The Providence Bruins are going to have a boatload of talent going into next season, specifically offensively. For the 2025-24 campaign, their top-six forward group, and maybe even deeper, will be littered with NHL-fringe players.
Last season, Providence finished eighth in the overall AHL standings, registering 90 points and a 41-23-8 record. With that, they advanced to the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs, but were eliminated by the Charlotte Checkers in the Atlantic Division semifinal, losing in five games.
The Bruins’ offense was already one of their strong suits last season. They finished fifth overall in goals scored with 240, averaging 3.33 goals per game. They also had the best power-play percentage in the Eastern Conference - third-best in the entire league - registering 21.4 percent.
Providence lost two of its top five scorers from last season in Vinni Lettieri and Tyler Pitlick. However, center Georgii Merkulov, their leading scorer from last season with 54 points, remains. On top of that, center Patrick Brown and Riley Tufte are also sticking around as they signed one-year contracts in the off-season.
Coach Ryan Mougenel won’t have to worry about making up for lost scoring because they’ll be receiving a few players who will only bolster their attack.
Five AHL Coaches Nearing Promotions To The NHLOftentimes, when an NHL coach is fired or removed from their role in any fashion, it’s natural to immediately look for candidates who are next in line to take that job. The obvious picks are outside hires who have NHL experience and who are one or two years removed from an NHL coaching position.
Along with the previously listed players, Providence will still have Matthew Poitras, Fraser Minten, Fabian Lysell and others on the roster. But still coming in are center Alex Steeves and right winger Matej Blumel.
Steeves is coming off the best season of his four-year pro-hockey career. He scored 36 goals and 62 points in 59 games for the Toronto Marlies last season. He finished second in the league in goals and eighth in points. He also made a few NHL appearances for the Toronto Maple Leafs in each of those four years.
The one player who had more goals than Steeves last season was also picked up by the Bruins organization in Blumel. The Czech right winger scored a league-leading 39 goals, but also ended up second in the AHL in points with 72 to his name. He was just one point behind San Jose Barracuda center Andrew Poturalski, who is now a member of Omsk of the KHL.
There’s no denying that a handful of those players who make up Providence’s scoring depth will get looks with the NHL’s Boston Bruins. But, in the big picture, this team should be reaching new heights this coming season.
Check out our AHL to KHL signing tracker and AHL Free Agency signing tracker.
Every NHL team has their AHL affiliate. Some of these AHL affiliates are located in the same city as, or close to, the NHL team. Examples of that would be the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Marlies, the San Jose Sharks and the Barracuda, the Calgary Flames and the Wranlgers, and a few more.
However, there are other situations where the affiliates are more than 1,000 miles apart from each other. States and provinces separate some teams, while others are on opposite sides of the border.
Here are the three longest distances between NHL and AHL affiliates.
The distance between the Edmonton Oilers and Bakersfield Condors is the biggest between an NHL and AHL affiliate in the entire league. Between the two cities is about 1,284 flying miles. That’s around four-and-a-half times the Grand Canyon.
Edmonton is the capital city of Alberta, located in the mid-west of Canada. Bakersfield is in California, on the west coast of the U.S. This city is further south than San Jose and San Francisco, making travel by plane over three hours long.
Neutral-Site Matchups And Locations For The 2025-26 NHL Pre-SeasonThe NHL pre-season has officially arrived this weekend as another season approaches. Not only is pre-season a great time for coaches and management to test out line combinations and review their roster, but it’s a great time for the NHL and the teams to try new things.
The Syracuse Crunch has been around since 1994-95 and has been the AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning since the 2011-12 season. Since then, they’ve been the home to coach Jon Cooper, Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and several other individuals who have made great impacts in the NHL.
Between Tampa, Fla., and Syracuse, N.Y. is 1,098 miles, the second-longest distance among the two affiliates. The travel time between the two cities is nearly three hours. A shorter flight than Edmonton to Bakersfield, but still not an easy trip for a call-up.
The latest NHL expansion team and one of the newest NHL franchises, the Seattle Kraken and the Coachella Valley Firebirds, make up the third-longest distance between league affiliates.
The Kraken are based in Seattle, Wash., while the Firebirds are located in Palm Desert, Calif. The distance between the two clubs and cities is about 1,011 miles and is around the same flight time from Tampa to Syracuse, just under three hours.
Check out our AHL to KHL signing tracker and AHL Free Agency signing tracker.
Oftentimes, when an NHL coach is fired or removed from their role in any fashion, it’s natural to immediately look for candidates who are next in line to take that job. The obvious picks are outside hires who have NHL experience and who are one or two years removed from an NHL coaching position.
