AFHL Stanley Cup Media Day

Emotions, experience, legacies, and more

April 8^th, 2024

The big day is here.

In less than 12 hours, the Rain City Bitch Pigeons and Laval Nomads will kick off the Stanley Cup Finals with Game 1 in Laval.

This year’s Finals will make history regardless of the outcome. The Rain City Bitch Pigeons could become the first team in the AFHL’s 14 year existence to win three Stanley Cups. The Laval Nomads , meanwhile, are looking to hoist the first Cup in their franchise history.

As per tradition, players, coaches, and GMs from both teams spoke to the media the day before Game 1. Storylines from the previous rounds came up, as did rivalries between players and comparisons between stars.

Here’s a roundup of the best quotes from media day.

Connor McDavid, F, Rain City:

On comparisons being made between him and team Owner/GM Jason Henley…

“We’ve won two Cups together but he [Henley] has obviously done so much for this league and the city and he has had such an impact. I just have to focus on playing hockey. I’m one guy. I just have to worry about myself. But he has to worry about 50 players. I mean every year he has to choose 50 players for this organization and he has to monitor them on a daily basis and make so many decisions on the fly. Add, subtract, promote, demote, trade, drop, start, don’t start. It’s very different and challenging.I’ll take the greatness comparison as a compliment. But at the end of the day, I just look at this as a fantastic opportunity to make history and it’s not easy to get here so I think of it more that way than trying to compare us.”

Quinn Hughes, D, Laval

On the Nomads lack of experience in the Stanley Cup Final…

“It’s been a great journey. First in the Shawinigan series, we came in as a big underdog and we all know what we did in that round and since then we’ve just been building and building and we’re not done.”

Mitch Marner, F, Rain City

On how fast time has gone since last year’s final…

“It’s been quiet the roller coaster. I haven’t really had much time to sit down and reflect. Basically the past year and a half has been kind of a blur. But honestly I’m just so fortunate to be back with this team and back in the finals again and I’m looking forward to it.”

Victor Hedman, D, Laval

On playing against Rain City’s physical forecheck…

“It’s going to be a physical series. They come fast and hard and they finish their checks so we’re aware of that. It’s going to be about having good first touches, getting to the puck first, and making good reads. There won’t be a single play we can rely on every time either, we’re going to have to move our feet and make reads and be smart with where we go on the first touch.”

Sean Monahan, F, Rain City

On his name possibly being engraved on the Stanley Cup for the first time…

“It’s a lifetime achievement. You can ask anyone here, what’s your dream if you can have anything you want and winning the Stanley Cup is the answer. It’s what I’ve been working on my entire life.”

Alex Chau, GM, Laval

On how much better of a GM he feels today…

“Yeah for sure, I think experience is really important. I felt ready for this opportunity in October based on my preparation through the many years in this league. I felt ready heading into the playoffs because I’ve competed in the playoffs before. This isn’t my first time in this league getting ready for a playoff series. I think when you work your way through, you learn different lessons along the way. That first series against the Vikings, it’s not like it all went smooth and was smooth sailing. There were adverse times. We learned a lot about each other in that series. I thought our habits held up under pressure. So I’m really proud of these guys and I’m super happy and excited to be here.”

Jason Henley, GM, Rain City

On what motivates him to keep winning and his key to success…

“I think it’s a real love for what I’m doing. This isn’t a job. It’s really a true love and I fell in love with it a long time ago. It’s fun and I find it enjoyable. Key to success? There’s so many. I’d say an important one is probably reminding my guys about how things are not always going to go your way, so you have to decide how you’re going to react. There are a lot of things in this game that you can’t control. So it’s more important that you identify those things that will give you your best chance to win and focus on what you want. And right now, we’re focused on making history.”

AFHL Trade Deadline

[ycd_countdown id=1457]

Steven Stamkos, Matt Duchene, Sean Monahan — there are some big names in play this year, which should make for a very interesting deadline day. TheAFHL.com and TSN will be following all of the trades today and providing some analysis of the deals as they happen. And we’ll hear lots from Pierre LeBrun, Barry Melrose, Scott Burnside and Scott McKenzie who is at TSN’s studios for Tradecentre.

So, feel free to stay on the page and refresh for updates, which begin below:

8:45 am  Bob McKenzie: Hey everybody! Happy Trade Deadline Day!!

8:51 am  Barry Melrose: I’m predicting 25 to 30 trades today. Hearing lots of GMs are talking to Deer Park about a fire sale that should happen there. Not sure if GM Nellany will actually do that though.

9:01 am  Pierre LeBrun: Keep an eye on the Boston Giants today. They are hungry to make a deal.

9:02 am  Scott Burnside: First trade of the day happened around 8 am this morning between Toronto and Westbury. Toronto got Mikahil Sergachev. Westbury got Casey Mittelstadt.

9:59 am  Barry Melrose: Told Antigonish and Westbury are completing a trade, one is close/near done.

