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2008-09 AHL Season Preview
American Hockey League
Oct 8, 2008
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Springfield, MA - The American Hockey League begins its 73rd season tonight as 29 teams start down the road to the 2009 Calder Cup championship. The 2008-09 campaign gets underway at 7:05 p.m. (ET) with a pair of games, as the Providence Bruins play host to the Lowell Devils and the defending Eastern Conference champion Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins entertain the Hershey Bears.
The 2008 Calder Cup champion Chicago Wolves kick off their title defense on Saturday evening, Oct. 11, when they visit Houston to take on the Aeros. The Wolves will then celebrate their second AHL championship in seven years at their home opener when in-state rival Peoria visits the Allstate Arena on Saturday, Oct. 18.
The Iowa Chops make their AHL debut as the top affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks when Peoria visits the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines on Friday, Oct. 10.
After an offseason that saw eight AHL head coaches promoted to the National Hockey League, 2008-09 opens with 10 bench bosses making their AHL debuts: Albany's Jeff Daniels, Grand Rapids' Curt Fraser, Iowa's Gord Dineen, Norfolk's Darren Rumble, Peoria's Davis Payne, Providence's Rob Murray, Rochester's Benoit Groulx, Rockford's Bill Peters, Springfield's Jeff Truitt and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Dan Bylsma. Other coaches behind new benches include former Pieri Award winners Don Granato in Chicago and John Paddock in Philadelphia.
The regular season comprises 1,160 games leading up to the start of the 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs in April. On Jan. 25-26, the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Charter Communications will be held at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass., featuring the top talent in the AHL competing in both the Skills Competition and the All-Star Game.
In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 84 percent of today's NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the seventh year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2007-08.
2008-09 Rules Changes
The American Hockey League has implemented the following rules changes for the 2008-09 season:
Playing rosters during the regular season have been increased to a maximum of 18 skaters and two goaltenders (up from 17 and two).
At the request of NHL general managers, the AHL has implemented one-minute minor penalties during overtime in the regular season. Carry-over time on minor penalties from the third period will be halved.
In order to bring the AHL rule book closer in line to the NHL's, the AHL Board approved the following:
Rule 60.3 ("High-Sticking") now calls for a double-minor penalty (rather than a major) in the event of a high-sticking infraction that causes injury, whether accidental or careless, in the opinion of the referee.
Rule 63.2 ("Delaying the Game") now calls for an automatic minor penalty when any player or goalkeeper, while in his defending zone, shoots the puck directly out of the playing surface, except where there is no glass.
A change to Rule 81.1 ("Icing") states that "Any contact between opposing players while pursuing the puck on an icing must be for the sole purpose of playing the puck and not for eliminating the opponent from playing the puck. Unnecessary or dangerous contact could result in penalties being assessed to the offending player."
A change to Rule 85.5 ("Face-Off Location") provides that if a puck is shot off the goal frame, goal post or crossbar, the subsequent face-off will remain in the end zone where the puck went out of play.
TV and promotional timeouts will not be permitted immediately following an icing violation.
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