AFHL All Star Draft Now Underway

AFHL All Star Draft Begins

The AFHL All-Star Game between the American Conference and Canadian Conference has returned and the offline draft conducted by all 20 GMs is now underway.

AFHL GMs will select 32 players for the AFHL All-Star Game, based on the players competing in the NHL All-Star Game. Each team will have a total of 16 players and it will be up to the Head Coaches to choose which of those 16 players will be in the starting lineup under the following format: 3 forwards, 2 defensemen, 1 goaltender, and 1 utility player.

The game will take place on Saturday, February 3rd in conjunction with the NHL All-Star Game.

* The responsibility of the Head Coach is to set the lineup for their All-Star team from the pool of players selected by the GMs in their conference. The Head Coach must then submit that lineup via email to the Commissioner by Friday, February 2nd.

United States
American Conference All Star Team		Canada
Canadian Conference All Star Team
  
Head Coach: Mike Phelan (Boston)Head Coach: Phil Svoboda (Shawinigan)
  
F1 – F2 – F3F1 – F2 – F3
D1 – D2D1 – D2
Utility PlayerUtility Player
GoaltenderGoaltender
  
DRAFTED PLAYERS: Pastrnak, Matthews, McDavid, Kucherov, Oettinger, Nylander, Dahlin, Demko, Swayman, Connor, Kaprizov, Tkachuk, Barzal, Reinhart, Keller, DeBrincat, Vatrano, Trocheck, Thomas, Bobrovsky, Georgiev, TalbotDRAFTED PLAYERS: Q. Hughes, MacKinnon, Pettersen, Makar, Hellebuyck, Aho, Marner, Draisaitl, Shesterkin, Crosby, Miller, Reilly, J. Hughes, Suzuki, Boeser, Konecny, Forsberg, Lindholm, Jenner, Wilson, Bjorkstrand, Hertl

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AFHL All Star Draft Begins

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AFHL All Star Game Returns

AFHL Announces the Return of the All-Star Game

January 22nd, 2024

The AFHL All-Star Game between the American Conference and Canadian Conference will return this season and feature an offline draft conducted by all 20 GMs. The draft will begin on Monday, January 29th and will end by Thursday, February 1st.

The Head Coaches of the two All-Star teams will be based on whoever is in first place in each conference at the start of the draft on Monday, January 29th. The responsibility of the Head Coach is to set the lineup for their All-Star team from the pool of players selected by the GMs in their conference. The Head Coach must then submit that lineup via email to the Commissioner by Friday, February 2nd.

The All-Star Game is scheduled to take place on Saturday, February 3rd.

Tickets for AFHL All-Star Game will go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. ET on January 30th via Ticketmaster. In Canada, the event will be televised on CBC. In the United States, the event will be on ESPN.

“We felt like that was something that was a really fun event in past years,” the Commissioner said. “We started to hear our fans, our players, ask, ‘When will there be another All-Star Game?’ and we thought, ‘You know what? I think it’s time for us to bring it back.’”

The AFHL GMs will select 32 players for the AFHL All-Star Game, based on the players competing in the NHL All-Star Game. Each team will have a total of 16 players and it will be up to the Head Coaches to choose which of those 16 players will be in the starting lineup under the following format: 3 forwards, 2 defensemen, 1 goaltender, and 1 utility player.

“I think this is going to be just an incredible event,” said the Commissioner. “A memorable event, and something that everyone will enjoy.”

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Another GM Gets the Axe, Lucas Persell Taking Over in Port Hope

Another GM Gets the Axe, Lucas Persell Taking Over in Port Hope

October 3rd, 2023

The league announced Zach Ostrowski’s abrupt dismissal yesterday after he displayed an extremely low level of activity in his first two months on the job. Lucas Persell is the next man up.

“We had different expectations of Zach,” said the AFHL Commissioner. “The Port Hope roster is one of the oldest rosters in the league. There are several players on that farm that are not even in the league anymore. We want GMs who will take an active role in fixing issues like that. Additonally, he was as quiet as a mouse in our group chat which has always been one of my biggest pet peeves over my many years of running this league.”

It was a difficult decision on the part of the Commissioner but one he felt necessary to ensure the activity level remains high across the AFHL.

“While I’m disappointed it did not work out with Zach,” said the Commissioner. “I know it’s in the best interest of the league to bring in someone who will be more active both transaction-wise and group chat-wise.”

The Commissioner went back to his list of candidates and decided to tap Lucas Persell for the job. The Commissioner called Persell an outstanding GM who “knows fantasy hockey very well and brings more personality to the league.”