However, there is another path for a team’s brass to go down when it comes to narrowing down a coaching search, and that path leads them to the AHL. All the great coaches once coached in the American League at some point.
In fact, 21 of the 32 coaches in the NHL have coached in the AHL at some point in their careers. That includes Stanley Cup winners Paul Maurice, Jon Cooper, Joel Quenneville and more.
Here’s a list of AHL coaches who could earn a promotion to the NHL in the near future, in no particular order.
Manny Malhotra is coming off a Calder Cup championship in his first year as a professional head coach. He led the Abbotsford Canucks to their first championship since the franchise moved to Abbotsford in 2021.
It’s not uncommon for AHL coaches who win championships to get some time as an NHL bench boss. Sheldon Keefe is an example of that when he was with the Toronto Marlies and was promoted to the Toronto Maple Leafs just a couple of seasons later.
It may seem unlikely for Malhotra to get promoted to the Vancouver Canucks, considering Adam Foote was just hired. However, it doesn’t mean other teams around the league aren’t taking note of his accomplishments in the minors.
Geordie Kinnear has been a head coach in the AHL for a long time now. He’s been the bench boss for the Springfield Thunderbirds and the Charlotte Checkers for nine seasons. The 52-year-old is coming off his best season with the Checkers, leading them to the Calder Cup final.
Aside from last season’s fourth-place finish in the regular season and final appearance, Kinnear was the man behind a few other solid campaigns with Charlotte. Since the 2021-22 season, Kinnear’s team has put up a minimum winning percentage of .590.
Trent Vogelhuber, the youngest head coach on this list, has had an impressive start to his short coaching career. After missing the playoffs in his first year, he made the AHL post-season in back-to-back seasons to get to this point.
Due to his leadership behind the bench, the Cleveland Monsters have been a promising team for the past two years, and look to continue that reputation for 2025-26. It may be a matter of time before an NHL team recognizes the young prodigy in Cleveland.
Blue Jackets’ Jet Greaves To Challenge For Starting Gig: AHL Goaltenders To Make The ShowThe goaltender is arguably the most important position in hockey. It is believed that without a great goalie between the pipes, a team has little chance of winning silverware, let alone hoisting the Stanley Cup.
Since becoming the head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals in 2018-19, Karl Taylor has been as consistent as any coach in the AHL. Aside from the 2019-20 season, when the AHL playoffs were cancelled due to COVID-19, Taylor’s Admirals have qualified for the playoffs every year. It’s a shame because in that cancelled season, Milwaukee had a 41-14-8 record, dominating the league.
Nashville Predators GM Barry Trotz might be keeping one eye on Taylor and his success in the minors, especially considering Andrew Brunette's tenure with the team so far. Furthermore, Taylor has taken the Admirals to the third round of the playoffs for three straight years. It’s only a matter of time before he can make a breakthrough in the post-season.
Ryan Mougenel could be on the cusp of a strong season with the Providence Bruins. Several great players could be suiting up for Providence this year, including Fraser Minten, Alex Steeves, Fabian Lysel, Michael DiPietro, Matej Blumel, Matthew Poitras, and more.
Mougenel should be in line to have one of his best seasons as the Bruins’ bench boss. Up to this point, he has been solid with three straight 40-plus win seasons and three consecutive playoff appearances.
Check out our AHL to KHL signing tracker and AHL Free Agency signing tracker.
Training camp is officially underway, and hockey is back. This means the team get to take a closer look at all their line combinations and ideas on the ice rather than just on paper.
One thing coaches would like to look at is what sort of talent they have coming up from the AHL. Some will get the opportunity to share a line with some great NHL players and participate in a few pre-season contests to prove their worth.
Here are a handful of wingers who played in the minors last season, looking to become full-time NHL players.
The Edmonton Oilers got younger in the off-season, acquiring NCAA star Isaac Howard, and all signs point to Matthew Savoie becoming a regular in this upcoming season.
Savoie is coming off a great rookie campaign with the Bakersfield Condors, scoring 19 goals and 54 points in 66 appearances. The 21-year-old right winger is going to be given plenty of opportunity and responsibility in what will likely be his first full NHL season alongside Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
After three consecutive solid seasons with the Texas Stars in the AHL, the Boston Bruins now hold the rights of Matej Blumel, as they signed him on July 1. Blumel was the AHL’s leading goal scorer last season with 39 tallies and finished second in scoring with 72 points in 67 games.
The Czech right winger has a clear opportunity to make the Bruins roster out of training camp, depending on his performance. Boston struggled to score last season, and if he shows that he can be the offensive threat that he was with Texas, he may not have to report to Providence.
