# 2022 Calder Cup playoffs

The 2022 Calder Cup playoffs was the postseason tournament of the American Hockey League (AHL) to determine the winner of the Calder Cup, which is awarded to the AHL playoff champions.
2022 marked the return of postseason play for the AHL after two seasons of no playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 playoffs began on May 2, 2022, with a new 23-team playoff format. All but the bottom two teams of each division qualified for the playoffs. Each division had a best-of-three series in the first round to determine the top 16 teams for the division semifinals, with various teams receiving byes.
The 16 teams that remained—four from each division—played a best-of-five series in the division semifinals, with the playoffs continuing with another best-of-five series for the division finals and a best-of-seven series for the conference finals and Calder Cup finals.

## Playoff seeds

After the 2021–22 AHL regular season, 23 teams qualified for the playoffs. All but the bottom two teams in each division ranked by points percentage qualify for the 2022 Calder Cup playoffs. The Stockton Heat were the first team to clinch a playoff spot on March 19, while the Chicago Wolves won the regular season title on the final day of the regular season.

### Eastern Conference
#### Atlantic Division

* Charlotte Checkers – 90 points (.625), 36 RWs
* Springfield Thunderbirds – 95 points (.625), 31 RWs
* Providence Bruins – 83 points (.576)
* Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – 78 points (.513), 26 RWs
* Hershey Bears – 78 points (.513), 23 RWs
* Bridgeport Islanders – 73 points (.507)

#### North Division

* Utica Comets – 95 points (.660)
* Syracuse Crunch – 91 points (.599)
* Laval Rocket – 85 points (.590)
* Belleville Senators – 84 points (.583)
* Rochester Americans – 84 points (.553)

### Western Conference
#### Central Division

* Chicago Wolves – 110 points (.724)
* Manitoba Moose – 89 points (.618)
* Milwaukee Admirals – 87 points (.572)
* Rockford IceHogs – 79 points (.549)
* Texas Stars – 76 points (.528)

#### Pacific Division

* Stockton Heat – 97 points (.714)
* Ontario Reign – 91 points (.669)
* Colorado Eagles – 85 points (.625)
* Bakersfield Condors – 84 points (.618), 32 RWs
* Abbotsford Canucks – 84 points (.618), 30 RWs
* Henderson Silver Knights – 75 points (.551)
* San Diego Gulls – 63 points (.463)

## Bracket

| First round May 2–9 | First round May 2–9 | First round May 2–9 | Division semifinals May 6–19 | Division semifinals May 6–19 | Division semifinals May 6–19 | Division finals May 21–29 | Division finals May 21–29 | Division finals May 21–29 | Conference finals June 3–15 | Conference finals June 3–15 | Conference finals June 3–15 | Calder Cup finals June 19–25 | Calder Cup finals June 19–25 | Calder Cup finals June 19–25 |
| | | | A1 | Charlotte | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| A3 | Providence | 0 | A6 | Bridgeport | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| A6 | Bridgeport | 2 | Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | A1 | Charlotte | 0 | | | | | | |
| | | | Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | Atlantic Division | A2 | Springfield | 3 | | | | | | |
| | | | A2 | Springfield | 3 | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | | | | | | |
| A4 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | 2 | A4 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton | 0 | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | | | | | | |
| A5 | Hershey | 1 | | | | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | A2 | Springfield | 4 | | | |
| | | | | | | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | N3 | Laval | 3 | | | |
| | | | N1 | Utica | 2 | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | | | | | | |
| N4 | Belleville | 0 | N5 | Rochester | 3 | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | | | | | | |
| N5 | Rochester | 2 | North Division | North Division | North Division | N5 | Rochester | 0 | | | | | | |
| | | | North Division | North Division | North Division | N3 | Laval | 3 | | | | | | |
| | | | N2 | Syracuse | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | N3 | Laval | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | A2 | Springfield | 1 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | C1 | Chicago | 4 |
| | | | C1 | Chicago | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| C4 | Rockford | 2 | C4 | Rockford | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| C5 | Texas | 0 | Central Division | Central Division | Central Division | C1 | Chicago | 3 | | | | | | |
| | | | Central Division | Central Division | Central Division | C3 | Milwaukee | 1 | | | | | | |
| | | | C2 | Manitoba | 2 | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | | | | | | |
| | | | C3 | Milwaukee | 3 | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | C1 | Chicago | 4 | | | |
| | | | | | | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | P1 | Stockton | 2 | | | |
| | | | P1 | Stockton | 3 | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | | | | | | |
| P4 | Bakersfield | 2 | P4 | Bakersfield | 0 | Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | | | | | | |
| P5 | Abbotsford | 0 | Pacific Division | Pacific Division | Pacific Division | P1 | Stockton | 3 | | | | | | |
| P2 | Ontario | 2 | Pacific Division | Pacific Division | Pacific Division | P3 | Colorado | 1 | | | | | | |
| P7 | San Diego | 0 | P2 | Ontario | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| P3 | Colorado | 2 | P3 | Colorado | 3 | | | | | | | | | |
| P6 | Henderson | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## First round
### Eastern Conference
#### (A3) Providence Bruins vs. (A6) Bridgeport Islanders