“He was a strong candidate throughout the interviewing process and I believe he is the best man to lead this team moving forward,” the Commissioner said.

Persell said it was a no-brainer to accept the position and that he was looking forward to the opportunity.

“I’m really excited to be joining such a dedicated league with a history such as the AFHL has,” Persell said at a press conference this morning. “My first order of business is the meet and get to know the players, and make the necessary changes to to help this franchise finally capture it’s first AFHL Stanley Cup.”

Persell takes over the Panthers at a crucial juncture in the wake of Ostrowski’s stunning dismissal. The franchise, previously led by Keith Cancilla, is coming off back-to-back appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals.

“This team is obviously talented from top to bottom,” said Persell. “So the mindset os to win right here and now. I know this team has been working very hard this summer to prepare for the season. I look forward to diving in, working with our staff to help them get better every day and be ready for what we believe will be an exciting, winning season.”

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Hamilton GM Gets the Axe, Rob Martin Announced as Replacement

Hamilton GM Gets the Axe, Rob Martin Announced as Replacement

September 27th, 2023

After two years of very little to no activity, the AFHL Commissioner has officially announced Adam Z has been relieved of his duties as GM of the Hamilton Firestorm. Rob Martin has been introduced as his replacement.

“I want this decision to serve as a reminder of the high standards we have in this league,” said the AFHL Commissioner at a press conference this morning. “It is a requirement to not only set your lineup and make transactions on a regular basis, but to post in our Telegram group chat on a regular basis. If you are not doing that then you will be replaced. Unfortunately, that is what happened here with Adam.”

It was a tough decision for the Commissioner to make but a league-wide high activity level is the lifeblood of the AFHL.

“This is the part of my job that sucks the most,” said the Commissioner. “But I have to do it in the best interest of the league. Every offseason I look at each GM’s activity level and whoever ranks at the bottom is almost always let go by default. Sadly, Adam was that guy. I would like to add that I appreciate the time he put into building the Hamilton franchise. I think Adam is a good man and I wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors.”

After interviewing nearly two dozen applicants over the course of three months, the Commissioner believes he found a suitable replacement in Rob Martin.

“Rob brings a wealth of knowledge from many years of experience as a GM in the fantasy hockey world,” the Commissioner said in a statement. “He has earned tremendous respect amongst his peers throughout his years of playing fantasy hockey and I believe his great personality will be welcomed with open arms into the AFHL family.”

The Commissioner cast a broad net in his search but seems to have homed in on someone who is very passionate about this game and will be highly active all season long.

“I am thrilled to be here as the new coach and GM of the Hamilton Firestorm,” Martin read from a prepared statement. “We have a really good team and really good players. My staff and I will work tirelessly to bring the Stanley Cup back to Hamilton.”

Martin is inheriting a talented Firestorm team that severely underachieved this past season. With elite talent like JT Miller, Brady Tkachuk, Tomas Hertl, and Zach Werenski already in the fold, Martin will have a chance to succeed right off the bat in Hamilton.

“When I look at this roster, I see a really good balance and blend of veterans and youth,” he noted. “If you look at the past winners in this league, those rosters were made up of a lot good young players and vets. Those teams can find success and I do think that personnel is here.”

Ultimately, it will be up to the players but the new bench boss is raring to go.

“Let’s get to work,” Martin said. “I think the messaging for me with the players is that we’re going to work our butts off in training camp to try to prepare ourselves for a return to the playoffs.”

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2023 AFHL Free Agency Draft

2023 AFHL Free Agency Draft

Click here for Entry Draft Results

ROUND 1 

R1P1: Lethbridge >> Ilya Safonov

R1P2: Toronto >> Matt Dumba

R1P3: Long Beach >> Sam Steel

R1P4: Washington >> Connor Timmins

R1P5: Manhattan >> Massimo Rizzo

R1P6: London >> Isaak Phillips

R1P7: Fort Drum >> Mikey Eyssimont

R1P8: Buffalo >> Domenic  DiVincentiis

R1P9: Moncton >> Nicholas Moldenhauer

R1P10: Montreal >> Lukas Rousek

R1P11: Hamilton >> Caleb Jones

R1P12: Atlantic City >> Tristan Bertucci

R1P13: Deer Park >> Gavin Bjorklund

R1P14: Westbury >> Sam Johannesson

R1P15: Laval >> William Whitelaw

R1P16: Boston Giants >> Alex Laferriere

R1P17: Port Hope Panthers >> Travis Hamonic

R1P18: Antigonish X-Men >> Antti Tuomisto

R1P19: Shawinigan Vikings >> SKIPPED

R1P20: Rain City Bitch Pigeons >> Samuel Savoie

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Keith Cancilla Retires; New GM Hired

Panthers GM Keith Cancilla Retires;

Zach “Oz” Ostrowski Hired as Replacement

August 17th, 2023

After back-to-back appearances in the AFHL Stanley Cup Finals, Port Hope GM Keith Cancilla has announced his retirement.

