2022–23 AHL season

The 2022–23 AHL season was the 87th season of the American Hockey League. The regular season began on October 14, 2022, and ended on April 16, 2023. The 2023 Calder Cup playoffs followed the conclusion of the regular season, and began on April 18, 2023. They concluded on June 21 with the Hershey Bears winning their 12th Calder Cup in team history, defeating the Coachella Valley Firebirds in overtime of game seven of the finals.

2022–23 AHL season
League	American Hockey League
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	October 14, 2022 – April 16, 2023
Regular season
Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy	Calgary Wranglers
Season MVP	Dustin Wolf (Calgary Wranglers)
Top scorer	Michael Carcone (Tucson Roadrunners)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP	Hunter Shepard (Hershey)
Calder Cup
Champions	Hershey Bears
Runners-up	Coachella Valley Firebirds

League changes

After the previous regular season where teams played an imbalanced schedule consisting of 76, 72, or 68 games, all teams played an equal number of games at 72. The Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy for the regular season champion will no longer be awarded based on points percentage, but rather total points.^[1] Qualification for the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs was decided by accumulation of points by team, with 23 teams making the cutoff.^[2]

For the first time since 2018, the league expanded, adding the Coachella Valley Firebirds. The Stockton Heat moved to Calgary in order to be closer to their NHL affiliate, the Calgary Flames. The Heat became the Calgary Wranglers. This brought the number of teams in the league to an all-time high of 32.^[1]

Team and NHL affiliation changes

After the National Hockey League (NHL) added the Seattle Kraken for the 2021–22 season, the Kraken took a different approach than the 2017 expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights. Seattle wanted to add an AHL expansion team for their first season, unlike Vegas. The Kraken had discussed the possibility of promoting the Idaho Steelheads from the ECHL, similar to what the league decided to do with the 2018 expansion team Colorado Eagles. However, Seattle chose to create their own expansion team in Thousand Palms, California.^[3] The team, named the Coachella Valley Firebirds, was originally scheduled to begin play during the 2021–22 AHL season, however the debut of the Firebirds was delayed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic delaying the construction of their arena. With Seattle having no AHL affiliate for their debut season, they decided to affiliate with the Charlotte Checkers as the secondary affiliate to the Florida Panthers.^[4]

The Firebirds organization will be taking the spot of the Stockton Heat in the Pacific Division. The Firebirds join other successful AHL franchises in the Southern California market, such as San Diego, Bakersfield, and Ontario. The Panthers will become the sole affiliate of the Checkers.

Relocations

Main article: Calgary Wranglers

• The Stockton Heat franchise was relocated to Calgary beginning with the 2022–23 season. The Heat had played the entire 2020–21 season at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with cross-border travel being restricted. On August 2, 2022, the team announced its name, bringing back the "Wranglers" moniker.^[5]

Affiliation changes

AHL team	New affiliate[a]	Previous affiliate
Coachella Valley Firebirds	Seattle Kraken	Expansion team
Charlotte Checkers	Florida Panthers[b]	Seattle Kraken

1. Or an affiliate returning as a primary affiliate after an expansion team joined the league.
2. The Panthers had shared the Checkers with the Kraken during the 2021–22 season. Florida will be returning as their primary affiliate, as Seattle has their own expansion team affiliate.

