Ted Starkey - Chasing the Dream: Life in the American Hockey League

TED STARKEY

On a bitterly cold afternoon, the Pocono Mountains are glistening white, the hills more vibrant than the menacing grey clouds hanging on the horizon. And a bus is barreling down the highway, through the bleak landscape. Winter has taken its grip on this part of the country.

While this spot on the Pennsylvania Turnpikes Northeast Extension is around 100 miles from the closest National Hockey League arena less than two hours by interstate the bus, carrying a hockey team, isnt headed there, but to an arena that lies in the shadows of the professional hockey world.

The game may not be as important to the reporters and analysts as those being played in the NHL, but for the athletes on this bus, this contest could be a life-changer. Its a chance to earn a ticket to the show, a chance to skate on the big stage and live out their childhood dream.

Young players dont dream of playing for the Toronto Marlies, the Syracuse Crunch or the Rochester Americans. But they do imagine wearing the uniforms of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning or Buffalo Sabres. And being able to put on a Marlies, Crunch or Amerks sweater means theyre just one step away from fulfilling that ambition. The NHL teams logo on the shoulder of their American Hockey League uniforms reminds them of what they hope to achieve and where they hope to skate. In the meantime, they vie for the illustrious Calder Cup. The lessons a player learns going through the four grueling playoff rounds to win the trophy in a two-month span are a test of endurance, luck and skill lessons they hope to bring to the NHL.

Welcome to life in the American Hockey League, where rookies, depth players, prospects and veterans of National Hockey League teams chase the dream of the NHL. While the top 700 professional hockey players plying their trade in North America call one of the 30 NHL teams home, the next level of the continents top professional talent plays here just waiting for their chance to join the sports elite.

A simple phone call the result of an injury, a trade made between clubs opening up a roster spot or even a struggling team looking for a sparkplug can change a players life dramatically. A wave from the coach during practice means you skate off the ice, head to the locker room making sure to wave to your now-former teammates and quickly pack your belongings for a hurried trip to catch a flight to prove youre good enough for the next level.

A recall means getting a chance to skate with the worlds best in front of sold-out crowds and television audiences around the world. It means going from long bus rides or commercial plane delays to chartered jets, luxury hotels and never having to haul your equipment to the bus after games. Instead of stopping at highway rest stops for fast food, youre exploring some of the continents top restaurants. Those playing on two-way contracts, deals where they might play either in the NHL or in the minors, will receive a scaled salary that could bring as much as a tenfold increase in earnings.

And many do make that leap to the top level. Over its 80 years, the American Hockey League has created an impressive list of alumni. In fact, on opening night of the 201516 NHL season, 84 percent of the players had played at least one game in the AHL.

Players know they have a good chance of fulfilling that NHL dream if they play in the AHL. But even if youre an elite prospect who was drafted high, there are no guarantees of success. If you dont work hard to improve your game and play through the grind to deliver a consistent performance, you may never get a chance to move up. Some players are prospects whose NHL dreams have faded over time, but are still looking to prove they have the skill to make the next step and earn the attention of the scouts that sometimes outnumber the media in an AHL press box. And there are the veterans who are there mostly to help teach the new skaters about life on and off the ice, provide leadership and bring some spark onto the ice. Many of them are just happy to be able to make a decent wage playing a game they love.

The AHL is a league thats been built on dreams and hard work, and it has evolved along with the sport. During the Original Six era, with only the top 120 players or so skating in the NHL, AHL rosters were stocked with talent that could easily match many of the NHLs teams. The 1967 expansion of the NHL meant the AHL expanded as well, and began to develop into the league that is more familiar to todays fans. The cornerstone AHL city of Pittsburgh joined the NHL in 1967, and Buffalo wasnt far behind in 1970. But towns and cities like Hershey, Rochester, Springfield and Providence remained the bedrock of the AHL league.

The creation of the World Hockey Association in 1972 lured players who might have called the AHL home, offering much larger paychecks and a more lavish and what turned out to be financially unstable league. The WHA also moved into some AHL towns, such as Quebec City and Cincinnati. The WHA eventually went bust in 1979, but four of those rebel teams were absorbed into the NHL, growing the league to 21 clubs. All of these newer teams needed farm teams. Some were created in the AHL, which had 10 teams in the 197980 season, all in the northeast from Hershey, Pennsylvania, to Moncton, New Brunswick. And some NHL teams decided to affiliate and send their prospects to the International Hockey League out west.

In the late 1980s, the International Hockey League, following in the WHAs footsteps, aggressively moved into larger markets to directly compete with the NHL in cities like Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles. Rather than focusing on player development, the IHL sought to provide stellar entertainment at lower prices, billing itself as a cheaper alternative to the NHL. As a result, IHL teams were eager to sign veteran skaters and offered larger salaries than the AHL could offer. This meant players who had seen the doors to the NHL close could make a good living skating for an IHL club. But by 2001, the IHLs ambitious plans collapsed under the weight of financial strain. Six IHL teams joined the AHL, bringing in distant cities of Chicago, Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, Houston and Salt Lake City.

In a dozen years, the AHL had nearly doubled in size. After the merger of 200102, it had 27 clubs (up from 14 in the 198990 season) and it had increased its footprint across North America, splitting the league into distinct parts.

The eastern region is made up of cities that remain from the AHLs old footprint, with Hershey and Rochester having been part of the league through most of its 80-year history, joining a solid core of teams playing across Pennsylvania, New York, New England and the Maritimes. Thanks to the big-market goals of the IHLs teams that eventually entered the AHL, the presence of Chicago and Milwaukee also helped attract larger markets such as Toronto, San Antonio and Charlotte. In 2015, another distinct group of AHL teams emerged in California, as five teams in the NHLs Western Conference moved their AHL teams west to the Golden State to form the new Pacific Division. With that addition, the AHL now spans some 4,200 miles from San Diego, California, to St. Johns, Newfoundland and occupies some of North Americas larger hockey markets.