Already the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winner as the AHL’s regular-season champion, the Providence Bruins have a chance to make history tonight.

Several NHL teams are making sure that their AHL affiliates will be well-stocked when the Calder Cup Playoffs open next week.

It’s straight from campus to the AHL for several young prospects as the collegiate season ends and pro careers begin.

Players and teams learn from their successes. They also can grow after setbacks. Just ask the Abbotsford Canucks.

Ilya Protas was new to the Hershey Bears last fall, but the Bears weren’t new to him. And on Monday afternoon, Protas was recalled by the Washington Capitals and is poised to make his NHL debut alongside his brother.

Calgary’s Calder Cup Playoff hopes may be gone, but laying down the work for next season has already started.

When the dust settles and the regular season ends, Wednesday’s 7-0 win – on the road, against a Coachella Valley team that had won nine of its previous 10 games – might be considered a turning point for the Ontario Reign.

NHL teams want their prospects in the American Hockey League playing meaningful games in March and April, and as the 2025-26 season reaches the home stretch, the AHL standings show tight races in all four divisions.

The NHL trade deadline came March 6. A week later brought the AHL’s own trade/loan deadline. But AHL teams continue to bulk up their rosters as the regular season ticks toward its final month and the Calder Cup Playoffs loom.

A pair of blue-chip NHL prospects, 19-year-old forwards Cole Eiserman and James Hagens, have joined AHL clubs in the past week after electing to turn pro.