an NHL deal at some point. The Silver Knights have won five in a row for the first time in two years as they attempt to climb back into the Pacific Division playoff race.
IOWA WILD
Iowa’s goaltending picture has had to deal with a preseason injury to offseason signing Troy Grosenick and an off-year by top prospect Jesper Wallstedt. But rookies Liam Öhgren and Hunter Haight have combined for 22 goals up front and 21-year-old David Jiricek brings a blue-chip resume on defense after a mid-season trade from Columbus.
MANITOBA MOOSE
The Moose have shown glimpses of what they can be capable of, including a recent four-game win streak in road stops at Calgary, Milwaukee and Grand Rapids. Rookie defenseman Elias Salomonsson, a second-round draft choice by Winnipeg in 2022, had 12 points in 17 games before suffering an injury in early December.
MILWAUKEE ADMIRALS
The Admirals banked early-season points, winning eight of their first nine games. That start has helped them to weather a barrage of recalls to Nashville, including Vinnie Hinostroza, Kieffer Bellows, Nick Blankenburg, Zach L’Heureux, Fedor Svechkov, Spencer Stastney and Adam Wilsby. That is a lot of talent to pull off a roster, but management has been aggressive about bringing in help. Ryder Rolston has 12 points in 25 games since coming over from the Chicago Blackhawks organization in a trade, and the Admirals have added veteran forwards Anders Bjork and Chase De Leo as midseason reinforcements.
ONTARIO REIGN
Ontario tore through the Western Conference between Nov. 13 and Jan. 3, going 15-2-0-1 to vault to second place in the Pacific Division. Samuel Fagemo already has 21 goals in 2024-25 and 51 goals in his last 72 regular-season contests, the equivalent of a full AHL season. The Reign have scored first only 15 times in 39 games; if that number can improve so that the Reign are not playing from behind early, that would be one more way to make them even more dangerous.
ROCKFORD ICEHOGS
Rockford has had to weather losing rookie Frank Nazar on a promotion to the Chicago Blackhawks. But AHL All-Star Cole Guttman leads the team in goals (18), assists (20) and points (38) while rookie Landon Slaggert has added immediate contributions. Rockford’s top-10 power play can punish opponents, and Kevin Korchinski and Artyom Levshunov are coming along on the blue line. And if the IceHogs have their full contingent come April, they could be a lot to handle.
SAN DIEGO GULLS
Head coach Matt McIlvane’s mandate in San Diego is to bring along and nurture the Anaheim organization’s prospects and provide a stable atmosphere after the Gulls went through four head coaches in five seasons. Anaheim is building for the future, which may mean players like All-Star rookie Sam Colangelo move back and forth between Anaheim and San Diego. One area where the Gulls can help themselves is by protecting late leads; they have won only six of 11 games (6-2-2-1) when leading after two periods.
SAN JOSE BARRACUDA
Goaltender Yaroslav Askarov, the organization’s big offseason acquisition, is having an All-Star season with the Barracuda while also making 11 appearances to date with the parent Sharks. Rookies Collin Graf and Luca Cagnoni have been exceptional, and veteran Andrew Poturalski is leading the league with 42 points as he eyes a third career scoring title. The Barracuda appear to be positioned well to firm up their Pacific Division playoff positioning in stretch-drive time.
TEXAS STARS
What isn’t fun about watching the Stars each night? They’re the AHL’s highest-scoring team, mobile and possessing top-flight offensive vision. Their power play can pick apart opposing penalty-killing units, and they own considerable depth. Antonio Stranges has had a breakout season, rookie Justin Hryckowian has thrived, Matej Blümel has a team-best 18 goals, Arttu Hyry has adapted quickly to the North American game, Kyle Capobianco remains one of the AHL’s best defensemen, and former Firebirds Cameron Hughes and Kole Lind bring playoff-tested mettle to the Texas roster. Once again the Stars are looking like a significant player in the Western Conference.
TUCSON ROADRUNNERS
Josh Doan and Kailer Yamamoto showed up early in the season on assignment from Utah and quickly contributed. Doan has since gone back to Utah, but the Roadrunners have a deep foundation of forwards featuring Egor Sokolov, Andrew Agozzino and AHL All-Star Cameron Hebig, who has already set a new career-high in goals. Artem Duda, a second-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, has 16 points and a plus-9 rating from the Tucson blue line.
On the American Hockey League beat for 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 2016.
