The 2023 Calder Cup playoffs was the postseason tournament of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) to determine the winner of the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League (AHL). It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In it ...

, which is awarded to the AHL playoff champions from the

2022–23 AHL season The 2022–23 AHL season was the 87th season of the American Hockey League. The regular season began on October 14, 2022, and ended on April 16, 2023. The 2023 Calder Cup playoffs followed the conclusion of the regular season, and began on April ...

. The 2023 playoffs began on April 18, 2023, with the 23-team playoff format that was introduced in 2022. All teams except the bottom two teams of the Atlantic, North, and Central divisions, as well as the bottom three teams of the Pacific division qualified for the playoffs. Each division has a

best-of-three series There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

in the first round to determine the top 16 teams for the division semifinals, with various teams receiving byes based on regular season performance. The 16 teams that remain—four from each division—will play a best-of-five series in the division semifinals, with the playoffs continuing with another best-of-five series for the division finals and a best-of-seven series for the conference finals and

finals. The Hershey Bears defeated the Coachella Valley Firebirds in overtime of game seven, granting Hershey their 12th Calder Cup in team history and first since

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. This was only the second time a game seven went to overtime in the finals, and the first since

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

Playoff seeds

After the 2022–23 AHL regular season, 23 teams qualified for the playoffs. The top 5 teams in the North and Central divisions, the top 6 teams in the Atlantic division, and the top 7 teams in the Pacific division based on points total qualified for the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs. The

Calgary Wranglers The Calgary Wranglers are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. They are members of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays at the Scotiabank Saddledome, the home of their Na ...

won the regular season title in their season finale.

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Providence, Rhode Island. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Hi ...

– 98 points (.681) #

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Bears have played in the American Hockey League (AHL) since the 1938–39 season, making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still ...

– 97 points (.674) #

Charlotte Checkers The Charlotte Checkers are a professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the top minor league affiliate of the ...

– 86 points (.597) #

Springfield Thunderbirds The Springfield Thunderbirds are a professional ice hockey team based in Springfield, Massachusetts. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's St. Louis Blues. The Thunderbirds play their home games at th ...

– 84 points (.583) #

Hartford Wolf Pack The Hartford Wolf Pack are a professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. A member of the American Hockey League (AHL), they play their home games at the PeoplesBank Arena. The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds. ...

– 81 points (.563) #

Lehigh Valley Phantoms The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are a professional ice hockey team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The team competes in the American Hockey League (AHL) and serves as the primary development team for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey Le ...

– 80 points (.556)

North Division

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies are owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

– 90 points (.625) #

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team based in Syracuse, New York. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning. They play in they home games at the Upstate Medical Univer ...

– 81 points (.563), 27 #

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Rochester, New York. They are the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home g ...

– 81 points (.563), 25 #

Utica Comets The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated with the National Hockey League's (NHL) New Jersey D ...

– 80 points (.556) #

Laval Rocket The Laval Rocket () are a professional ice hockey team based in Laval, Quebec. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) and Trois-Rivières Lions of the ECHL. The Rocket play ...

– 76 points (.528)

Western Conference

Central Division

Texas Stars The Texas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Cedar Park, Texas. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Dallas Stars. They play their homes games at the H-E-B Center. History In ...

– 92 points (.639) #

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team based in Milwaukee. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Nashville Predators. They play their homes games at the UW–Milwaukee Panther ...

– 89 points (.618) #

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre. The fran ...

– 84 points (.583) #

Iowa Wild The Iowa Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wild play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena. The ...

– 79 points (.549), 24 #

Rockford IceHogs The Rockford IceHogs are a professional ice hockey team based in Rockford, Illinois. They are members of the American Hockey League (AHL), having begun play in the League starting in the 2007–08 season. The team plays their home games at the ...

– 79 points (.549), 20

Pacific Division

– 106 points (.736) #

Coachella Valley Firebirds The Coachella Valley Firebirds are a professional ice hockey team based in the Coachella Valley. They are members of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL). The Firebirds began play in the 2022–23 AH ...

– 103 points (.715) #

Colorado Eagles The Colorado Eagles are a professional ice hockey team based in Loveland, Colorado. The Eagles play in the Pacific Division of the American Hockey League. The Eagles were founded as an expansion franchise in 2003 in the Central Hockey League and ...

– 90 points (.625) #

Abbotsford Canucks The Abbotsford Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Abbotsford, British Columbia. The team began play in the 2021–22 season with home games at Abbotsford Centre as the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hocke ...

– 87 points (.604) #

Bakersfield Condors The Bakersfield Condors are a professional ice hockey team based in Bakersfield, California. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. The Condors play their home games at Dignity Healt ...

– 78 points (.542) #

Ontario Reign The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team based in Ontario, California. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Arena. The fra ...

– 74 points (.514) #

Tucson Roadrunners The Tucson Roadrunners are a professional ice hockey team based in Tucson, Arizona. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Utah Mammoth. They play their home games at the Tucson Convention Cente ...

– 69 points (.479), 25

Bracket

First round

Eastern Conference

(A3) Charlotte Checkers vs. (A6) Lehigh Valley Phantoms

(A4) Springfield Thunderbirds vs. (A5) Hartford Wolf Pack

(N4) Utica Comets vs. (N5) Laval Rocket

Western Conference

(C4) Iowa Wild vs. (C5) Rockford IceHogs

(P2) Coachella Valley Firebirds vs. (P7) Tucson Roadrunners

(P3) Colorado Eagles vs. (P6) Ontario Reign

(P4) Abbotsford Canucks vs. (P5) Bakersfield Condors

Division semifinals

Eastern Conference

(A1) Providence Bruins vs. (A5) Hartford Wolf Pack

(A2) Hershey Bears vs. (A3) Charlotte Checkers

(N1) Toronto Marlies vs. (N4) Utica Comets

(N2) Syracuse Crunch vs. (N3) Rochester Americans

Western Conference

(C1) Texas Stars vs. (C5) Rockford IceHogs

(C2) Milwaukee Admirals vs. (C3) Manitoba Moose

(P1) Calgary Wranglers vs. (P4) Abbotsford Canucks

(P2) Coachella Valley Firebirds vs. (P3) Colorado Eagles

Division finals

Eastern Conference

(A2) Hershey Bears vs. (A5) Hartford Wolf Pack

(N1) Toronto Marlies vs. (N3) Rochester Americans

Western Conference

(C1) Texas Stars vs. (C2) Milwaukee Admirals

(P1) Calgary Wranglers vs. (P2) Coachella Valley Firebirds

Conference finals

Eastern Conference

(A2) Hershey Bears vs. (N3) Rochester Americans

Western Conference

(P2) Coachella Valley Firebirds vs. (C2) Milwaukee Admirals

Calder Cup finals

(P2) Coachella Valley Firebirds vs. (A2) Hershey Bears

Playoff statistical leaders

Leading skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points. If there is a tie in points, goals take precedence over assists.

Leading goaltenders

This is a combined table of the top five goaltenders based on

goals against average Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (AGA), is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on spo ...

and the top five goaltenders based on

save percentage Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various Goal (sports), goal-scoring sports that track Save (goaltender), saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse and association football, it is a sta ...

with at least 60 minutes played. The table is initially sorted by goals against average, with the criterion for inclusion in bold.

References

External links

AHL official site
{{AHL Calder Cup playoffs Calder Cup Playoffs