Coaching changes

Off–season
Team	2021–22 coach	2022–23 coach	Notes
Abbotsford Canucks	Trent Cull	Jeremy Colliton	On July 1, 2022, the Vancouver Canucks promoted Cull to assistant coach under head coach Bruce Boudreau.[6] Colliton was named as head coach for Abbotsford on the same day.
Bakersfield Condors	Jay Woodcroft Colin Chaulk (interim)	Colin Chaulk	On February 10, 2022, Woodcroft was promoted to Edmonton following the firing of Oilers' head coach Dave Tippett. Condors' assistant coach Chaulk was named the interim head coach the following day.[7] Bakersfield removed the interim tag from Chaulk and named him as head coach for the 2022–23 season.[8]
Calgary Wranglers	Relocated from Stockton	Mitch Love	As the Calgary Flames relocated the Stockton Heat to Calgary, the Flames retained Love as their head coach for the Wranglers.[9]
Chicago Wolves	Ryan Warsofsky	Brock Sheahan	On July 28, 2022, the San Jose Sharks hired Warsofsky as an assistant coach.[10]
Cleveland Monsters	Mike Eaves	Trent Vogelhuber	On April 30, 2022, Eaves would be stepping away from his position as head coach of the Monsters following the conclusion of the 2021–22 season. On June 8, 2022, the Monsters named Vogelhuber as head coach.[11] Vogelhuber had been serving as an assistant coach with the Monsters since his retirement in 2018.
Coachella Valley Firebirds	Expansion team	Dan Bylsma	Bylsma served as an assistant coach with then-Seattle AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, during the 2021–22 season.[12] On June 21, 2022, Bylsma was named as head coach of the Firebirds.[13]
Hershey Bears	Scott Allen	Todd Nelson	On July 27, 2022, Allen was named as an assistant coach with the Bears NHL affiliate, the Washington Capitals.[14]
Ontario Reign	John Wroblewski Chris Hajt (interim) Craig Johnson (interim)	Marco Sturm	After taking time away from the Reign on a personal leave of absence, it was mutually determined on March 11, 2022, between the Reign and Wroblewski that Wroblewski would not return as head coach of the Reign.[15] Hajt and Johnson were named co-head coaches for the remainder of the season. On June 17, 2022, Sturm was named as head coach of the Reign, previously serving as assistant coach with the Reign's NHL affiliate, the Los Angeles Kings.[16]
Rockford IceHogs	Derek King Anders Sörensen (interim)	Anders Sorensen	On November 6, 2021, King was promoted to Chicago following the firing of Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton.[17] On July 12, 2022, the interim tag was removed from Sorensen as was named head coach for the 2022–23 season.[18]
San Diego Gulls	Joël Bouchard	Roy Sommer	On May 11, 2022, it was announced that the Anaheim Ducks had parted ways with Bouchard as the Gulls head coach.[19] Sommer was named as head coach of the Gulls on July 12, 2022, after initially being transitioned to a senior advisory role with the San Jose Barracuda.[20]
San Jose Barracuda	Roy Sommer	John McCarthy	On May 18, 2022, Sommer transitioned to a senior advisory role with the Barracuda. On the same day, McCarthy was named as head coach of the Barracuda. Sommer was later named as head coach of the San Diego Gulls.[21]
Tucson Roadrunners	Jay Varady	Steve Potvin	On July 18, 2022, Varady was named as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings.[22]
In-season
Team	Outgoing coach	Incoming coach	Notes
Belleville Senators	Troy Mann	David Bell (interim)	On February 2, 2022, following the Senators game vs the Rochester Americans, Mann was relieved from duties as head coach. Assistant coach David Bell was named as interim head coach the same night.[23]

Final standings

 y–  indicates team clinched division and a playoff spot
 x–  indicates team clinched a playoff spot
 e–  indicates team was eliminated from playoff contention

Standings as of April 16, 2023^[24]

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	Pts	Pts%	GF	GA
y–Providence Bruins (BOS)	72	44	18	8	2	98	.681	221	201
x–Hershey Bears (WSH)	72	44	19	5	4	97	.674	217	184
x–Charlotte Checkers (FLA)	72	39	25	5	3	86	.597	235	220
x–Springfield Thunderbirds (STL)	72	38	26	3	5	84	.583	230	211
x–Hartford Wolf Pack (NYR)	72	35	26	4	7	81	.563	227	215
x–Lehigh Valley Phantoms (PHI)	72	37	29	3	3	80	.556	221	226
e–Bridgeport Islanders (NYI)	72	34	30	7	1	74	.528	238	248
e–Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (PIT)	72	26	32	8	6	66	.458	191	224

North Division	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	Pts	Pts%	GF	GA
y–Toronto Marlies (TOR)	72	42	24	4	2	90	.625	229	225
x–Syracuse Crunch (TBL)	72	35	26	7	4	81	.563	252	239
x–Rochester Americans (BUF)	72	36	27	6	3	81	.563	236	233
x–Utica Comets (NJD)	72	35	27	6	4	80	.556	215	222
x–Laval Rocket (MTL)	72	33	29	7	3	76	.528	258	247
e–Cleveland Monsters (CBJ)	72	33	32	5	2	73	.507	220	254
e–Belleville Senators (OTT)	72	31	31	6	4	72	.500	233	258