“When I arrived in the AFHL 12 years ago in the summer of 2011, I thought I would compete in this league for three years, maybe five years,” said Cancilla at his retirement press conference on Thursday. “It is now 12 years later and as I prepare to step away, I feel very thankful for the great ride I have had. I have watched this league explode into what it is today and I am very proud to have been a part of it. I will miss all of the GMs I have interacted with over the years. There are so many amazing personalities in this league.”

In a previous conversation with the Commissioner, Cancilla had stated his reasons for retiring was due to his life being very busy and a belief that the window for this aging team to win a championship has closed.

“We want to thank Keith for his 11 years of amazing participation in the AFHL and wish him the best in his retirement,” said the AFHL Commissioner.

At the end of the press conference, a reporter had asked Keith if he would ever consider a return to the AFHL in the future. Keith had a short response that caused quite a stir in the room: “Never say never”.

The AFHL named Zach Ostrowski as the next GM of the Port Hope franchise, tapping one of the hockey world’s top rising GMs to lead the franchise to it’s first Stanley Cup victory after back-to-back appearances in the Finals.

Ostrowski diagrees with Cancilla’s comment about the window for this team to win has closed. He believes this roster only needs a little bit of tinkering to remain in contention.

“This is a tremendous honor and privilege to be named the new GM of the Port Hope Panthers,” Ostrowski said in a statement. “I would like to thank the AFHL Commissioner for affording me the opportunity to lead this team. I look forward to working with this group of talented players and building upon the winning culture in place.”

Ostrowski inherits a roster built around an aging core as the Panthers look to add speed and develop young players. The team is expected to shop for youth this offseason, specifically for younger top-six forwards. There are other pressing personnel decisions to be made including an assistant coach vacancy, and positions that oversee the power play and blue line. There is also a critical draft to prepare for; the Panthers only have one draft pick – in the third round.

“We are extremely pleased to name Zach Ostrowski as the new GM of the Port Hope franchise,” the Commissioner said in a statement. “Zach is one of the best young GMs in the game who’s had success at every level at which he has competed. We feel his leadership, communication skills, ability to develop players and familiarity with our league will be a tremendous asset as he makes this next step in his fantasy hockey career.”

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2023 AFHL Entry Draft Board Tracker

2023 AFHL Entry Draft Board

 

ROUND ONE

R1P1: Lethbridge >> Connor Bedard

R1P2: Toronto >> Adam Fantilli

R1P3: Long Beach >> Matvei Michkov

R1P4: Laval >> Leo Carlsson

R1P5: Washington >> Will Smith

R1P6: Lethbridge >> Zach Benson

R1P7: Long Beach >> Ryan Leonard

R1P8: Buffalo >> Colby Barlow

R1P9: Moncton >> Gabriel Perrault

R1P10: Montreal >> Dalibor Dvorsky

R1P11: Hamilton >> Nate Danielson

R1P12: Washington >> Matthew Wood

R1P13: Toronto >> Oliver Moore

R1P14: Moncton >> Quentin Musty

R1P15: Lethbridge >> Dmitri Simashev

R1P16: Moncton >> Axel Sandin Pellikka

R1P17: Atlantic City >> Brayden Yager

R1P18: Laval >> David Reinbacher

R1P19: Moncton >> Trey Augustine

R1P20: Montreal >> Daniil But

 

ROUND TWO

R2P1: Lethbridge >> Andrew Cristall

R2P2: Toronto >> Gavin Brindley

R2P3: Atlantic City >> Eduard Sale

R2P4: Moncton >> Samuel Honzek

R2P5: Moncton >> Michael Hrabal

R2P6: Washington >> Tom Willander

R2P7: Washington >> Mikhail Gulyayev

R2P8: Fort Drum >> Martin Misak

R2P9: Fort Drum >> Jacob Fowler

R2P10: Washington >> Calum Ritchie

R2P11: Hamilton >> Otto Stenberg

R2P12: Toronto >> Adam Gajan

R2P13: Rain City >> Carson Bjarnason

R2P14: Westbury Royals >> Damian Clara

R2P15: Laval Nomads >> Lukas Dragicevic

R2P16: Washington >> David Edstrom

R2P17: Moncton >> Riley Heidt

R2P18: Lethbridge >> Koehn Ziemmer

R2P19: Lethbridge >> Gracyn Sawchyn

R2P20: Washington >> Charlie Stramel

 

