At that time of the year, everyone's eyes were on the Stanley Cup playoffs. Well, almost all eyes are in the playoffs. There is nothing more like playoff hockey than playoff hockey, the American Hockey League (AHL) features the Calder Cup playoffs, which are already in progress and provide great time for hockey fans. The first round was held last week, with 16 rounds ready and ready to go.
Related: Lehigh Valley was built for Calder Cup Run, built in a full-fledged alliance
It's time for the playoffs to heat up, and it's time for Calder Cup to start grinding. There are a lot of fun showdowns, so for those who keep from far away or the team, but don't know about other teams in the playoffs, it's the upcoming game and the teams that play in it.
Hershey Bears and Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Calder Cups pass through Chocolatetown. The Hershey Bears are the back-to-back champions of dominance and are still the teams beaten in the AHL.
- Unlike the past two seasons, the Bears have the talent of a team that has lost some of the key contributors of the previous team, notably Ethen Frank and goalkeeper Clay Stevenson. That said, their star players can still carry them with them, they are a good team, with Todd Nelson leading them from behind the bench.
- Lehigh Valley Phantoms is the AHL team that can run and shock the world of hockey. Their season had an incredible season, but their young roster matured at the right time, and the wave of prospects (particularly Alex Bump and Jett Luchanko) changed the way they played. They swept the Wilkes-Barry/Scranton Penguins, which is a series of frustrations that hope to do the same this week.
Charlotte Checkers and Providence Brown Bear
- Charlotte Chess Pieces are one of the most complete teams in the AHL. They scored (average 3.25 goals per game), defended (only 2.56 goals per game) and made previews. Although they don’t have a lot of prospects to watch, they work the right way and are built for the playoffs.
- Providence Bruins is led by their goalkeeper, which it showed in a recent series against the Springfield Thunderbirds. Michael Dipietro's percentage savings (SV%) was 0.945, allowing only 55 goals in three series, if this team runs, it will be because of their goalkeepers and defense.
- Due to travel between the two cities, the Brown Bear will host the first two games, while the last three will be hosted by inspectors of the taller seeds.
Laval Rockets vs Cleveland Monsters
- It's very nice to say that Laval Rocket is the best team in the AHL. They scored a league-leading 101 points and had a lot of young prospects that they might soon be on the NHL roster (as if the Montreal Canadiens needed more young people).
- Owen Beck is the 21-year-old forward who scored 15 goals while adding 29 assists to the offense, while defenders Logan Mailloux and Adam Engstrom added sparks to the blue line, combining 17 goals and 43 assists.
- Cleveland's monster has several skaters to watch closely, Luca del Belluz leads with 27 goals and 26 assists, but the player who can take over the series and lead the playoffs is Denton Mateychuk. He is a defensive player who can make an impact on both ends of the ice, ready for a big series after scoring two goals and adding two assists to the series against Toronto Maris.
- The Rockets have a positive advantage, winning two of four meetings in four games and winning points in all four games. However, these monsters have gained a lot of talent from the team last season, which is an in-depth playoff victory with just five wins against the Calder Cup. By the way, this is the “Revenge Series” as the monsters can avenge the Canadians in the last regular season game, and Pascal Vincent can prove to his former organization that he is still a great coach (and deserves another shot in the NHL).
Rochester American vs Syracuse Crouch
- The series already played in the first match on Friday, April 25 with a 3-2 victory before giving their series a 4-0 victory on Sunday, April 27.
- The Americans are noble, all season. They also have prospects, including the rookie trio of Noah Ostlund, Konsta Helenius and Anton Wahlberg, with a total of 44 goals and 57 assists. This makes you wonder why the Buffalo Saber is still rebuilding without taking the next step.
- Syracuse’s crunch is led by a great defense and a better goalkeeper. Their starter Brandon Halverson is a great AHL story as he transitioned from Michael goalkeeper to one of the best of the season.
Milwaukee Admiral vs Rockford Ice Disease
- Admiral Milwaukee lost the prospect of a top goalkeeper in the 2023-24 Yaroslav Askarov in the 2024 offseason. It has no stages. They finished the season with the best record in the central division, with their defensive lead (only 2.55 goals per game allowed).
- Rockford’s ice disease may be five seeds, but they have a talented group that can be frustrated. Colton Dach returns to the series, while college-level Aidan Thompson joins the playoffs team.
- Just like the Icehogs' forward team looks, they are led by the defense. Artyom Levshunov and Kevin Korchinski are the highest prospects for the Blackhawks farm system in Chicago and have had an impact on both ends of the ICE, while Ethan del Mastro and Nolan Allan figured out the department.
Texas Star vs Grand Rapids Griffins
- The Dallas Stars are a franchise for models and their AHL team has also had a great season. They ended up leading the way with the second best record in the central division, scoring 3.33 goals per game. They have five skaters this season scored 50 points, including rookie Justin Hryckowian, who has 22 goals and 38 assists.
- Detroit Red Wings had five goalkeepers before the season began. Well, one of them is Sebastian Cossa, who was a starting role in Grand Rapids Griffins and works well in this quest, with .911 SV% and 2.45 GAA on 1,117 photos.
- Griffins didn’t have many differentiators on offense, but one of them was Amadeus Lombardi. The 21-year-old striker has played in just 44 games and scored 19 goals while adding 21 assists, bringing him almost every game.
Colorado Hawks vs San Jose Bullets
- The Colorado Hawks are the best team in the Western Conference. They scored 3.47 goals with a score of 43-21-5-3, while only allowed 2.56 goals per game, which shows that they are excellent in all aspects.
- Jacob McDonald is the best defender in the AHL and arguably the best player in the playoffs. The experienced defensive player scored 31 goals this season, joining Cale Makar as a defender, scoring 30 goals in the Colorado Avalanche this season.
- San Jose Barracudas will win and lose the game with high scores. It's in their DNA. They averaged 3.38 goals per game, but also allowed 3.20 goals per game. The good news is that Askarov changes that in the network.
Abbotsford Canucks vs Coachella Valley Firebirds
- Coachella Valley Firebirds have become the gold standard for the Western Conference. They appeared in the 2023 and 2024 Calder Cup finals, with many talented players on the roster. This season, they are a disciplined group, allowing only 742 minutes of free throw time, the fewest in the AHL.
- The problem is that the Firebirds aren't the same team that played in the playoffs over the past two seasons. They don't have Dan Bylsma behind the bench, Shane Wright is now in the NHL, with their goalkeeper Chris Driedger remaining in the offseason.
- The Abbotsford Canucks are a fast and offensive-based team that explains why they average 3.34 goals per game. Aatu Raty became the striker of the top forward with 17 goals and 23 assists in 43 games, while Arturs Silovs performed well online. Add everything up and Canucks may be frustrated this week.
Other Calder Cup Storylines
The biggest thing is whether the Bears can win the Calder Cup for the third consecutive year. This is something that hasn't happened in the modern league, the entire league has stability, even larger playgrounds, and the team has a huge increase (for those who keep track of it, we'll have to hit up to 32). It will be the biggest storyline of hockey, and the Bears will be the first team to do so since Springfield won three straight games in the 1960s (they have a better nickname).
Another AHL team that is eager to win the championship is the Americans. “Amerks” has six championships in team history, but has not won the championship since 1996. Interestingly, their head coach is John Tortorella (he said he can't work with young skaters! It's a myth, at least 30 years ago). It could be their year because they have teams to do it.
Do you see something when the Calder Cup playoffs heat up? Let us know in the comments section below!
