Patrick WilliamsFeatures Writer for TheAHL.com
ROCKFORD, Ill. … AHL President and CEO Scott Howson met with local and national media on Wednesday for his annual state of the league address.
A tradition started by Howson’s predecessor, Dave AndrewsThe press conference is an opportunity to measure where the league stands each season in the AHL All-Star Classic.
For starters, Howson came away impressed with the city of Rockford’s support for the AHL All-Star Classic this week. Hosted by the Rockford IceHogs, the two-night event featured the AHL All-Star Skills Competition on Tuesday and the AHL All-Star Challenge on Wednesday night at the newly renovated BMO Center. For a city that exists in the shadow of a larger market like Chicago, Howson said this is an opportunity for Rockford to get the spotlight for change.
It’s time again: The IceHogs’ NHL parent team, the Chicago Blackhawks, is celebrating its centennial season while the AHL’s 90th season celebration is underway. It has been 22 years since the Midwestern US city hosted this event.
“When we announced this event (in January 2025), we were well received,” Howson recalled. “I saw how meaningful it would be. You can see the impact it had.”
As for the AHL situation, much of the business was handled with the league and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association accepted a new five-year collective bargaining agreement last month, an agreement that will begin on August 31, 2030. Howson and PHPA executive director. Brian Ramsayit was the first time they worked together in CBA negotiations after Andrews and Ramsay’s predecessor, Larry Landonhas performed this procedure several times over the course of more than 25 years.
As with any business relationship, each side has its own goals and priorities; Howson called working with Ramsay and the PHPA committee “hard, difficult and very respectful.”
“I’m very happy with the way the negotiations went in terms of behavior and treating each other with respect and listening to each other,” said Howson, who is in his sixth season leading the AHL. “We will not always agree, and we have never agreed in discussions on many things. But we will have to stay together, and it is useless to fight every day. We must be able to trust each other that if something is really important, we can go to each other and solve it.”
Here are some of the topics Howson elaborates on:
• The new CBA means that next season will bring a change in the law of the development of the league. The team will still have 12 players on its 18-man roster (not including two goals) who have played 260 professional games or less in the NHL, AHL and top European levels, counting as of opening night. But instead of the maximum six slots required to be a player between 261 and 320 games, teams will be able to dress six skaters over the 260 game mark.
“That was very important to the players,” Howson said. “We talked to our clubs. I talked to NHL general managers, NHL assistant general managers.”
• Howson said at least one team has expressed interest in hosting an outdoor game next season, although no official has been decided. The Iowa Wild Outdoor Classic, the 13th outdoor event in AHL history, was held on January 23 in Hastings, Minn.
“It’s too early to say for sure,” Howson said.
• As for the Calder Cup Playoffs, Howson confirmed that the current 23-team format is still in place this season and beyond. Any format change would require approval from the league’s Board of Governors. NHL teams continue to want their prospects to gain meaningful experience for the postseason and postseason, and Howson said this format enables that goal.
“There is no feeling or inclination to vote for it,” Howson said. “Everyone is happy with the way the playoffs are working.”
In the American Hockey League for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams and currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the league’s top scorer in 2016.
