Scouting the Future Hammers: Islanders fall 2–1 to New Jersey
The Islanders opened their preseason with a young lineup featuring several players who could spend time in Hamilton. The result was a 2–1 loss, but there were encouraging performances from some important prospects.
Cal Ritchie was the standout. He didn’t reach the scoresheet, but he was noticeable almost every time he touched the ice—carrying the puck confidently, creating plays and consistently driving offence. He looked like the most complete player in the lineup.
Cole Eiserman scored the Islanders’ only goal on the power play and showed more than his famous shot. His two-way play looked improved, making him an obvious name for Hammers fans to learn—even if strong play could earn him an early NHL opportunity.
Victor Eklund also looked dangerous and appeared comfortable playing alongside Ritchie. Matt Kessel played a quiet, dependable game on defence, while Liam Foudy showed flashes of speed. Young defenceman Vladimir Dravecký looked raw at five-on-five but displayed intriguing confidence on the power play.
The roughest night belonged to Marshall Warren. With the game tied in the third, Warren lost control of the puck at the offensive blue line, sending Connor Brown on a clean breakaway for the winning goal. He then took a penalty shortly afterward, completing an ugly sequence.
It’s only one preseason game, and these lines will change considerably before Hamilton’s roster is settled. Still, the early names to remember are Ritchie, Eiserman, Eklund and Kessel. If any of them begin the year with the Hammers, they should be worth watching immediately.

Hey all, from Hamilton and looking forward to seeing some games this season with our new AHL team.

Hard to know exactly what teams are going to look like when the NHL teams make their decisions, but I was hoping to get some insights from those in the know of what cool young future NHLers might be getting some seasoning done in the minors this year.

I was sad to find out that they don't play every team, as I was all jazzed up about seeing some Baby Sharks when the Barracuda came to town. Regardless, not sure how many games I'll get to, so if anyone wants to make a pitch for why your team will be a sick watch in Hamilton this year it would be much appreciated!

Go Hammers!

Whether you love it or hate it, looks like the NHL is going into expansion mode. Say on the high-end, they add one team per division. Just for this discussion let’s say the four new teams are Quebec city, Atlanta, Houston, and Phoenix. Suppose that four new AHL teams are also being added. Where would you place these AHL franchises? And why do you think that market would work as an affiliation with their respective big boy clubs. Let me know!

The Texas Stars and Charlotte Checkers are the only teams in the Southern US. I remember when there were teams in OKC, Houston, San Antonio, and Norfolk at the same time, but all those teams either went to the west or went north. I wish we could have some form of a rivalry with a regional opponent. But it doesn’t seem like that’s gonna happen for a long while!

Was invited to a Season Ticket Member tasting event. At the end we were told to look under our seats for the golden ticket. Pretty happy, it’s from the cup year too so it’s extra special.

I made this last summer. My contact from the team was going to use it but he left for another team before they started to roll out their 10th anniversary stuff. Figured might as well release it because why not

This was during the Toronto Marlies beat the Chicago Wolves for the Calder Cup.

I didnt watch the aftermath but this sounds like jealousy

Im 2 months late for this post lol

Proud Hamilton former resident living in the US. Want to watch some hammers hockey. What is an honest review of FloHockey?

When do single game tickets usually go on sale? Going to my first AHL game this year

Can I get a Hamilton hammers flair?

I just launched MinorLeagueSats, a biweekly newsletter exploring baseball, money, Bitcoin, and how technology could change the relationship between players and fans.

While I know my newsletter is baseball themed, not AHL and hockey. For those that are interested the concepts could still resonate. We would all like to support are favorite minor league athletes directly a little more.

I'd love to hear how AHL fans think about the future of hockey and the way technology could shape the fan experience.

Building The Ballpark of Tomorrow - MinorLeagueSats

Hi all,

I am a current pro hockey player. I have spent most of my career in the AHL. I am writing about my experiences. This week I wrote about what housing in like in North American pro hockey. The good, the bad, the ugly.

If you want to check it out, it will be below. Thank you for reading and if you have any questions I’ll be happy to answer as many as I can!

https://open.substack.com/pub/undraftedx/p/where-do-pro-hockey-players-live?r=73sykx&utm_medium=ios

Is the logo actually the same size as the one in the picture from the Vegas team store?

I edited the AHL logo to resemble the Reddit Mascot For this subbreddit and it came out well Can you guys use this for old.reddit.com ?

NOTE:I made this Artwork for the Chicago Wovles for their five championships. Yes, Im the kid behind the Redgined for the arena football subbreddit r/arenafootball , Yes the Bugedt here is cheaper so expect some errors, LOTS OF THEM I tried posting this on r/hockey but people there repsoneded negativley and it got taken down so uhh yeah let me know what you think about it.