10:01 am  Barry Melrose: Westbury acquires Kaapo Kahkonen, James Van Riemsdyk, and Evgeni Malkin. Antigonish acquires Philip Grubauer, a 2025 1st Round Pick, and a 2024 2nd Round Pick.

10:51 am  Scott Burnside: Just got off the phone with Pierre McGuire who has been reaching out to all of the GMs. Said some guys are still sleeping lol

10:56 am  Pierre LeBrun: Yeah, I’d imagine most guys are up late on a Saturday and like to sleep in on Sundays.

11:00 am  Barry Melrose: Spoke to Antigonish GM McKenna about his big trade for Grubauer this morning. He needed to make some roster space to permanently bring up Pospisil who has been “so legit” and he thought his roster was starting to look like Rick Charron built it with so many aging players so he really wanted to offload some older players. He also wanted to handcuff the Seattle goaltenders. Very happy with the deal.

11:15 am  Scott Burnside: Multiple GMs considering “blowing it up” today. I would say to those who are on the fence, you might want to take a good, long look at your competition. Look at a roster like the Shawinigan Vikings and really ask yourself: Can you defeat that team in the playoffs?

11:41 am  Bob McKenzie: Speaking of the Vikings, they have a lot of irons in the fire right now. I’m expecting GM Svoboda to make a number of trades today.

12:05 pm  Pierre LeBrun: Manhattan GM Tony Furino just announced he is now taking calls on Nikolaj Ehlers. Says his team “needs a shake-up” and wouldn’t mind a simple one-for-one trade if it makes sense.

12:21 pm  Barry Melrose: Chatter is starting to pick up. I’m guessing a lot of the guys are awake now and getting dialed in.

12:30 pm  Scott Burnside: The defending champs, Rain City Bitch Pigeons, may need to get a little creative today. Henley doesn’t have much in the form of picks or prospects so he might have to do something like Draisaitl for a package of two star players and picks or prospects.

12:36 pm  Bob McKenzie: Toronto GM Jordan Carbone: “We are excited to add a 25yr-old left-shot D who handles the puck well & possesses a dynamic offensive game. He has steadily progressed throughout his time in Westbury to show he is a top pairing D. We are happy to continue to add younger pieces to build (our) core.”

12:40 pm  Pierre LeBrun: The Quebec Voyageurs have received a lot of interest in Charlie McAvoy today and have been weighing their options but GM Lucas Persell says the asking price for McAvoy is high. 7 hours to go til the deadline.

12:50 pm  Barry Melrose: Big trade is brewing between Moncton and Quebec…

1:01 pm  Barry Melrose: The Voyageurs have traded Alex Lafreniere to the Moncton Black Bears in exchange for Alexander Holtz, Mattias Ekholm, Rickard Rakell, and a 2024 2nd Round Draft Pick.

1:08 pm  Scott Burnside: Hearing it’s very busy right now. Lots of balls are in the air.

1:59 pm  Pierre LeBrun: News coming from trusted source in Buffalo – GM Daryn Beckman is now fielding offers for Sidney Crosby. Says he doesn’t want to trade him but if the offer is good then he might have to pull the trigger.

2:49 pm  Barry Melrose: Quebec GM Lucas Persell: “On behalf of the entire organization, I would like to thank Alex Lafreniere for everything he did for the Voyageurs on and off the ice during his time here. Alex is a tremendous person, a true pro, and a class act, and we wish him all the best in the future.”

3:45 pm  Scott Burnside: Aside from the Grubauer trade, the goalie trade market has been quiet so far. I wonder if Long Beach GM Lucas Main will look to move the aging John Gibson today.

3:56 pm  Bob McKenzie: Source telling me London and Laval were close to pulling off a trade involving Sebastian Aho but trade fell through due to London having cold feet. Laval now looking elsewhere.

4:08 pm  Pierre LeBrun: I need a drink.

4:19 pm  Barry Melrose: Sidney Crosby did not participate in Phantoms practice today. No injury to report. GM Beckman might finally be looking to trade him…

4:45 pm  Barry Melrose: Source in Buffalo telling me Crosby sat down with GM Daryn Beckman today to “discuss his future” in Buffalo. I’d imagine a big part of that conversation is about how he wants to win an AFHL Stanley Cup before he retires.

5:08 pm  Pierre LeBrun: A lot of smoke surrounding Manhattan and Quebec right now. Source telling me they are cooking up a blockbuster.

5:20 pm  Pierre LeBrun: Done deal with Manhattan and Quebec. It’s a big one.

5:24 pm  Pierre LeBrun: They broke it up into two parts. The first part is Barkov and McAvoy going to Manhattan in exchange for top prospects Chaz Lucius, Isak Rosen, Oskar Olausson, Emil Heineman, three 2024 Second Round Picks, and one 2024 Third Round pick. The second part sees Marchand to Manhattan in exchange for Matvei Petrov, Marcus Johansson, Evgeni Dadonov, and another 2024 Second Round Pick.