Western Conference

Central Division	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	Pts	Pts%	GF	GA
y–Texas Stars (DAL)	72	40	20	9	3	92	.639	265	210
x–Milwaukee Admirals (NSH)	72	41	24	5	2	89	.618	238	211
x–Manitoba Moose (WPG)	72	37	25	6	4	84	.583	227	226
x–Iowa Wild (MIN)	72	34	27	6	5	79	.549	211	211
x–Rockford IceHogs (CHI)	72	35	28	5	4	79	.549	214	232
e–Chicago Wolves (CAR)	72	35	29	5	3	78	.542	227	245
e–Grand Rapids Griffins (DET)	72	28	36	4	4	64	.444	194	255

Pacific Division	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	Pts	Pts%	GF	GA
y–Calgary Wranglers (CGY)	72	51	17	3	1	106	.736	256	174
x–Coachella Valley Firebirds (SEA)	72	48	17	5	2	103	.715	257	194
x–Colorado Eagles (COL)	72	40	22	7	3	90	.625	210	187
x–Abbotsford Canucks (VAN)	72	40	25	3	4	87	.604	229	203
x–Bakersfield Condors (EDM)	72	37	31	2	2	78	.542	212	212
x–Ontario Reign (LAK)	72	34	32	5	1	74	.514	206	211
x–Tucson Roadrunners (ARI)	72	30	33	8	1	69	.479	219	245
e–San Jose Barracuda (SJS)	72	31	34	2	5	69	.479	205	249
e–Henderson Silver Knights (VGK)	72	29	38	0	5	63	.438	201	221
e–San Diego Gulls (ANA)	72	20	49	2	1	43	.299	180	281

Statistical leaders

Leading skaters

The following players are sorted by points, then goals. As of April 16, 2023.^[25]

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = P Plus–minus; PIM = Penalty minutes

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Michael Carcone	Tucson Roadrunners	65	31	54	85	127
Alex Barré-Boulet	Syracuse Crunch	69	24	60	84	58
T. J. Tynan	Ontario Reign	72	8	73	81	44
Chris Terry	Bridgeport Islanders	67	27	51	78	72
Matthew Phillips	Calgary Wranglers	66	36	40	76	12
Rocco Grimaldi	San Diego / Rockford	70	33	40	73	43
Trey Fix-Wolansky	Cleveland Monsters	61	29	42	71	40
Logan Shaw	Toronto Marlies	69	21	48	69	36
Anthony Richard	Laval Rocket	60	30	37	67	46
Max McCormick	Coachella Valley Firebirds	71	28	39	67	76

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders with a minimum 1,440 minutes played lead the league in goals against average. As of April 16, 2023.^[26]

GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (in minutes); SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout loss

Player	Team	GP	TOI	SA	GA	SO	GAA	SV%	W	L	OT
Dustin Wolf	Calgary Wranglers	55	3,238:56	1,653	113	7	2.09	.932	42	10	2
Hunter Shepard	Hershey Bears	33	1,930:24	835	70	1	2.18	.916	20	8	5
Jonas Johansson	Colorado Eagles	26	1,545:22	747	60	0	2.33	.920	14	9	2
Matt Murray	Texas Stars	34	1,925:15	853	76	3	2.37	.911	18	10	5
Joey Daccord	Coachella Valley Firebirds	38	2,269:09	1,100	90	3	2.38	.918	26	8	3

Calder Cup playoffs

Main article: 2023 Calder Cup playoffs

Playoff format

The AHL will continue to use the same playoff format used in the previous playoffs. The playoff field will include the top six finishers in the eight-team Atlantic Division, the top five finishers each in the seven-team North and Central Divisions, and the top seven teams in the 10-team Pacific Division. First Round match-ups will be best-of-three series; the two highest seeds in the Atlantic, the three highest seeds in each of the North and Central, and the first-place team in the Pacific will receive byes into the best-of-five Division Semifinals, with the First Round winners re-seeded in each division. The Division Finals will also be best-of-five series, followed by best-of-seven Conference Finals and a best-of-seven Calder Cup Finals series.

