Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
For AHL players, every path to the NHL looks different.
Some, usually high-round draft picks, take the fast route to the American Hockey League. They need ice time and address some of the remaining weaknesses in their game, and the AHL provides that.
Other players will need a few seasons in the AHL to become viable options in the NHL. Maybe they need to reshape themselves from top scorers at the college and junior levels into defensive players who can play a much different role in the NHL. Or there are holes in their game that need a lot of improvement. The AHL can also be a necessary bridge for these players. Goalkeepers also usually take longer.
There are also veterans who have put in years of their time at the AHL level as solid producers and leaders. Maybe there were some recalls in the NHL as well.
As the NHL regular season kicks off this week, 596 AHL graduates will begin their seasons on NHL rosters. Let’s take a look at some of their stories.
Andrew Agozino – Utah Mammoth
Agozino, 34, is getting another chance in the NHL.
Agozino is one of the AHL’s most respected veterans, having been in the league since 2012. He scored 20 or more goals in eight of 13 AHL seasons, including last year in Tucson. He was a two-time AHL All-Star, received Team of the Year honors for his community work, and played 791 regular season games for 10 AHL clubs. He has been a reliable call-up option and has appeared in 51 NHL games.
Now, with Utah’s roster struggling a bit to start the season, management has rewarded Agozino for his years of work and reliability with a chance to start the season in the NHL.
Jet Leggings – Columbus Blue Jackets
Not every rookie enters the AHL with much fanfare. But some people leaving the AHL for the NHL create a lot of optimism.
Greaves is one of them. Undrafted out of the Ontario Hockey League, Greaves had a long and steady climb up the developmental ladder in Columbus. During his rookie season in 2021-22, he played with the ECHL and Cleveland Monsters on an AHL contract. He signed an NHL contract with the Blue Jackets midway through that season, but in his second season, he played 43 games with the Monsters, establishing himself as the AHL’s top defenseman. In his third season, he led the Monsters all the way to overtime in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and he played 40 games for Cleveland last season.
The Blue Jackets made 21 appearances during the NHL recall period. Last spring, he was also recognized as a member of the AHL’s All-Rookie Team.
four seasons. ECHL time. Extensive AHL experience. Now 24 years old, he is a full-time NHL goaltender.
Logan Melux – St. Louis Blues
In his two seasons with LaVar, Marquez made the Rockets a difficult and frustrating opponent.
Now, the St. Louis Blues are hoping the 22-year-old defenseman, acquired from the Montreal Canadiens last summer, can do the same for them. Last spring, he played a key role in helping the Rockets achieve the AHL’s highest regular-season record and reach the Eastern Conference Finals. Along the way, he was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team in the 2023-24 season and was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team last season. He was also selected to the AHL All-Star Classic twice.
Matt Savoy – Edmonton Oilers
Savoie has been on the sidelines of NHL duties for some time.
The ninth overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft has one game with the Buffalo Sabers in the 2023-24 season. He played four games for the Oilers last season after the Sabers sent him to Edmonton in July 2024. In between, the forward with elite speed scored 19 goals and 54 points as a rookie with the Bakersfield Condors last season and earned a spot on the Pacific Division roster for the AHL All-Star Classic.
After joining an Oilers team that has reached the Stanley Cup Finals in back-to-back seasons, the Edmonton native may be headed home to stay.
Artus Silovs – Pittsburgh Penguins
Less than four months after leading the Abbotsford Canucks to their first Calder Cup title, the 24-year-old goalie is back in the NHL.
The Jack A. Butterfield Trophy winner, last season’s Calder Cup playoff MVP, earned the start and shutout for Pittsburgh in the season opener at Madison Square Garden, earning himself a new NHL opportunity after an eventful offseason. Three weeks after he hoisted the Calder Trophy, Pittsburgh acquired him from Vancouver in a trade. Silovs, who has played 19 NHL regular-season games in three seasons with Vancouver, has a chance to capitalize on his best opportunity to date.
About two decades in the American Hockey League, TheAHL.com feature writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. In 2016, he received the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for outstanding coverage of the league.
