The Thomas Ebright Memorial Award is presented annually for outstanding career contributions to the American Hockey League. The award is named for Thomas Ebright, the former owner of the Portland Pirates and Baltimore Skipjacks. Ebright was a longtime member of the Board of Governors until his death in 1997.
Season | Recipient |
---|---|
1997–98 | Jack Butterfield |
1998–99 | Gordon Anziano |
1999–00 | Bryan Lewis |
2000–01 | Bill Torrey |
2001–02 | Bruce Landon |
2002–03 | Bill Watters |
2003–04 | Roy Boe |
Jack Kelley | |
2004–05 | Glenn Stanford |
2005–06 | Al Coates |
2006–07 | Frank Miceli |
2007–08 | Doug Yingst |
2008–09 | Jim Mill |
2009–10 | Tom Mitchell |
2010–11 | Mark Chipman |
2011–12 | Lyman G. Bullard, Jr. |
2012–13 | Jeff Barrett |
2013–14 | Howard Dolgon |
2014–15 | Michael Andlauer |
2015–16 | Jim Schoenfeld |
2016–17 | Craig Heisinger |
2017–18 | Wendell Young |
2018–19 | Todd Frederickson |
2019–20 | David Andrews |
2020–21 | Jon Gustafson [1] |
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 five are in Canada. The league offices are located in Springfield, Massachusetts, and its current president is Scott Howson.
The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars.
The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks from 1982 to 1993.
The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the primary development team for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island.
The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Syracuse, New York, at the Upstate Medical University Arena at Onondaga County War Memorial. They are the primary development affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning.
John Arlington "Jack" Butterfield was a professional ice hockey administrator and the president of the American Hockey League, serving the longest tenure of any AHL executive. After his retirement as president, he served as the AHL's Chairman of the Board until his death and continued to oversee the creation of the annual regular-season schedules for the league. He was born in Regina, Saskatchewan.
The Baltimore Skipjacks was 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.
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 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 1997–98 AHL season was the 62nd season of the American Hockey League. The AHL shifts teams in their divisions, and the Canadian division reverts to being named Atlantic division. The Northern conference is renamed the Eastern conference, and the Southern conference renamed the Western conference.
The 2001–02 AHL season was the 66th season of the American Hockey League. It was the season of the biggest growth in the AHL's history, as it accepted eight new teams. The demise of the International Hockey League brought six teams transferring from the defunct league, in addition to two expansion teams.
David Andrews is a Canadian ice hockey executive and former player. He is chairman of the Board of Governors and former president of the American Hockey League (AHL), the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League. He has been inducted into the British Columbia Hockey Hall of Fame (2005), the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame (2006), and the American Hockey League Hall of Fame (2021). In 2010, Andrews was a recipient of the Lester Patrick Award for contributions to hockey in the United States.
Craig Heisinger is a Canadian ice hockey executive. He is the assistant general manager and director of hockey operations for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League and senior vice president of True North Sports and Entertainment. He is also the general manager of the Manitoba Moose, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Jets.
Mark Chipman, is a Canadian hockey executive, businessman, and lawyer. Chipman is best known as the chairman of True North Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League and Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is also the team's governor and currently a member of the National Hockey League Board of Governors' Executive Committee.
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.
Glenn Stanford is a Canadian ice hockey executive. He is currently the Governor and Chief Operating Officer of the Newfoundland Growlers in the ECHL. Previously he served in that same capacity for the former St. John's IceCaps of the American Hockey League Stanford is a two-time winner of the James C. Hendy Memorial Award, which is awarded to the AHL Executive of the Year.
The 2019–20 AHL season was the 84th season of the American Hockey League. The regular season began October 4, 2019, and was officially cancelled on May 11, 2020. The 2020 Calder Cup playoffs, which was also cancelled, would have followed the conclusion of the regular season. The league suspended play on March 12, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, and was not able to resume play. The Milwaukee Admirals claimed the league's regular-season trophy, the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy, their second regular-season championship.
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.