The Montreal Canadiens vs Toronto Maple Leafs is the oldest rivalry in hockey. While this rivalry doesn’t have the same weight at the AHL level, certainly not the same history, this series has been war.

It should be a great game to wrap up a great series. Laval has the edge roster wise & Game 4 reflected that. That said, Toronto has proven throughout this season that they can’t be counted out.

After watching the Chicago Wolves and the Texas Stars play last night, I can’t help but think about how different each division or conference is, even in a league hyper focused on development like the AHL. It’s something I was talking to a scout about a few weeks back and he talked about how the game out west is an opposite to east coast hockey.

- The Atlantic and North Divisions feel the most like the NHL “Original Six” era. Teams play each other a lot during the season and form historic rivalries. Plus, travel is easy as most teams are driving distance from each other. The on-ice feel is a heavy checking game with strong defenses.

Below is my conversation with Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins Forward Tristan Broz on University of Denver head coach David Carle. Broz played for Carle and won a National Championship with him, so I asked about the best coach in college and whether he'd go to the NHL someday. 

Mike Fink: You mentioned Denver. I'm actually curious, David Carle, what do you think if he'd ever be a coach someday in the NHL or at a different level, do you think he'd be good at it? 


The following players have been selected for AHL Man of the Year nominations:

Chase Wouters, Abbotsford Canucks (4th career selection)

Thinking out loud here. With multiple prospects joining their teams out of college, which AHL teams will get the biggest boost from their top prospects?

Bruins stand out if James Hagens joins the AHL team. Likewise, if Lehigh Valley lands Porter Martone and either Jack Nesbitt or Jett Luchanko, they can have a strong finish to the season. Otherwise, a big focus is on those 2025 first rounders.

2021 World Junior gold medalist Brett Berard has been recalled for the fourth time this season from the Hartford Wolf Pack to the Rangers.

The Abbotsford Canucks have re-signed three players for the 2025-26 season. All three players were signed to one-year extensions and spent the majority of the 2024-25 campaign in the ECHL. The three players who were re-signed were forwards Ben Berard and Zach Okabe, as well as goaltender Jonathan Lemieux.

The Abbotsford Canucks have signed a trio of players to contract extensions. Forward Cooper Walker and Joe Arntsen both received two-year AHL extensions, while Dino Kambeitz was re-signed for one season. All three played depth roles for Abbotsford last year and helped the organization capture their first championship in franchise history.