The Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award is an American Hockey League trophy awarded annually to the player best exemplifying sportsmanship, determination, and dedication to hockey. The award is voted upon by players and members of the media around the American Hockey League.
The award is named for Fred T. Hunt, a former player, general manager and governor for the Buffalo Bisons, earning six Calder Cup championships during his career. The original Hunt Trophy was donated by the Buffalo Sabres, whose entry to the National Hockey League resulted in the demise of the Buffalo Bisons.
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). For the 2023–24 season, 31 of the 32 NHL teams have affiliations with an AHL team with only Carolina Hurricanes having no official AHL affiliations. When NHL teams do not have an AHL affiliate, players are assigned to AHL teams affiliated with other NHL teams. Twenty-six AHL teams are located in the United States and the remaining six are in Canada. The league offices are located in Springfield, Massachusetts, and its current president is Scott Howson.
The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg. The current Bears club has played in the American Hockey League since the 1938–39 season making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still playing in its original city.
Roger Allan Crozier was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals. During his career, Crozier was named to the NHL First All-Star Team once, was a Calder Memorial Trophy winner, and was the first player to win the Conn Smythe Trophy while playing for the losing team in the Stanley Cup Finals. He was the last goaltender in the NHL to start all of his team's games in the regular season, in 1964–65.
James Alexander McFadden was a professional ice hockey forward. He was born in Belfast, United Kingdom and raised in Darlingford, Manitoba, in the Opawaka district. One of six players born in Ireland to play in the National Hockey League, McFadden played for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks between 1947 and 1954, as well as several years in different minor leagues. He is the uncle of Bill Mikkelson, and the great uncle of Bill's son, Brendan and daughter Meaghan.
The New Brunswick Hawks were a professional ice hockey team based in Moncton, New Brunswick. Home games were played at the Moncton Coliseum. They were a member of the American Hockey League (AHL) between 1978 and 1982. The Hawks operated as a minor league affiliate of the Chicago Black Hawks and the Toronto Maple Leafs, with a winning record each of four seasons.
Max Kaminsky was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. He played four seasons in the National Hockey League, followed by nine seasons in the American Hockey League where he won two Calder Cup championships. He later coached the Pittsburgh Hornets and Philadelphia Rockets, then led the St. Catharines Teepees to the 1960 Memorial Cup championship. The Max Kaminsky Trophy was established by the Ontario Hockey Association in his honour in 1961, and he was posthumously inducted into the Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame in 1992.
The Syracuse Stars were a minor professional ice hockey team from Syracuse, New York, for ten seasons from 1930–31 to 1939–40. The Stars name had previously been used by sports teams, including several Syracuse Stars baseball teams from the 19th century. The team played at the New York State Fair Coliseum on the New York State Fairgrounds. The Stars were affiliated with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Americans.
The Buffalo Bisons were a professional ice hockey team representing Buffalo, New York, although they played home games in nearby Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, at the 5,000-seat Peace Bridge Arena.
Joseph Hector Gilles Villemure is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played for the New York Rangers and Chicago Black Hawks in the 1960s and 1970s. Villemure was born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec.
David Alan Fenyves is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers.
The F.G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy is awarded to the regular season champion of the American Hockey League's North Division. It is the oldest trophy awarded by the AHL, but it passed through two leagues previously. It is one of the oldest trophies in professional hockey. It is named after Teddy Oke, one of the founders of the Canadian Professional Hockey League (CPHL) in 1926, who presented it to the inaugural CPHL champion – the London Panthers.
The Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award is an American Hockey League (AHL) trophy awarded annually to the most outstanding coach during the season, as voted upon by members of the AHL media.
The 1954–55 AHL season was the 19th season of the American Hockey League. Six teams played 64 games each in the schedule. The "Carl Liscombe Trophy" for the league's top scorer is renamed to the John B. Sollenberger Trophy. The All-Star game is revived, with the AHL All-Stars taking on the defending champions Calder Cup champions from the previous season. The Pittsburgh Hornets finished first overall in the regular season, and won their second Calder Cup championship.
The 1961–62 AHL season was the 26th season of the American Hockey League. The league initiates the James C. Hendy Memorial Award for outstanding team or league executives. The league resumes East and West Divisions. The John D. Chick Trophy is first awarded for the West Division champions of the regular season. The F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy is awarded to East Division champions of the regular season. Eight teams played 70 games each in the schedule. The Springfield Indians finished first overall again in the regular season, and won their third consecutive Calder Cup championship.
The 1964–65 AHL season was the 29th season of the American Hockey League. The league inaugurates the James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding media coverage of the AHL.
The 1977–78 AHL season was the 42nd season of the American Hockey League. The season was in jeopardy when the last of the original eight franchises of the "International-American Hockey League", the Rhode Island Reds folded in the offseason, and the AHL was left with five teams. The league increased its member teams by four, when the North American Hockey League and Southern Hockey Leagues both folded before the 1977–78 season. Two teams joined from the NAHL, and another from the SHL, along with one expansion team.
The 2015–16 AHL season was the 80th season of the American Hockey League. The regular season began on October 9, 2015, and ended on April 17, 2016. The 2016 Calder Cup playoffs follow the conclusion of the regular season. An attendance record was set with a league average of 5,982 spectators per game, surpassing the record set in 2004–05.
Matthew Phillips is a Canadian professional ice hockey right wing who currently plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL).
The 2020–21 AHL season was the 85th season of the American Hockey League. Due to the ongoing restrictions in the COVID-19 pandemic, the start of the regular season was pushed back to February 5, 2021, and the league championship Calder Cup was not awarded for the second consecutive season. The Hershey Bears won the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy for the best regular-season record, their eighth regular-season championship. This was the first season under Scott Howson as the league's president after David Andrews announced his retirement after 26 years in the position.