Every two weeks throughout the regular season, FloHockey AHL expert Patrick Williams will deliver the FloHockey AHL Power Rankings ranking all 32 teams.
This week there is another new club taking over the top spot in the league as the Grand Rapids Griffins continue to climb the Power Rankings.
See where your favorite team ranks based on the Power Rankings and follow them throughout the season to see how your club rises or falls. You can also see the full AHL standings here to see how they compare to our power rankings.
2024 Chicago Wolves vs Grand Rapids Griffins
1) Grand Rapids Griffins (+1)
Grand Rapids showed the will to follow an unofficial night with a strong comeback effort. One night after mustering just 13 shots in a 5-2 loss at Chicago, the Griffins stopped the Cleveland Monsters and their 10-game winning streak the next afternoon. Now the challenge awaits the Griffins with the return of top goalie Sebastian Cossa to the Detroit Red Wings.
2) Cleveland Monsters (+7)
Even the hot Monsters can have a tough outing like they did in the loss to Grand Rapids. Still, they erased three Grand Rapids leads before the game got away from them. Losing David Jiricek in last weekend's Columbus-Minnesota deal is a heavy blow to Cleveland's blue line. Integrating Daemon Hunt, part of the return of Jiricek's deal, will be key for Cleveland.
3) Calgary Wranglers (–)
The Wranglers made it 4-2-1-0 on the road trip by visiting Manitoba and easily taking care of the Moose in back-to-back games. Losing top forwards Walker Duehr and Jakob Pelletier on the same day as the Calgary Flames miss will be a problem to deal with if those promotions are to last a significant amount of time. Devin Cooley continues to find the back of the net as the Wranglers return to the Scotiabank Saddledome for their next 10 of 12 on home ice.
4) Hershey Bears (+1)
Hershey continues to pick up points and stay atop the Eastern Conference standings, but the process continues to annoy Todd Nelson. The coach who holds five Calder Cup rings warned that the players' positions could be at risk following a 5-4 loss at home to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last Saturday. Sheer talent has the Bears sitting on a strong record, but it was their attention to detail that won them back-to-back Calder Cup championships. Those details didn't match up at all.
5) Laval Rocket (-4)
The Rockets hit their first tough season after traveling to Pennsylvania and dropping three games in four nights. A club that has been shorthanded for most of the season has conceded 14 goals in those three defeats. Even the best clubs will face turmoil, and how the Rockets will handle this setback will be instructive. A tough two-game series against Toronto will take place this weekend at Place Bell.
6) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (+4)
Back-to-back wins against Laval and Hershey should draw attention to the Eastern Conference that the Penguins are for real. Rookie Rutger McGroarty looked solid against the Bears and had the game winner, too. The list is healthy. Wednesday's rematch at home with the Bears follows.
7) San Jose Barracuda (+1)
Yaroslav Askarov is back. So if the offense behind the Barracuda just blasted Abbotsford with 12 goals in two games. With eight of the nine on the road following this weekend, this is a week where the most important thing is to get bankable points.
8) Toronto Marlies (-2)
Missing the Toronto Maple Leafs has dampened the Marlies, and they have just one goal in their last two contests. Having a two-game trip to Laval isn't an easy way to restore some of that offensive confidence, either.
9) Coachella Valley Firebirds (-2)
The hot streak slowed down a bit due to setbacks against Tucson and Texas last week. Texas is back on the schedule this week followed by three meetings with San Jose.
10) Milwaukee Admirals (-6)
Milwaukee pulled out a 3-2 overtime victory at Rockford last Saturday, something the Admirals desperately needed. That win ended an 0-2-1-2 slump for the Admirals. To be fair, four of those losses came against the likes of Cleveland and Grand Rapids, so a little mercy is due.
11) Colorado Eagles (+5)
12) Belleville Senators (+1)
13) Charlotte Checkers (+1)
14) Texas Stars (-3)
15) Dominion of Ontario (+4)
16) Lehigh Valley Phantoms (+7)
17) Springfield Thunderbirds (+8)
18) Hartford Wolf Pack (-6)
19) Syracuse Crunch (-4)
20) Abbotsford Canucks (–)
21) Rochester Americans (-4)
22) Bakersfield Condors (-4)
23) Tucson Roadrunners (-2)
24) Providence Bruins (+3)
25) Chicago Wolves (+4)
26) Iowa Wild (-4)
27) Rockford IceHogs (-3)
28) Utica Comets (+3)
29) Bridgeport Islanders (-1)
30) Manitoba Moose (-4)
31) San Diego Gulls (-1)
32) Henderson Silver Knights (-2)
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