Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
The NHL trade deadline is March 6. A week later, the AHL’s own trade/loan deadline arrives.
But as the regular season approaches its final month and the Calder Cup playoffs approach, AHL teams continue to expand their rosters. With the NCAA, Canadian Hockey League and European clubs wrapping up their seasons, rookies have the opportunity to extend their playing time in the AHL.
The New York Islanders gave away their 2024 first-round pick last week Cole Eiserman After opting out of Boston College during his sophomore year, he headed to the Bridgeport Islanders. The 19-year-old forward has played three games for Bridgeport and the team has two more games this weekend. And then there are the Hobey Baker Award finalists James Hagens Graduated from Boston College. He was selected seventh overall by the Boston Bruins in last June's NHL draft, and he headed to the Providence Bruins this week on an amateur tryout deal. The forward, also 19, made his debut in the league-leading P-Bruins' 2-1 win over Springfield on Wednesday night.
Now there's more, and it starts again in Bridgeport. forward Victor Eklund He joined Bridgeport after his parent NHL team sent him to Bridgeport for more playing time. The 19-year-old forward, who was selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, already has high-end professional experience after spending one season with Djurgårdens of the Swedish Hockey League; he had 24 points (six goals, 18 assists) in 43 games as the team advanced to Sweden's top flight. He also won a goalscoring medal at the IIHF World Junior Championship in January, contributing 8 points (2 goals, 6 assists) in 7 games for Sweden. His brother also followed a similar path, Williamshot with the San Jose Sharks; After being selected by the Sharks with the seventh overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, Eklund Sr. spent one season with the San Jose Barracudas before graduating to a full-time NHL player.
Eklund is another big acquisition for a Bridgeport team that is fighting to make the Calder Cup playoffs. After finishing last in the AHL with 37 points in the 2024-25 season, the revamped Islanders have improved by 25 points with 10 games remaining. After a key 3-2 home win over Charlotte on Wednesday, they moved within one point of fourth-place Hershey in the Atlantic Division. Teams that have missed the Calder Cup playoffs for three consecutive seasons not only have a chance to advance, but also potentially gain home-field advantage in the playoffs.
This is what the general manager experienced Mathieu Darche Wants Eiserman, Eklund and other prospects in the organization. The NHL team is vying for a playoff spot, and after Thursday night's 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars, they moved within one point of the second wild-card spot in the NHL Eastern Conference. Instead of trying to plunge a pair of 19-year-olds into the thick of the NHL playoffs, Bridgeport is ideally suited to allow them to develop and compete under the night-and-night pressure of an AHL stretch game.
They will also get top competition. The North Division-leading Laval Rocket visit Total Mortgage Arena on Friday night. The next night we head to Providence to take on the powerhouse Bruins.
New York's recent busyness extends beyond the talent already drafted. This week they signed a goalkeeper Josh Kotey A two-year entry-level contract and sent him to Bridgeport as an ATO. The 23-year-old Kotai, an undrafted player out of Augustana University, had a stellar junior season with a 20-11-4 record, 1.99 goals-against average and .938 save percentage in 35 games, earning MVP and top goalie honors from the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. He was also named a finalist for the Mike Richter Award as college hockey's top goaltender for the second consecutive season. While it remains to be seen whether he'll get playing time, the chance to go to Bridgeport alone and at least face pro competition in practice is another important development opportunity.
One of the teams Bridgeport is trying to push away is the Springfield Thunderbirds, and they got a boost of their own this week when the St. Louis Blues sent them up front Felix Trudeau. The 23-year-old signed a two-year entry-level contract and finished tied for sixth in the NCAA in scoring with 48 points (25 goals, 23 assists) in 39 games for Sacred Heart.
In net, the Tucson Roadrunners now have a goaltender Michael HrabalHe was named Hockey East Player of the Year after a stellar performance at UMass Amherst. A second-round pick in 2023, he signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Utah Mammoths. In 29 games for UMass this season, he compiled a 19-9-1 record, a 1.95 GAA and a .937 save percentage. Like Cotey, he is a Mike Richter Award finalist. Hrabal, 21, is joining a red-hot Tucson team that's just three points shy of a Pacific Division playoff spot.
Manitoba Moose also gets some scoring help as University of St. Thomas forward Lucas Waring Join the team for a tryout. Wallin scored 39 points (21 goals, 18 points in 36 games) and was named the CCHA's best defensive forward and was named to the CCHA first team. The Winnipeg Jets signed him to a one-year contract.
More talent is expected to arrive. The NCAA Tournament is underway, the CHL playoffs have begun, and the EuroLeague is in its postseason. NHL teams seek high-level professional experience for young talent, and late-season AHL competition and the Calder Cup playoffs provide just that.
About two decades in the American Hockey League, TheAHL.com feature writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. In 2016, he received the AHL's James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding coverage of the league.
