Six of the NHL teams who will still be in the Western Conference after realignment will have a farm team in the first round of the 2013 American Hockey League playoffs starting this weekend.
The Texas Stars are the No. 1 seed in the AHL’s Western Conference and will face the Milwaukee Admirals, Nashville’s affiliate, in their best-of-five conference quarterfinal.
Elsewhere, the Oklahoma City Barons (Edmonton) face Charlotte; the Manchester Monarchs (Los Angeles) engage Springfield; the Houston Aeros (Minnesota) battle Grand Rapids; and the Portland Pirates (Phoenix) take on Syracuse.
As of Tuesday, two of the six parent clubs have been ruled out of Stanley Cup playoff contention and nothing is guaranteed for the Coyotes, Stars or Wild.
Come what may, whether a fanbase is following one or both halves of its AHL-NHL tandem this postseason, here are 11 prospects worth keeping an eye on in the Calder Cup tournament. (That is, unless any of them are summoned to take part in the big league playoffs.)
Unless otherwise indicated, all statistics for this report were found via theahl.com
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Article written by Al Daniel
NHL Western Conference Prospects to Watch in the AHL Calder Cup Playoffs
April 23rd, 2013 by Al Daniel Leave a reply »
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