Award winners
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 award is named for Louis Pieri, a long-time contributor to the AHL as owner of the Providence Reds.
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). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the league has an affiliation agreement with one NHL team. 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 Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a member of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre, the home arena of its parent club, Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL).
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania, just outside the city of Wilkes-Barre. They have won the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy twice for having the best record in the regular season.
The Baltimore Skipjacks were a minor league professional ice hockey team from Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The Skipjacks originated in 1979, and played as the Baltimore Clippers in the Eastern Hockey League for two seasons. The team was renamed to Skipjacks in 1981, and played the following season in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League. The Skipjacks then played eleven seasons as members of the American Hockey League (AHL), from 1982 until 1993. The Skipjacks were one of three AHL teams to have been based in Baltimore, including the Baltimore Clippers, and the Baltimore Bandits. The Skipjacks operated as a farm team to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals for five seasons each, and were previously a farm team to the Minnesota North Stars for two seasons, the Boston Bruins for one season. The team played its home games at the Baltimore Civic Center, which was renamed to the Baltimore Arena in 1986.
The Baltimore Clippers were a minor league professional ice hockey team from in Baltimore, Maryland, playing in the Baltimore Civic Center. The Clippers were members of the American Hockey League from 1962 to 1976, and then played one season in the Southern Hockey League. The team was managed by Terry Reardon for its first fourteen seasons, and won three division titles, but were unable to capture a Calder Cup title. Baltimore began as a farm team for the New York Rangers, and helped develop Hall of Fame players including, Eddie Giacomin, Doug Harvey, Jacques Plante and Jean Ratelle. The Clippers also featured eight alumni, who are now members of the AHL Hall of Fame. The team name "Clippers", was used by two previous professional hockey teams in Baltimore, and paid homage to local history in the Baltimore Clipper, and the Port of Baltimore.
Scott William Arniel is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current associate coach of the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets. Previously, he was the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets and associate coach of the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals.
Donald Richard Lever is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1972–73 until 1986–87. He notably helped the Calgary Flames reach the NHL playoff semifinals for the first time in club history in 1981.
Calvin Parker MacDonald was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played for five National Hockey League teams between 1953 and 1969. He later coached the Minnesota North Stars and the Los Angeles Kings.
The 1967–68 AHL season was the 32nd season of the American Hockey League. Eight teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The league played a limited interlocking schedule with the Western Hockey League which was a repeat of the experiment two seasons earlier. The Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award is first awarded to the "outstanding coach" in the league's regular season. The Rochester Americans finished first overall in the regular season, and won their third Calder Cup championship in four years.
Larry Kish is a former professional hockey coach. He was the head coach of the Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League for 49 games during the 1982–83 NHL season.
Roy A. Sommer is an American former professional ice hockey player and coach. Sommer played three games for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League during the 1980–81 season, before spending the rest of his playing career, which lasted from 1977 to 1987, in the minor leagues. He was the head coach of the American Hockey League's San Jose Barracuda from 1998 to 2019 and 2020 to 2022. The Barracuda, the AHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks, have also been known as the Kentucky Thoroughblades, Cleveland Barons, Worcester Sharks throughout his tenure. He was the longest tenured head coach with the same organization in the AHL and has the most AHL wins as head coach.
Don Granato is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Louis Arthur Raymond Pieri was an American basketball and ice hockey executive and coach.
Spencer Carbery is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger and is an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Mitch Love is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current head coach of the Calgary Wranglers of the American Hockey League (AHL). Love played the role of both a pest and an enforcer during his career. Averaging 3.4 penalty minutes a game over his entire career and posting a league-leading 34 fights during the 2008–09 AHL season.
Mike Haviland is the former head coach for the Colorado College Tigers of the NCHC from 2014 to 2021. Previously he was head coach of the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League. Previously, he was an assistant coach for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League from 2008–2012, where he won the Stanley Cup in 2010.
Geoff Ward is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach who is an assistant coach for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously worked as the head coach of the Calgary Flames and as an assistant coach for the New Jersey Devils, the Boston Bruins, and the Flames. He won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011.
Doug Yingst is an American ice hockey executive. He was the president and general manager of the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, a dual-position he held from the 1998–99 AHL season to the 2015–16 AHL season.
Julien BriseBois is a Canadian ice hockey executive. He is the general manager for the Tampa Bay Lightning in the National Hockey League (NHL) and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.
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.