2001–02 AHL season

The 2001–02 AHL season was the 66th season of the American Hockey League. It was the season of the biggest growth in the AHL's history, as it accepted eight new teams. The demise of the International Hockey League brought six teams transferring from the defunct league, in addition to two expansion teams.
The AHL realigned divisions again. The Eastern conference consisted of the East, North and Canadian divisions. The Western conference consisted of the Central, South and West divisions. The league also announced three additional trophies, two of which are to be awarded for the regular season champions of the new divisions. The Norman R. "Bud" Poile Trophy goes to the West division, and the Emile Francis Trophy goes to the North division. The third trophy, the Michael Condon Memorial Award is first awarded for outstanding service by an on-ice official in the AHL. 
Twenty-seven teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Bridgeport Sound Tigers finished first overall in the regular season. The Chicago Wolves won their first Calder Cup championship, in their inaugural AHL season.
==Team changes==
* The Louisville Panthers suspend operations, becoming dormant.
* The Kentucky Thoroughblades move to Cleveland, Ohio, becoming the second incarnation of the Cleveland Barons.
* The Bridgeport Sound Tigers join the AHL as an expansion team, based in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
* The Manchester Monarchs join the AHL as an expansion team, based in Manchester, New Hampshire.
;Teams from the International Hockey League 
Six teams transferred to the American Hockey League, when the International Hockey League ceased operations.
* The Chicago Wolves based in Chicago, Illinois.
* The Grand Rapids Griffins based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
* The Houston Aeros based in Houston, Texas.
* The Manitoba Moose based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
* The Milwaukee Admirals based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
* The Utah Grizzlies based in Salt Lake City, Utah.
==Final standings==
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points;
===Eastern Conference===
Canadian 	GP	W 	L 	T 	OTL	Pts	GF 	GA
Quebec Citadelles 	80	35	27	15	3 	88 	257	254
Hamilton Bulldogs 	80	37	30	10	3 	87 	247	205
St. John's Maple Leafs	80	34	27	17	2 	87 	256	240
Manitoba Moose 	80	39	33	4 	4 	86 	270	260
Saint John Flames 	80	29	34	13	4 	75 	182	202
North 	GP	W 	L 	T 	OTL	Pts	GF 	GA
Lowell Lock Monsters	80	41	25	11	3 	96 	229	209
Manchester Monarchs 	80	38	28	11	3 	90 	236	225
Worcester IceCats 	80	39	33	7 	1 	86 	245	218
Portland Pirates 	80	30	31	15	4 	79 	220	225
Springfield Falcons 	80	35	41	2 	2 	74 	213	237
East 	GP	W 	L 	T 	OTL	Pts	GF 	GA
Bridgeport Sound Tigers	80	43	25	8 	4 	98 	240	192
Hartford Wolf Pack 	80	41	26	10	3 	95 	249	243
Providence Bruins 	80	35	33	8 	4 	82 	190	223
Albany River Rats 	80	14	42	12	12 	52 	172	271
===Western Conference===
Central 	GP	W 	L 	T 	OTL	Pts	GF 	GA
Syracuse Crunch 	80	39	23	13	5 	96 	228	193
Rochester Americans 	80	32	30	15	3 	82 	206	211
Cincinnati Mighty Ducks	80	33	33	11	3 	80 	216	211
Cleveland Barons 	80	29	40	7 	4 	69 	223	268
West 	GP	W 	L 	T 	OTL	Pts	GF 	GA
Grand Rapids Griffins	80	42	27	11	0 	95 	217	178
Houston Aeros 	80	39	26	10	5 	93 	234	232
Utah Grizzlies 	80	40	29	6 	5 	91 	240	225
Chicago Wolves 	80	37	31	7 	5 	86 	250	236
Milwaukee Admirals 	80	30	35	10	5 	75 	198	207
South 	GP	W 	L 	T 	OTL	Pts	GF 	GA
Norfolk Admirals 	80	38	26	12	4 	92 	222	205
Hershey Bears 	80	36	27	11	6 	89 	200	193
Philadelphia Phantoms 	80	33	27	15	5 	86 	206	210
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	80	20	44	13	3 	56 	201	274
==Scoring leaders==
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes
Player 	Team 	GP	G 	A 	Pts	PIM
Donald MacLean 	St. John's Maple Leafs	75	33	54	87 	49
Eric Boguniecki	Worcester IceCats 	45	17	28	45 	100
Rob Brown 	Chicago Wolves 	80	29	54	83 	103
Brad Smyth 	Hartford Wolf Pack 	79	34	48	82 	90
Jason Chimera 	Hamilton Bulldogs 	77	26	51	77 	158
Justin Papineau	Worcester IceCats 	75	38	38	76 	86
Eric Landry 	Quebec Citadelles 	73	26	36	62 	119
Brian Swanson 	Hamilton Bulldogs 	65	34	39	73 	26
Bob Wren 	St. John's Maple Leafs	69	24	49	73 	83
* complete list
==Calder Cup Playoffs==
	
==All Star Classic==
The 15th AHL All-Star Game was played on February 14, 2002 at the Mile One Stadium in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Team Canada defeated Team PlanetUSA 13-11. In the skills competition held the day before the All-Star Game, Team Canada won 21-9 over Team PlanetUSA. 
