2022–23 AHL season

The 2022–23 AHL season is the 87th and current 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. The Hershey Bears won their 12th Calder Cup in team history on June 21, 2023 defeating the Coachella Valley Firebirds in overtime of game seven of the finals.
==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 amount 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. Qualification for the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs was decided by accumulation of points by team, with 23 teams making the cutoff. 
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.
===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 East Coast Hockey League, 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. 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.
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====
*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.
====Affiliation changes====
AHL team 	New affiliate 	Previous affiliate
Coachella Valley Firebirds	Seattle Kraken 	Expansion team
Charlotte Checkers 	Florida Panthers	Seattle Kraken
===Coaching changes===
Off–season 	Off–season 	Off–season 	Off–season
Team 	 	 	Notes
Abbotsford Canucks 	Trent Cull 	Jeremy Colliton 	On July 1, 2022, the Vancouver Canucks promoted Cull to assistant coach under head coach Bruce Boudreau. Colliton was named as head coach for Abbotsford on the same day.
Bakersfield Condors 	Jay WoodcroftColin 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. Bakersfield removed the interim tag from Chaulk and named him as head coach for the 2022–23 season.
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.
Chicago Wolves 	Ryan Warsofsky 	Brock Sheahan 	On July 28, 2022, the San Jose Sharks hired Warsofsky as an assistant coach.
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. 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. On June 21, 2022, Bylsma was named as head coach of the Firebirds.
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.
Ontario Reign 	John WroblewskiChris 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. 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.
Rockford IceHogs 	Derek KingAnders Sorensen (interim) 	Anders Sorensen 	On November 6, 2021, King was promoted to Chicago following the firing of Blackhawks head coach Jeremy Colliton. On July 12, 2022, the interim tag was removed from Sorensen as was named head coach for the 2022–23 season.
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. 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.
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.
Tucson Roadrunners 	Jay Varady 	Steve Potvin 	On July 18, 2022, Varady was named as an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings.
In-season 	In-season 	In-season 	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.
== Final standings ==
 indicates team has clinched division and a playoff spot 
 indicates team has clinched a playoff spot 
 indicates team has been eliminated from playoff contention 
Standings as of April 16, 2023
=== Eastern Conference ===
Atlantic Division 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
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 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
y–Toronto Marlies (TOR) 	72	42	24	4	2	90	.625	229	225
x–Syracuse Crunch (TB) 	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 (NJ) 	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 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
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 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
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 (LA) 	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 (SJ) 	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.
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/– = 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.
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==
===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===
==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 	
Thomas Ebright Memorial Award 	
James H. Ellery Memorial Awards 	
Ken McKenzie Award 	
Michael Condon Memorial Award 	
President's Awards 	Organization: Player:
===All-Star Teams===
First All-Star Team
*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
*Joel Hofer (G) – Springfield
*Lucas Carlsson (D) – Charlotte
*Brogan Rafferty (D) – Abbotsford
*Trey Fix-Wolansky (F) – Cleveland
*Max McCormick (F) – Coachella Valley
*T. J. Tynan (F) – Ontario
All-Rookie Team
*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
== References ==
Category:American Hockey League seasons