ROUND THREE

R3P1: Antigonish >> Easton Cowan

R3P2: Toronto >> Bradley Nadeau

R3P3: Moncton >> Nick Lardis

R3P4: Laval >> Etienne Morin

R3P5: Rain City >> Kalan Lind

R3P6: London >> Oliver Bonk

R3P7: Buffalo >> Kasper Halttunen

R3P8: Laval >> Jayden Perron

R3P9: Lethbridge >> Roman Kantserov

R3P10: Moncton >> Anton Wahlberg

R3P11: Hamilton >> Tanner Molendyk

R3P12: Atlantic City >> Yegor Zavragin

R3P13: Deer Park >> Axel Hellnemo

R3P14: Westbury >> Ethan Gauthier

R3P15: Montreal >> Lenni Hameenaho

R3P16: Lethbridge >> Luca Cagnoni

R3P17: Port Hope >> Theo Lindstein

R3P18: Montreal >> Felix Unger Sorum

R3P19: Hamilton >> Nico Myatovic

R3P20: Deer Park >> Carson Rehkopf

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AFHL Draft Order Released

2023 AFHL Entry Draft Order

ROUND ONE

R1P1: Lethbridge Inferno

R1P2: Toronto Red Devils

R1P3: Long Beach Ice Dogs

R1P4: Laval Nomads (Washington)

R1P5: Long Beach Ice Dogs (Manhattan)

R1P6: Lethbridge Inferno (London)

R1P7: Washington Wolfpack (Fort Drum)

R1P8: Buffalo Phantoms

R1P9: Moncton Black Bears

R1P10: Montreal Xtreme

R1P11: Hamilton Firestorm

R1P12: Moncton Black Bears (Atlantic City)

R1P13: Toronto Red Devils (Deer Park)

R1P14: Moncton Black Bears (Westbury)

R1P15: Lethbridge Inferno (Laval)

R1P16: Moncton Black Bears (Boston)

R1P17: Atlantic City Sharks (Port Hope)

R1P18: Laval Nomads (Antigonish)

R1P19: Fort Drum Killers (Shawinigan)

R1P20: Washington Wolfpack (Rain City)

ROUND TWO

R2P1: Lethbridge Inferno

R2P2: Toronto Red Devils

R2P3: Manhattan Supermen (Long Beach)

R2P4: Manhattan Supermen (Washington)

R2P5: Moncton Black Bears (Manhattan)

R2P6: Washington Wolfpack (London)

R2P7: Montreal Xtreme (Fort Drum)

R2P8: Manhattan Supermen (Buffalo)

R2P9: Moncton Black Bears

R2P10: Montreal Xtreme

R2P11: Hamilton Firestorm

R2P12: Toronto Red Devils (Atlantic City)

R2P13: Rain City Bitch Pigeons (Deer Park)

R2P14: Westbury Royals

R2P15: Laval Nomads

R2P16: Washington Wolfpack (Boston)

R2P17: Manhattan Supermen (Port Hope)

R2P18: Lethbridge Inferno (Antigonish)

R2P19: Lethbridge Inferno (Shawinigan)

R2P20: Washington Wolfpack (Rain City)

ROUND THREE

R3P1: Lethbridge Inferno

R3P2: Toronto Red Devils

R3P3: Manhattan Supermen (Long Beach)

R3P4: Laval Nomads (Washington)

R3P5: Rain City Bitch Pigeons (Manhattan)

R3P6: London Mustangs

R3P7: Fort Drum Killers

R3P8: Montreal Xtreme (Buffalo)

R3P9: Antigonish X-Men (Moncton)

R3P10: Manhattan Supermen (Montreal)

R3P11: Hamilton Firestorm

R3P12: Atlantic City Sharks

R3P13: Deer Park Chiefs

R3P14: Westbury Royals

R3P15: Laval Nomads

R3P16: Antigonish X-Men (Boston)

R3P17: Port Hope Panthers

R3P18: Laval Nomads (Antigonish)

R3P19: Hamilton Firestorm (Shawinigan)

R3P20: Deer Park Chiefs (Rain City)

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The Amazing Fantasy Hockey League (AFHL) is a lifetime keeper fantasy hockey league that consists of 20 franchised teams, of which 10 are located in Canada, and 10 are located in the United States. The AFHL is in no way shape or form affiliated with the NHL or the NHLPA and all teams logos and players names are their property.

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