* Bridgeport won series 2–0

#### (A4) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. (A5) Hershey Bears

* Wilkes-Barre/Scranton won series 2–1

#### (N4) Belleville Senators vs. (N5) Rochester Americans

* Rochester won series 2–0

### Western Conference
#### (C4) Rockford IceHogs vs. (C5) Texas Stars

* Rockford won series 2–0

#### (P2) Ontario Reign vs. (P7) San Diego Gulls

* Ontario won series 2–0

#### (P3) Colorado Eagles vs. (P6) Henderson Silver Knights

* Colorado won series 2–0

#### (P4) Bakersfield Condors vs. (P5) Abbotsford Canucks

* Bakersfield won series 2–0

## Division semifinals
### Eastern Conference
#### (A1) Charlotte Checkers vs. (A6) Bridgeport Islanders

* Charlotte won series 3–1

#### (A2) Springfield Thunderbirds vs. (A4) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

* Springfield won series 3–0

#### (N1) Utica Comets vs. (N5) Rochester Americans

* Rochester won series 3–2

#### (N2) Syracuse Crunch vs. (N3) Laval Rocket

* Laval won series 3–2

### Western Conference
#### (C1) Chicago Wolves vs. (C4) Rockford IceHogs

* Chicago won series 3–0

#### (C2) Manitoba Moose vs. (C3) Milwaukee Admirals

* Milwaukee won series 3–2

#### (P1) Stockton Heat vs. (P4) Bakersfield Condors

* Stockton won series 3–0

#### (P2) Ontario Reign vs. (P3) Colorado Eagles

* Colorado won series 3–0

## Division finals
### Eastern Conference
#### (A1) Charlotte Checkers vs. (A2) Springfield Thunderbirds

* Springfield won series 3–0

#### (N3) Laval Rocket vs. (N5) Rochester Americans

* Laval won series 3–0

### Western Conference
#### (C1) Chicago Wolves vs. (C3) Milwaukee Admirals

* Chicago won series 3–1

#### (P1) Stockton Heat vs. (P3) Colorado Eagles

* Stockton won series 3–1

## Conference finals
### Eastern Conference
#### (A2) Springfield Thunderbirds vs. (N3) Laval Rocket

* Springfield won series 4–3

### Western Conference
#### (C1) Chicago Wolves vs. (P1) Stockton Heat

* Chicago won series 4–2

## Calder Cup finals
### (C1) Chicago Wolves vs. (A2) Springfield Thunderbirds

* Chicago won series 4–1

## Playoff statistical leaders
### Leading skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points. If there is a tie in points, goals take precedence over assists.
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| Josh Leivo | Chicago Wolves | 18 | 15 | 14 | 29 | 20 |
| Stefan Noesen | Chicago Wolves | 18 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 18 |
| Jack Drury | Chicago Wolves | 18 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 10 |
| Andrew Poturalski | Chicago Wolves | 18 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 26 |
| William Bitten | Springfield Thunderbirds | 18 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 22 |
| Matthew Peca | Springfield Thunderbirds | 18 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 2 |
| Danick Martel | Laval Rocket | 15 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 44 |
| Dakota Joshua | Springfield Thunderbirds | 18 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 58 |
| Sam Anas | Springfield Thunderbirds | 18 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 8 |
| Mackenzie MacEachern | Springfield Thunderbirds | 18 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 6 |

### Leading goaltenders

This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on goals against average and the top five goaltenders based on save percentage with at least 60 minutes played. The table is initially sorted by goals against average, with the criterion for inclusion in bold.
| Player | Team | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| Matt Murray | Texas Stars | 2 | 0 | 2 | 62 | 3 | 1.52 | .952 | 0 | 118:22 |
| Pyotr Kochetkov | Chicago Wolves | 6 | 5 | 1 | 202 | 10 | 1.65 | .950 | 2 | 364:24 |
| Troy Grosenick | Providence Bruins | 2 | 0 | 2 | 66 | 4 | 1.68 | .939 | 0 | 142:39 |
| Alex Lyon | Chicago Wolves | 12 | 9 | 3 | 325 | 25 | 2.03 | .923 | 2 | 737:26 |
| Cayden Primeau | Laval Rocket | 14 | 9 | 5 | 513 | 33 | 2.17 | .936 | 0 | 912:16 |
| Spencer Martin | Abbotsford Canucks | 2 | 0 | 2 | 80 | 5 | 2.40 | .938 | 0 | 124:56 |