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 official affiliations with an AHL team, with only the Carolina Hurricanes having no such affiliation. When NHL teams do not have an AHL affiliate, players are assigned to AHL teams affiliated with other NHL franchises. Twenty-six AHL teams are located across the United States whereas the remaining six are situated in Canada. The league offices are located in Springfield, Massachusetts, and its current president is Scott Howson.
The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) currently operating as the lone independent franchise in the league. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois, and are owned by Chicago business owners Don Levin and Buddy Meyers.
The San Antonio Rampage was a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was sold to the Vegas Golden Knights and relocated as the Henderson Silver Knights.
Orleans Arena is a 9,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Paradise, Nevada, in the Las Vegas Valley. It is located at the Orleans Hotel and Casino and is operated by Coast Casinos, a subsidiary of Boyd Gaming Corporation.
The Las Vegas metropolitan area is home to many sports, most of which take place in the unincorporated communities around Las Vegas rather than in the city itself. Currently, the Las Vegas Valley has three major league professional teams: the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL), which began play in 2017 as the region's first major pro team, the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) which began play in 2020 after relocating from Oakland, California, and the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB) plan to move to Las Vegas to play at a new ballpark which is estimated to be complete by 2028. When this relocation happens, Las Vegas will have progressed from being the largest market in the U.S. with no teams in the men's major professional leagues to being one of the smallest markets with at least three such teams within less than a decade. In addition, the National Basketball Association has publicly confirmed Las Vegas is being considered for an expansion franchise, which would potentially make Las Vegas by far the fastest market to progress from no teams in the Big Four leagues to having teams in all four leagues.
The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams among indoor football leagues. As of the 2023 season, the league consists of 14 teams in two conferences with each team playing 16 games over 19 weeks.
Spurs Sports & Entertainment L.L.C. (SS&E) is an American sports & entertainment organization, based in San Antonio, Texas. The company owns and operates several sporting franchises including the National Basketball Association (NBA) San Antonio Spurs, NBA G League Austin Spurs, and the USL Championship club San Antonio FC. SS&E also operates the Bexar County-owned multi-purpose facility, the Frost Bank Center.
The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Golden Knights compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. Founded in 2017 as an expansion team, the team is the first major sports franchise to represent Las Vegas. The franchise is owned by Black Knight Sports and Entertainment, a consortium led by Bill Foley and the Maloof family. Their home games are played at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada.
William P. Foley II is an American businessman and former attorney, specializing in financial services. He is chairman of Fidelity National Financial, Cannae Holdings and Black Knight Financial Services, and vice chairman of Fidelity National Information Services Inc. (FIS). Foley is the lead investor, chairman, and CEO of Black Knight Sports & Entertainment, a consortium that owns the Vegas Golden Knights. He is managing general partner of Black Knight Football and Entertainment, which owns Premier League club AFC Bournemouth, A-League club Auckland FC, and a stake in French Ligue 1 club FC Lorient. As of 2023, he had an estimated net worth of US$1.6 billion according to Forbes.
The Bay Area Panthers are a professional indoor football team based in San Jose, California. They are a member of the Indoor Football League (IFL) and were to begin play in 2020 at Oakland Arena as the Oakland Panthers. Due the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Panthers' inaugural season was cancelled and then the team withdrew from the following 2021 season. Prior to the 2022 season, the Panthers announced they would instead play their home games at the SAP Center in San Jose and were renamed after the Bay Area.
The Henderson Silver Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in Henderson, Nevada, that began play in the 2020–21 American Hockey League (AHL) season. The team plays its home games at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada. The team is an owned-and-operated affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights.
Brendan Brisson is an American ice hockey center for the Henderson Silver Knights of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 29th overall by the Golden Knights in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Brendan is the son of NHL agent Pat Brisson.
The Savannah Ghost Pirates are a professional minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL based in Savannah, Georgia. The team began play in the 2022–23 ECHL season with home games at Enmarket Arena.
Logan Thompson is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). After playing junior hockey in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Brandon Wheat Kings, Thompson went undrafted, and spent time in U Sports, the ECHL, and the American Hockey League (AHL) before signing his first NHL contract with the Golden Knights in 2020. After two years spent primarily with the AHL Henderson Silver Knights, Thompson received significant playing time in the 2021–22 season due to injuries to other Vegas goaltenders, becoming the first former U Sports goaltender to start an NHL game in over 30 years. After taking over as Vegas' starting goaltender for the 2022–23 season, Thompson was named an NHL All-Star in 2023 and won the Stanley Cup with Vegas the same year, despite suffering injuries late in the season. Internationally, Thompson has represented Canada on one occasion, winning a silver medal at the 2022 edition of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship.
The Vegas Knight Hawks are a professional indoor football team based in Henderson, Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas. A member of the Indoor Football League (IFL), the Knight Hawks began play in 2022 at Lee's Family Forum. The Knight Hawks are owned by Bill Foley, owner of the Vegas Golden Knights.
The 2022 Indoor Football League season was the fourteenth season of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The league played the season with 14 teams, up from 11 teams the previous season. The Bay Area Panthers, Quad City Steamwheelers, and San Diego Strike Force, returned from dormancy after electing not to play during the 2021 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Vegas Knight Hawks joined the league as an expansion team. The Cedar Rapids River Kings did not return and the announced 2022 expansion Columbus Wild Dogs pushed back their start date to 2023. The Spokane Shock were removed from the league in February 2022 after the team lost its lease for their home arena.
Brayden Pachal is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Vegas Golden Knights, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 2023.
Jiří Patera is a Czech professional ice hockey goaltender for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played junior in the United States Hockey League (USHL) with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Brandon Wheat Kings.
Isaiah Saville is an American professional ice hockey goaltender for the Henderson Silver Knights of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played junior in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) with the Minnesota Magicians and the United States Hockey League (USHL) with the Tri-City Storm, as well as NCAA collegiate hockey with the Omaha Mavericks.
The 2022–23 Vegas Golden Knights season was the sixth season for the National Hockey League franchise that started playing in the 2017–18 season.
