With the 2025-26 American Hockey League season now underway we wanted to power rank the top 10 teams on entering week one.

AHL rosters undergo significant change throughout the season, especially during the first few weeks of the NHL season. 

With the understanding that lots of movement is still to come our top 10 AHL teams as of Oct. 11 are: 

1. Colorado Eagles

Colorado returns a similar team from 2024-25 where they scored the most goals in the AHL and allowed the fourth least. 

The Eagles replaced departed top scorer Matthew Phillips with 2019 AHL goals leader Alex Barre-Boulet. 

After Phillips six of their top seven scorers return from last season, as does All-Star goaltender Trent Miner, though he is currently with the Avalanche while MacKenzie Blackwood deals with an injury. 

Reigning AHL Defenseman of the Year Jacob MacDonald set the record for most goals in a season by an AHL defenseman last season but will be out five to six months after requiring hip surgery in September. 

The D-core will be tested without MacDonald and Calle Rosen but the Eagles' depth and veterans up front are enough to earn the early number one slot.

2. Laval Rocket

Last season's Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners as the AHL's top team, Laval fell in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Charlotte Checkers last season.

Laval lost top scorer Alex Barre-Boulet and replaced him with Alex Belzile who led the Hartford Wolf Pack in scoring lasts season. 

Like Colorado, six of Laval's top seven scorers from last season are returning. 

After losing Logan Mailloux and Gustav Lindstrom the Rocket brought in Marc Del Gaizo,  Nate Clurman, and Ryan O'Rourke to help balance out their defense core. 

David Reinbacher is currently injured but will likely appear in some AHL games this season as he works his way back.

Goaltender Jacob Fowler joined Laval following the conclusion of his NCAA and immediately posted fantastic numbers. He will form one of the best goaltending duos in the AHL with Kaapo Kahkonen who backstopped the Charlotte Checkers to the Calder Cup Finals last season. 

3. Texas Stars

The Stars have advanced to the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs for the past three seasons, each time falling just short. 

Despite the loss of last season's top scorer Matej Blumel the team returns with a deep roster that includes forwards Kole Lind and Cameron Hughes, 2024 AHL Defenseman of the Year Kyle Capobianco, and goaltender Remi Poirier.

With the Dallas Stars currently carrying 15 forwards on their roster it will be interesting to see who is sent to the AHL.

2025 AHL Rookie of the Year Justin Hryckowian could return to Texas when Jamie Benn returns from injury and would immediately be ne of the leagues best forwards. 

4. Milwaukee Admirals 

Milwaukee lost their veteran leader Cal O'Reilly but brought in Daniel Carr from the Swiss NL. 

It remains to be seen what will happen with Joakim Kemell but Zach L'Heureux, Reid Schaefer, and Jake Lucchini will score goals.

Rookie Tanner Molendyk joins what will be one of the best defense cores in the AHL that also includes Kevin Gravel, Ryan Ufko, Andrew Gibson, and Jordan Oesterle. 

Matt Murray and Magnus Chrona will be one of the best tandems in the AHL. 

The Admirals will almost certainly be in the mix to sign a veteran or player from Europe midway through the season to add a boost to the squad. 

Head Coach Karl Taylor is one of the best in the league and will get the most out of the team. 

5. Ontario Reign

Ontario lost leading scorer Charles Hudon and Samuel Fagemo in the off season and replaced them with Cole Guttman and Logan Brown. 

Akil Thomas, Glenn Gawdin, Martin Chromiak, and Francesco Pinelli will play crucial roles. 

The Reign added Samuel Bolduc to their defense and Kirill Kirsanov - a third rounder in 2021 - joins the team this season for his first year in North America. 

Jacob Moverare is currently up with Los Angeles but would be a big boost if returned to Ontario.

Goaltender Erik Portillo has been solid throughout his career but will take on a full-time start role for the first time as a pro. 

With a new head coach in Andrew Lord the Reign look to continue their strong run of play. 

6.  Grand Rapids Griffins

Out of all teams on this list the Griffins have the most uncertainty surrounding their roster. The team has the potential to add Axel Sandin-Pelikka, Mikael Brandsegg-Nygard, Nate Danielson, and Emmitt Finnie to the team at points during the season. 

With John Leonard joining Amadeus Lombardi and Carter Mazur the team should have lots of speed and skill up front. 

Goaltender Sebastian Cossa has been a stud in net and should continue to grow. 

7. Hershey Bears

No team in the AHL lost more veteran talent this off-season than Hershey. The team lost three of their four highest scoring forwards in Mike Vecchione, Pierrick Dube, and Alex Limoges, leading scorer Ethan Bear, defenseman Chase Priskie, forward Mike Sgarbossa, and goaltender Hunter Shepard. 

Five-time Calder Cup champion head coach Todd Nelson departed for an assistant job with the Pittsburgh Penguins, he was replaced by Derek King.

With all that being said the Bears added Graeme Clarke, Calle Rosen, and Louie Belpido to add some veteran presence.

High scoring CHL rookies Andrew Cristall and Ilya Protas will make their professional debuts, and the team still has an elite goaltender in Clay Stevenson. 

8. Providence Bruins

The Bruins brought in last season's goals leader Matej Blumel and Alex Steeves to replace the departed Vinni Lettieri and Tyler Pitlick. 

The team boasts the reigning AHL Goaltender of the Year in Michael DiPietro and along with the addition of Victor Soderstrom and a full season of Dans Locmelis the Bruins should be difficult to play against night in and night out. 

9. Abbotsford Canucks 

The defending Calder Cup champions lost significant roster pieces this summer, including playoff MVP goaltender Arturs Silovs, forward Sammy Blais, and defenseman Christian Wolanin. 

Despite the losses the Canucks retain much of their championship core and deserve the benefit of the doubt heading into the season. 

Arshdeep Bains, Jonathan Lekkerimaki, and Linus Karlsson will all be up and down with Vancouver this season but will drive the offense while in the AHL. 

Danila Klimovich, Ty Mueller, and Max Sasson will need to continue to help produce.

Tom Willander and Kirill Kudryavtsev will be essential on the back-end, while goaltender Nikita Tolopilo has had strong numbers in a tandem and will take on a bigger role. 

10. San Diego Gulls

The Gulls added Matthew Phillips, are returning key players Tristan Luneau, Jan Mysak, Roland McKeown, Ryan Carpenter, Sasha Pastujov, and goaltender Calle Clang. 

The team will get a full season of defenseman Stian Solberg, have an exciting rookie forward in Tim Washe, and will likely have veteran goaltender Ville Husso make starts. 

San Diego's offense will be hard to stop as they look to get back into the playoffs. 

Honorable mention: Charlotte Checkers

After falling to Abbotsford in the Calder Cup Final Charlotte lost three of their top four scorers in John Leonard, Rasmus Asplund, and Oliver Okuliar, as well as Justin Sourdif and starting goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen in the off-season.

Despite the losses the team boasts a strong defense core, added Jack Studnicka, and will get full seasons from Ryan McAllister and Jack Devine, which should keep them in the upper echelon of the standings. 

Check back with us as The Hockey News will do a monthly AHL power ranking throughout the season.

AHL rosters can be seen here.

Check out our AHL to KHL signing tracker and AHL Free Agency signing tracker.