Trey Fix-Wolansky signed a one-year deal with the New York Rangers following parts of seven seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 26-year-old right winger registered three straight 60-point seasons with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters.
Last season, he scored 26 goals and 60 points in 65 games for the Monsters. Despite his success in the AHL, including a 71-point season in 2022-23, he was never able to get regular time in The Show. Whether that’ll be with the Rangers or more time in the American League with the Hartford Wolf Pack, Fix-Wolansky could make a name for himself this training camp.
Isak Rosen, selected 14th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2021 draft, is coming off back-to-back 50-point campaigns with the Rochester Americans. The 22-year-old left winger has demonstrated consistency in the minors, with progress and improvements evident with each passing season.
He has dipped his toe in the NHL, playing 15 games across two seasons with the Sabres, but this could be the year he becomes a full-timer for them. Last season, he scored 28 goals and 55 points, leading the Americans in both those scoring categories.
Arshdeep Bains earned some attention as he was a key contributor to the Abbotsford Canucks’ Calder Cup championship. In the regular season, he registered a respectable 11 goals and 43 points in 50 games. In the playoffs, he averaged a point per game, scoring seven goals and 24 points.
If the Vancouver Canucks struggle to score or miss offensive depth, Bains should be an obvious solution to that for Adam Foote’s team. The 24-year-old has played 21 NHL games across the last two seasons, recording one goal.
Vancouver Canucks Announce Contract Extension For Abbotsford Canucks Head Coach Manny MalhotraAbbotsford Canucks Head Coach Manny Malhotra will be staying with the organization for the next couple of seasons. On Tuesday, GM Patrik Allvin announced that the Canucks have picked up Malhotra's option for the 2026-27 season. This will keep Malhotra in Abbotsford for the next two seasons, where he can continue to help develop Vancouver's top prospects.
Check out our AHL to KHL signing tracker and AHL Free Agency signing tracker.
The San Jose Barracuda announced they have signed forward Oliver Wahlstrom to PTO/AHL contract for the 2025-26 season.
Wahlstrom will attend San Jose Sharks training camp with an opportunity to make the team but has a guaranteed AHL deal with the Barracuda.
The 25-year-old had four points in 27 games with the New York Islanders, two points in 16 games with the Boston Bruins, and 15 points in 19 games with the Providence Bruins last season.
A native of Portland, ME., Wahlstrom has recorded 37 goals and 73 points in 236 career NHL games and 21 goals and 40 points in 69 career AHL games.
The #SJBarracuda have signed F Oliver Wahlstrom to an AHL Contract for the 2025-26 season pic.twitter.com/OZ8gVXNG5G
— SJ Barracuda (@sjbarracuda) September 16, 2025
If he does not make the NHL out of camp Wahlstrom will make a nice addition to a Baracuda team that lost reigning AHL MVP Andrew Poturalski this off-season.
The 11th overall selection of the Islanders in 2018, Wahlstrom is extremely talented but has struggled to find consistently in the NHL, he should have lots of opportunity with the Sharks organization.
Check out our AHL to KHL signing tracker and AHL Free Agency signing tracker.
Lots of current and future AHL talent was on display this past week across 10 different NHL Prospect Tournaments.
It is tough to base long-term opinions on such a short showcase but we took a look at a few players who have played in the AHL or are on AHL deals below that stood out in their rookie tournament
Scott Morrow - (D) New York Rangers
Morrow played 14 games with the Carolina Hurricanes and notched 39 points in 52 games with the Chicago Wolves last season.
The 22-year-old was one of the most experienced players at the tournament but looked like the best player on the ice most of the time. He displayed his offensive ability with five points over two games against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Jacob Fowler - (G) Laval Rocket
After a tremendous performance in 11 appearances with the Rocket, including in eight Calder Cup Playoff games, Fowler picked up right where he left off in the rookie showcase.
The 20-year-old allowed just two goals in 60 minutes of game time and looks to continue to develop his game alongside veteran Kaapo Kahkonen in Laval this season.
Jacob Quillan - (F) Toronto Marlies
After posting 37 points in 67 games as an AHL rookie with the Marlies last season Quillan stood out offensively against Ottawa and Montreal.
The 23-year-old will look to be a driver offensively with the Marlies and compete for playing time with the Maple Leafs this season.
Joakim Kemell - (F) Nashville Predators
Another player with lots of professional experience, Kemell looked dangerous and constantly created plays in the prospect tournament.
The 21-year-old looks to graduate to the NHL full-time after 40 points in 65 AHL games last season.
