SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that sportswriter Patrick Williams has been selected as the recipient of the James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the 2015-16 season.
The James H. Ellery Memorial Award is presented annually in recognition of outstanding media coverage of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1964-65 and honors the late Jim Ellery, who served the AHL for 17 years as league secretary and publicity director until his death in 1964.
Currently based in Winnipeg, Williams has covered the American Hockey League extensively for the past 14 seasons and is widely considered a reliable and essential source for news for AHL fans across North America. In 2015-16, Williams authored weekly AHL columns for NHL.com, highlighting the league’s role as the top development circuit for National Hockey League prospects. He also wrote AHL columns for Sportsnet.ca during the postseason and covered the Manitoba Moose at MTS Centre as well as the 2016 AHL All-Star Classic in Syracuse and the 2016 Calder Cup Finals.
Williams also launched Around the A (aroundthea.com), a website dedicated to AHL news and notes, and his coverage also extends to social media, where he actively shares news and engages discussion with thousands of fans daily on Twitter (@pwilliamsNHL).
Williams, who has been NHL.com’s Winnipeg Jets correspondent since 2011, is a regular guest on several SiriusXM NHL Network Radio programs, and he has also previously written for the Canadian Press, TSN, The Hockey News and TheAHL.com, as well as countless newspapers covering teams throughout the AHL.
In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 88 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent time in the AHL in their careers. In 2015-16, over 7.1 million fans attended AHL regular-season and playoff games across North America, the highest total attendance in league history.