==Trophy and award winners==
===Team awards===
Calder CupPlayoff champions: 	Chicago Wolves
Richard F. Canning TrophyEastern Conference playoff champions: 	Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Robert W. Clarke TrophyWestern Conference playoff champions: 	Chicago Wolves
Macgregor Kilpatrick TrophyRegular season champions, league: 	Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Frank Mathers TrophyRegular season champions, South Division: 	Norfolk Admirals
Norman R. "Bud" Poile TrophyRegular season champions, West Division:	Grand Rapids Griffins
Emile Francis TrophyRegular season champions, North Division: 	Lowell Lock Monsters
F. G. "Teddy" Oke TrophyRegular season champions, East Division: 	Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Sam Pollock TrophyRegular season champions, Canadian Division: 	Quebec Citadelles
John D. Chick TrophyRegular season champions, Central Division: 	Syracuse Crunch
===Individual Awards===
Les Cunningham AwardMost valuable player: 	Eric Boguniecki - Worcester IceCats
John B. Sollenberger TrophyTop point scorer: 	Donald MacLean - St. John's Maple Leafs
Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial AwardRookie of the year: 	Tyler Arnason - Norfolk Admirals
Eddie Shore AwardDefenceman of the year: 	John Slaney - Philadelphia Phantoms
Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial AwardBest goaltender: 	Martin Prusek - Grand Rapids Griffins
Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial AwardLowest goals against average:	Martin Prusek, Simon Lajeunesse & Mathieu Chouinard - Grand Rapids Griffins
Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial AwardCoach of the year: 	Bruce Cassidy - Grand Rapids Griffins
Fred T. Hunt Memorial AwardSportsmanship / Perseverance: 	Nathan Dempsey - St. John's Maple Leafs
Yanick Dupre Memorial AwardCommunity Service Award: 	Travis Roche - Houston Aeros
Jack A. Butterfield TrophyMVP of the playoffs: 	Pasi Nurminen - Chicago Wolves
===Other awards===
James C. Hendy Memorial AwardMost outstanding executive: 	Glenn Stanford, St. John's Maple Leafs
Thomas Ebright Memorial AwardCareer contributions: 	Bruce Landon
James H. Ellery Memorial Awards Outstanding media coverage: 	Garry McKay, Hamilton, (newspaper)WOOD-TV, Grand Rapids, (radio)[Tom Grace, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, (television)
Ken McKenzie AwardOutstanding marketing executive: 	Jim Sarosy, Syracuse Crunch
Michael Condon Memorial AwardOutstanding service, on-ice official:	Jim Doyle
==Team Photos==
01-02ChiWol.jpg|Chicago Wolves
01-02AlbRR.jpg|Albany River Rats
==See also==
*List of AHL seasons
==References==
*AHL official site
*AHL Hall of Fame
*HockeyDB
Category:2002 in hockey
Category:American Hockey League seasons