Who is Dave Andrews? Just a Freakin' Sports Genius...

by Mlnsports

Ah, remember the NHL strike? SI, ESPN, Fox, and pretty much every lemming journalist with no exposure to hockey jumped on the "HOCKEY IS DOOMED" band-wagon.

Yet the NHL has come out of the other side a whole lot leaner and meaner. They have tight player contracts with strict salary caps. They can send players down to the minor leagues, and bring up fresh talent to replace the stale players, just like the good-old-days in all major league sports.

At the center of that whole system lies the Triple-A American Hockey League (AHL), much to the credit of its league president, Dave Andrews.

Andrews took the AHL from being a struggling class-AA league to becoming the only Triple-A league in hockey, with full affiliation for its clubs with the NHL. He also helmed the league into the mission-critical position of being not only the primary feeder of talent, but the final resting place for careers well into their down-arc.

What Dave has done for both hockey, and potentially for other major league sports is HUGE.

Dan Hickling, our senior hockey writer, did a great interview with Dave called " Eye on the Prize ". Check it out.

Bberg11Varsity

723 days ago

Score 1

I wouldn't say the AHL lies at the center of the system. Personally, I think it's only a few years before the league gets back to pre-lockout style of play. You can already see that they are ignoring a lot of the rules that opened up the game post-lockout. For example, there is a rule that icing is supposed to be waved off on an attempted pass. When was the last time you saw that happen? Also, a lot of the interference is making it's way back into the game.

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MlnsportsVarsity Captain

723 days ago

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Players can go down. That improves openings for fresh bodies. The changes in the play rules, particularly around the defensive end to amp up the action, is going to mean a need for more defensive players. The reason that it is returning to "pre-lockout" is because the system is well-oiled and is working.

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KelsdadAll-Star

722 days ago

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As a former AHL employee, the league was never "AA" and player movement was just as common and just as frequent as with baseball.

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MlnsportsVarsity Captain

721 days ago

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When the AHL rolled out, the only affiliation agreements it had originally were in about the same classification as the ECHL. There were clubs that had some direct relationships, and there were clubs that had affilation agreements with IHL clubs. The NHL makes no official notice of any of the leagues, so the classification system is really up to the classifier. By our definition, holding affiliations with the IHL at the time made them subordinate because they were serving up players to the IHL. Also, the NHL at the time only directly recognized the IHL as its official "minor" league, while still maintaining its relationships with all of the junior leagues as well.

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Tyrone BriggsHall of Famer

723 days ago

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Nothing more than continually spamming the 'Chair. I'm not paying a subscription.

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MlnsportsVarsity Captain

722 days ago

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That's cool Ty. You need to save every last shekel for that anger management clinic that you've been working so hard for. Betty Ford for Flamers ain't cheap.

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Tyrone BriggsHall of Famer

722 days ago

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This is not an article. Its spam.

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SSreportersLegend

723 days ago

Score 1

Goodness! All of this is for the lockerroom.

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