Bracket

First Round April 18 – 23

Division Semifinals April 21 – May 6

Division Finals May 11 – May 21

Conference Finals May 23 – June 5

Calder Cup Finals June 8 – 21

A1

Providence

1

A3

Charlotte

2

A5

Hartford

3

A6

Lehigh Valley

1

Atlantic Division

A5

Hartford

0

A2

Hershey

3

A2

Hershey

3

Eastern Conference

A4

Springfield

0

A3

Charlotte

1

A5

Hartford

2

A2

Hershey

4

N3

Rochester

2

N1

Toronto

3

N4

Utica

2

N4

Utica

1

N5

Laval

0

North Division

N1

Toronto

0

N3

Rochester

3

N2

Syracuse

2

N3

Rochester

3

A2

Hershey

4

P2

Coachella Valley

3

C1

Texas

3

C4

Iowa

0

C5

Rockford

0

C5

Rockford

2

Central Division

C1

Texas

2

C2

Milwaukee

3

C2

Milwaukee

3

Western Conference

C3

Manitoba

2

C2

Milwaukee

2

P2

Coachella Valley

4

P1

Calgary

3

P4

Abbotsford

2

P4

Abbotsford

1

P5

Bakersfield

0

Pacific Division

P1

Calgary

2

P2

Coachella Valley

2

P2

Coachella Valley

3

P7

Tucson

1

P2

Coachella Valley

3

P3

Colorado

2

P3

Colorado

2

P6

Ontario

0

AHL awards

Award	Winner
Calder Cup	Hershey Bears
Les Cunningham Award	Dustin Wolf, Calgary Wranglers
John B. Sollenberger Trophy	Michael Carcone, Tucson Roadrunners
Willie Marshall Award	Andy Andreoff, Bridgeport Islanders
Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award	Tye Kartye, Coachella Valley Firebirds
Eddie Shore Award	Christian Wolanin, Abbotsford Canucks
Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award	Dustin Wolf, Calgary Wranglers
Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award	Dustin Wolf, Calgary Wranglers
Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award	Mitch Love, Calgary Wranglers
Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award	Logan Shaw, Toronto Marlies
Yanick Dupre Memorial Award	Jimmy Oligny, Manitoba Moose
Jack A. Butterfield Trophy	Hunter Shepard, Hershey Bears
Richard F. Canning Trophy	Hershey Bears
Robert W. Clarke Trophy	Coachella Valley Firebirds
Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy	Calgary Wranglers
Frank Mathers Trophy (Eastern Conference regular season champions)	Providence Bruins
Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy (Western Conference regular season champions)	Calgary Wranglers
Emile Francis Trophy (Atlantic Division regular season champions)	Providence Bruins
F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy (North Division regular season champions)	Toronto Marlies
Sam Pollock Trophy (Central Division regular season champions)	Texas Stars
John D. Chick Trophy (Pacific Division regular season champions)	Calgary Wranglers
James C. Hendy Memorial Award	Bryan Helmer
Thomas Ebright Memorial Award	Mark Bernard
James H. Ellery Memorial Awards
Ken McKenzie Award	Sebastien Vaillant
Michael Condon Memorial Award	Jud Ritter
President's Awards	Organization: Coachella Valley Firebirds Player: Dustin Wolf, Calgary Wranglers

All-Star Teams

First All-Star Team^[27]

• Dustin Wolf (G) – Calgary
• Darren Raddysh (D) – Syracuse
• Christian Wolanin (D) – Abbotsford
• Alex Barré-Boulet (F) – Syracuse
• Michael Carcone (F) – Tucson
• Matthew Phillips (F) – Calgary

Second All-Star Team^[27]

• Joel Hofer (G) – Springfield
• Lucas Carlsson (D) – Charlotte
• Brogan Rafferty (D) – Coachella Valley
• Trey Fix-Wolansky (F) – Cleveland
• Max McCormick (F) – Coachella Valley
• T. J. Tynan (F) – Ontario

All-Rookie Team^[28]

• Brandon Bussi (G) – Providence
• Ryker Evans (D) – Coachella Valley
• Jeremie Poirier (D) – Calgary
• Ethen Frank (F) – Hershey
• Tye Kartye (F) – Coachella Valley
• Georgii Merkulov (F) – Providence