1996-97 AHL season

The 1996–97 AHL season was the 61st season of the American Hockey League. The league renames its divisions due to relocating teams. The Northern Conferences consists of the Atlantic Division becoming the Canadian Division, and the Central Division becoming the Empire State Division. The Southern Conferences consists of the North Division becoming the New England Division, and the South Division becoming the Mid-Atlantic Division.
Eighteen teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Philadelphia Phantoms finished first overall in the regular season. The Hershey Bears won their eighth Calder Cup championship.
==Team changes==
* The Prince Edward Island Senators suspend operations, becoming dormant.
* The Cornwall Aces suspend operations, becoming dormant.
* The Cape Breton Oilers move to Hamilton, Ontario, becoming the Hamilton Bulldogs, playing in the Canadian division.
* The Kentucky Thoroughblades join the AHL as an expansion team, based in Lexington, Kentucky, playing in the Mid-Atlantic division.
* The Philadelphia Phantoms join the AHL as an expansion team, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, playing in the Mid-Atlantic division.
* The Binghamton Rangers switch from the South division to the Empire State division.
== Final standings ==
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points;
===Northern Conference===
Canadian 	GP	W 	L 	T 	OTL	Pts	GF 	GA
St. John's Maple Leafs	80	36	28	10	6 	88 	265	264
Saint John Flames 	80	28	36	13	3 	72 	237	269
Hamilton Bulldogs 	80	28	39	9 	4 	69 	220	276
Fredericton Canadiens 	80	26	44	8 	2 	62 	234	283
Empire State 	GP	W 	L 	T 	OTL	Pts	GF 	GA
Rochester Americans 	80	40	30	9 	1 	90 	298	257
Adirondack Red Wings	80	38	28	12	2 	90 	258	249
Albany River Rats 	80	38	28	9 	5 	90 	269	231
Syracuse Crunch 	80	32	38	10	0 	74 	241	265
Binghamton Rangers 	80	27	38	13	2 	69 	245	300
===Southern Conference===
New England 	GP	W 	L 	T 	OTL	Pts	GF 	GA
Worcester IceCats 	80	43	23	9 	5 	100	256	234
Springfield Falcons	80	41	25	12	2 	96 	268	229
Portland Pirates 	80	37	26	10	7 	91 	279	264
Providence Bruins 	80	35	40	3 	2 	75 	262	289
Mid-Atlantic 	GP	W 	L 	T 	OTL	Pts	GF 	GA
Philadelphia Phantoms 	80	49	18	10	3 	111	325	230
Hershey Bears 	80	43	22	10	5 	101	273	220
Kentucky Thoroughblades	80	36	35	9 	0 	81 	278	284
Baltimore Bandits 	80	30	37	10	3 	73 	251	285
Carolina Monarchs 	80	28	43	4 	5 	65 	273	303
==Scoring leaders==
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
Peter White 	Philadelphia Phantoms 	80	44	61	105	28
Terry Yake 	Rochester Americans 	78	34	67	101	77
Brian Wiseman 	St. John's Maple Leafs 	71	33	62	95 	83
Vaclav Prospal 	Philadelphia Phantoms 	63	32	63	95 	70
Patrik Juhlin 	Philadelphia Phantoms 	78	31	60	91 	24
Alexei Lojkin 	Fredericton Canadiens 	79	33	56	89 	41
Gilbert Dionne 	Carolina Monarchs 	72	41	47	88 	69
Blair Atcheynum	Hershey Bears 	77	42	45	87 	57
Jan Caloun 	Kentucky Thoroughblades	66	43	43	86 	68
Shawn McCosh 	Philadelphia Phantoms 	79	30	51	81 	110
* complete list
==Calder Cup playoffs==
== All Star Classic ==
The 10th AHL All-Star Game was played on January 16, 1997, at the Harbour Station in Saint John, New Brunswick. Team World defeated Team Canada 3-2 in a shootout. In the skills competition held the day before the All-Star Game, Team World won 18-9 over Team Canada.
== Trophy and award winners ==
=== Team awards ===
Calder CupPlayoff champions: 	Hershey Bears
Richard F. Canning TrophyNorthern Conference playoff champions: 	Hamilton Bulldogs
Robert W. Clarke TrophySouthern Conference playoff champions: 	Hershey Bears
Frank Mathers TrophyRegular season champions, Mid-Atlantic Division: 	Philadelphia Phantoms
F. G. "Teddy" Oke TrophyRegular season champions, New England Division:	Worcester IceCats
Sam Pollock TrophyRegular season champions, Canadian Division: 	St. John's Maple Leafs
John D. Chick TrophyRegular season champions, Empire State Division: 	Rochester Americans
===Individual awards===
Les Cunningham AwardMost valuable player: 	Jean-Francois Labbe - Hershey Bears
John B. Sollenberger TrophyTop point scorer: 	Peter White - Philadelphia Phantoms
Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial AwardRookie of the year: 	Jaroslav Svejkovsky - Portland Pirates
Eddie Shore AwardDefenceman of the year: 	Darren Rumble - Philadelphia Phantoms
Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial AwardBest goaltender: 	Jean-Francois Labbe - Hershey Bears
Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial AwardLowest goals against average:	Jean-Francois Labbe - Hershey Bears
Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial AwardCoach of the year: 	Greg Gilbert - Worcester IceCats
Fred T. Hunt Memorial AwardSportsmanship / Perseverance: 	Steve Passmore - Hamilton Bulldogs
Jack A. Butterfield TrophyMVP of the playoffs: 	Mike McHugh - Hershey Bears
===Other awards===
James C. Hendy Memorial AwardMost outstanding executive: 	Jay Feaster, Hershey Bears
James H. Ellery Memorial Awards Outstanding media coverage:	Lindsay Kramer, Syracuse, (newspaper)Aaron Kennedy, Saint John, (radio)Jim Ogle, Kentucky, (television)
Ken McKenzie AwardOutstanding marketing executive: 	Glenn Stanford, St. John's Maple Leafs & Carole Appleton, Springfield Falcons
==Team Photos==
96-97BalBan.jpg|Baltimore Bandits
96-97RocAme.jpg|Rochester Americans
==Game Ads==
96-97AHLAlbanyGameAd.jpg|Albany
96-97AHLAdirondackGameAd.jpg|Glens Falls
== See also ==
* List of AHL seasons
== References ==
* AHL official site
* AHL Hall of Fame
* HockeyDB
Category:American Hockey League seasons
Category:1997 in hockey