Joakim Kemell with a LASER 🎯 pic.twitter.com/7SNGpUTu6l
— Nashville Predators (@PredsNHL) September 12, 2025
Kenny Connors - (F) Los Angeles Kings
Connors picked-up a hat trick and added an assists in two games against the San Jose Sharks.
A fourth round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2022, Connors seems set to jump into a big role with the Ontario Reign this season after three years at UMass.
Check out our AHL to KHL signing tracker and AHL Free Agency signing tracker.
The upcoming 2025-26 season could see a handful of talented defensemen transition to full-time NHL roles.
Some of these blueliners are simply growing, maturing and improving all the way to NHL consideration. Others may benefit from a change of scenery, opening themselves up to an opportunity that might not have been possible in another organization.
Here are three AHL D-men to break into the NHL for this coming season.
Following a solid campaign with the Laval Rocket last year in the Montreal Canadiens organization, Logan Mailloux was traded to the St. Louis Blues, and there’s no sign of him suiting up for the Springfield Thunderbirds.
All signs point to Mailloux playing in his first full NHL season after the Blues acquired the 22-year-old for Zack Bolduc on July 1.
The right-handed D-man has played two full AHL seasons since he was drafted by the Canadiens in 2021, with a handful of NHL games mixed in. Last season, he made 63 appearances for the Rocket, scoring 12 goals and 33 points. The season before that, he registered 14 goals and 47 points in 72 games.
His NHL experience is light, with a total of nine games and five points to his name. But his experience in The Show should be a lot higher at this time next year.
Despite being a fourth-round pick by the San Jose Sharks in the 2023 draft, Luca Cagnoni has been a pleasant surprise for the organization thus far. As a rookie in the AHL with the San Jose Barracuda last year, Cagnoni scored 16 goals and 52 points in 64 outings. He finished tied for third in scoring among all AHL defensemen.
The 5-foot-9 blueliner may have a small frame, but he has proven to be a dynamic player who has a notable offensive impact at different levels. He played six games with the Sharks last year, recording two assists. But it was in junior when he might’ve turned some heads.
Following his draft year, Cagnoni had an offensive explosion in his final season with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. He led all CHL defensemen in scoring for that 2023-24 season, recording 18 goals and 72 assists for 90 points.
If Cagnoni can keep up that scoring pace, he could earn consistent NHL time with the Sharks at some point next season.
Blue Jackets’ Jet Greaves To Challenge For Starting Gig: AHL Goaltenders To Make The ShowThe goaltender is arguably the most important position in hockey. It is believed that without a great goalie between the pipes, a team has little chance of winning silverware, let alone hoisting the Stanley Cup.
The final defenseman on this list is Tristan Luneau of the San Diego Gulls and Anaheim Ducks. After a handful of games between the AHL and NHL in 2023-24, Luneau played a full season with the Gulls last year.
In 59 games, Luneau scored nine goals and 43 assists for 52 points, equalling Cagnoni’s total for the third most by a D-man in the AHL, also as a rookie.
Luneau’s chances to crack the Ducks roster are a little tougher than the rest of the defensemen on this list. Anaheim has an abundance of young blueliners, including Pavel Mintyukov, Jackson LaCombe, Olen Zellweger and Drew Helleson.
However, it’s not impossible for Luneau, as the 21-year-old played a total of 13 NHL games across the last two seasons. Only time will tell if he can rise Anaheim’s depth chart and become a full-time NHLer.
Check out our AHL to KHL signing tracker and AHL Free Agency signing tracker.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed Brett Murray to a PTO and the Florida Panthers have signed Daniel Walcott and Josh Lopina professional tryouts, per Frank Seravalli.
Murray notched 27 goals and 49 points in 66 games with the Rochester Americans last season, finishing second on the team in both categories.
The 27-year-old has 206 points in 325 career AHL games and six points in 26 career NHL games.
A fourth round selection of the Buffalo Sabres in 2016, Murray would be a great veteran addition to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and could play NHL games for the Pittsburgh Penguins if needed.
Walcott had four goals and 12 points in 61 games with the Syracuse Crunch last season.
A respected leader, the 31-year-old served as an assistant captain with the Crunch for eight seasons and won the AHL's Yanick Dupré Memorial Award for his involvement in the community in 2024.
A fifth round selection of the New York Rangers in 2014, Walcott has 147 points and 568 penalty minutes in 495 career AHL games and is pointless in one career NHL game with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Lopina recorded three goals and 13 points in 62 games with the San Diego Gulls last season.
A fourth round selection of the Anaheim Ducks in 2021, he has accumulated 44 points in 203 career AHL games.
Murray and Walcott were named on our top remaining AHL free agents list earlier this week.
Check out our AHL to KHL signing tracker and AHL Free Agency signing tracker.