5:31 pm  Bob McKenzie: Wow. That’s a blockbuster for sure. Looks like Manhattan is now all in on a Cup run and Quebec is now all in on a high draft pick.

5:49 pm  Barry Melrose: Quebec is stealing the show.

5:58 pm  Bob McKenzie: Antigonish gets in on the fun. GM McKenna has just acquired Boeser and Trocheck. Waiting to hear what the return was…

6:00 pm  Bob McKenzie: Boeser and Trocheck to Antigonish. McGroarty, Silovs, Stromgren, Grans, and a 2025 Second Round Pick to Quebec.

6:02 pm  Pierre LeBrun: Hearing Rain City GM Jason Henley just made his first trade of the day.

6:03 pm  Pierre LeBrun: Chris Driedger to Rain City for a 2024 Third Round Pick and a 2026 Third Round Pick.

6:11 pm  Barry Melrose: Washington has just traded Marc-Andre Fleury to Sarnia for a pair of Third Round Picks.

6:22 pm  Bob McKenzie: Buffalo and Manhattan are finalizing a deal.

6:24 pm  Bob McKenzie: Scott Wedgewood to Buffalo for Cole Guttman and a Third Round Pick.

6:42 pm  Pierre LeBrun: Kaapo Kakko is heading to London for a 1st and 2nd Round Pick.

6:54 pm  Bob McKenzie: It’s pandemonium right now! Phones are ringing off the hook!

7:01 pm  Barry Melrose: Vikings GM Phil Svoboda is on the board. Svoboda has acquired Tyler Seguin and Jacob Trouba from Quebec for Ryan Francis, Cole Schwindt, Hugo Alnefelt, Graeme Clarke, and two Third Round Draft Picks.

7:07 pm  Pierre LeBrun: Debrusk to Washington for a 2025 Second Round Pick.

7:11 pm  Barry Melrose: Lethbridge trades Kunin to Laval for a 2026 Third Round Pick.

7:13 pm  Bob McKenzie: Crosby is taking warm-up in Buffalo.

7:15 pm  Barry Melrose: Washington acquires Jeannot from Antigonish for a Third Round Pick. London acquires Bjorkstrand from Toronto for a 2024 First Round Pick. Westbury acquires Brossoit from Lehtbridge for a Third Round Pick.

7:29 pm  Pierre LeBrun: Boston trades Perfetti, Girard, Pekcarcik, and Korpisalo to Atlantic City for Hronek and Kyrou.

7:38 pm  Bob McKenzie: There’s about 500 Killers fans on the internet currently trying to organize a riot on the website Reddit if Fort Drum doesn’t make a move today.

7:51 pm  Barry Melrose: Oliver Ekman Larsson to Atlantic City for a 2nd and 3rd.

8:00 pm  Bob McKenzie: Ron Burgundy just announced the trade deadline has been extended by one more hour!!! Deadline is at 9pm EST!!!

8:15 pm  Pierre LeBrun: Moncton trades Lafreniere, Snuggerud, Sanderson, Nikishin, and a 2025 1st to Washington for Jeremy Swayman, Owen Tippett, and a 2025 2nd.

8:18 pm  Barry Melrose: Drouin to Laval for Romanov and a 2025 Third Round Pick. Fowler to London for a 2025 Second Round Pick.

8:55 pm  Bob McKenzie: Freddie Andersen to Manhattan for a 2nd and 3rd.

9:00 pm  Pierre LeBrun: Pencils down!!! The 2024 AFHL Trade Deadline has arrived. Let’s see if any last minute deals trickle in…

9:01 pm  Barry Melrose: Antigonish and London with the last minute deal – X-Men acquire Linus Karlsson and London acquires Killorn.

9:05 pm  Bob McKenzie: And that’s all she wrote, folks. 23 total trades today! Another epic deadline! Goodnight all!!

 

* * *

 

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 2^nd.

American Conference All Star Team	Canadian Conference All Star Team
Head Coach: Mike Phelan (Boston)	Head Coach: Phil Svoboda (Shawinigan)
F1 – F2 – F3	F1 – F2 – F3
D1 – D2	D1 – D2
Utility Player	Utility Player
Goaltender	Goaltender
DRAFTED PLAYERS: Pastrnak, Matthews, McDavid, Kucherov, Oettinger, Nylander, Dahlin, Demko, Swayman, Connor, Kaprizov, Tkachuk, Barzal, Reinhart, Keller, DeBrincat, Vatrano, Trocheck, Thomas, Bobrovsky, Georgiev, Talbot	DRAFTED 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

AFHL Announces the Return of the All-Star Game

January 22^nd, 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 29^th. 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 2^nd.

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

Tickets for AFHL All-Star Game will go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. ET on January 30^th 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.”