Patrick Williams again will deliver the FloHockey AHL Power Rankings throughout the regular season.
Each summer means hitting the reset button in full for the AHL. Carryover from one season to the next can be quite minimal thanks to roster turnover, NHL promotions, and the annual influx of top draft picks. Training camp then brings waiver claims that upend organizational plans, prospects who surprise and win NHL jobs, and NHL veterans who find themselves sent to the AHL.
It’s unpredictable. But here is an early look at how some contenders – real or potential – look through the first two weekends of the AHL regular season. Six months of regular-season play remain followed by the two-month march that is the Calder Cup Playoffs, so consider these teams highly subject to change.
But the FloHockey AHL Power Rankings will be here all season to track the movement up and down across the league. Here are the initial top 10 clubs.
1) Providence Bruins
With snipers like Matěj Blümel (a league-leading 39 goals last season with the Texas Stars) and Alex Steeves (36 goals for the Toronto Marlies) joining the Boston Bruins organization as free agents, one could easily expect Providence to score goals in abundance. They have, doing so at a rate of 4.75 per goals per game so far. If this season begins to get away in Boston, an important challenge in Providence will be keeping players focused on their work in the AHL rather than potential NHL jobs. For now, though, it’s early, and Providence has a chance to bank points.
2) Charlotte Checkers
Last season’s Calder Cup finalists, the Checkers saw several top contributors depart for opportunities in both North America and Europe. But ever since their affiliation with the Florida Panthers started, one can always count on the two sides working aggressively to put a top roster together in Charlotte. The two sides worked together throughout their limited offseason and right into the regular season. Last week they brought in Jake Livingstone, Kevin Mandolese, and Tyler Motte on professional tryouts. Florida’s roster continues to get battered, and that reality has put a strain on Charlotte already with the promotion of Tobias Bjornfot to the Panthers. But it is also true that if the Checkers’ depth does begin to run low that management has shown that it will act aggressively.
2025 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs Charlotte Checkers
3) Grand Rapids Griffins
Grand Rapids has had to deal with a variety of early curveballs already. Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, Emmitt Finnie, Axel Sandin-Pellikka, and Elmer Soderblom all won jobs in Detroit. NHL veterans Justin Holl and Erik Gustafsson did not, meaning that the Griffins are trying to work in a pair of 33-year-olds going through career upheaval. That is not always an easy task for players or coaches, but the Griffins are making it work. After a championship season with Czech club HC Kometa Brno, new signee Michal Prostava has been encouraging in net.
4) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Much like the Griffins, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is dealing with some NHL roster shake-ups. To varying degrees of surprise, Alexander Alexeyev, Ryan Graves, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Danton Heinen, and Ville Koivunen all found themselves shipped out to the AHL coming out of training camp. All sorts of short-, mid-, and long-term questions face their parent team in Pittsburgh, and those decisions very well might impact Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s day-to-day affairs this season. After falling behind 3-0 at Bridgeport last Saturday, the Penguins awakened and dropped six unanswered goals on the hosts. Sometimes adding a collection of veterans bolsters an AHL team. And sometimes it backfires if those players fail to adjust. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s veterans, however, are doing their jobs.
5) Rockford IceHogs
Another AHL affiliate with a rebuilding NHL parent club, the IceHogs are vital to the Chicago Blackhawks’ long-term hopes. Chicago management has resisted any temptation to rush prospects coming out of training camp. Oliver Moore is in Rockford. So is Kevin Korchinski as he tries to find his way. Martin Misiak, too. And how about Nick Lardis? He tore apart the OHL last season with 71-46-117 for the Brantford Bulldogs, but the pro game always brings its own adjustments. Five games into rookie season, and he takes home the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week after banking 2-5-7 on his first 3-in-3 weekend. But losing second-year forward Paul Ludwinski to a season-ending knee injury is devastating news.
6) Colorado Eagles
Colorado can run-and-gun for wins, but the Eagles can also clamp down on opponents and take one-goal victories. So far they are allowing an absurd 17.5 shots per game, tops in the AHL. Mackenzie Blackwood’s injury has pushed Trent Miner up to the Colorado Avalanche, so St. Cloud product Isak Posch has been busy early in his rookie season.
7) Laval Rocket
Sure, the defending Calder Cup champion Abbotsford Canucks are not returning the same roster this season. That said, the Rocket still thumped the visiting Canucks by a combined 8-2 this weekend. The veteran-rookie goaltending tandem of Kaapo Kähkönen and Jacob Fowler should give the Rocket, last season’s regular-season champion and a team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals, a chance to win a lot of games this season. They have a three-game road trip this week.
8) Syracuse Crunch
Dominic James, a rookie out of Minnesota-Duluth signed by the Tampa Bay Lightning during training camp, has been excellent so far and also produced 3-2-5 in his first four pro games. The Crunch will need another standout year from Brandon Halverson, and he looks capable of providing that in net. Tampa Bay shook up its veteran group in Syracuse significantly and promoted some youth (Max Crozier), so this Crunch team has a markedly different look. Still unable to break through at the NHL level, Jakob Pelletier needs a huge season.
9) Chicago Wolves
Goaltending stands as Chicago’s most significant question after losing offseason signee Cayden Primeau on waivers to the Toronto Maple Leafs. That fall-out left Chicago’s goaltending work to Amir Miftakhov and Nikita Quapp. Miftakhov had spent one season in North America as a member of the Tampa Bay organization back in 2021-22 and has had some significant KHL success. Quapp, 22, is a much bigger question with limited work in the DEL level before shifting to North America this season. That said, this Wolves team possesses some potent talent, including second-year forward Bradly Nadeau.
10) Henderson Silver Knights
Life for the Silver Knights has long been a challenge with a win-now parent club that has shipped draft picks and prospects across the NHL. With two trips to the Stanley Cup Final – and a championship — since entering the NHL as an expansion team for the 2017-18 season, nobody is going to question how the Vegas Golden Knights prioritize the here-and-now. All the same, that philosophy can often mean tough times for an AHL affiliate, and the Silver Knights certainly have been through the doldrums with three consecutive postseason misses. But some help has been provided for Henderson this season. Dylan Coghlan, Jeremy Davies, and Jaycob Megna came in as free agents who can finally give Henderson a stout blue line. Carl Lindbom might be the AHL’s most underrated and overlooked goaltender. He excelled last season for another non-playoff Silver Knights team; with a little more talent in front of him, he could be that much more valuable.Â
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