AHL original Six

I keep talking about the AHL "original six," but in reality, there are no historic teams in the AHL anymore with the exception of the Bears, whom are the oldest standing franchise in AHL history. Springfield was moved and another team took its spot, so the Falcons aren't historical, at least as much as they should be. Providence, teams moved all around and they didn't have an AHL team for a while. Trying to follow it all is a nightmare, so I'm going to try to do my best to identify the six most historical teams in the AHL.

Wikemedia Commons

1. Hershey Bears
Most calder cups, no major moves or re-brandings, pretty consistently there. They are the oldest operating team in the league.

2. Springfield Falcons
Springfield is the home of AHL headquarters. They have pretty consistently had a team, and the city played host to one of the original teams as well. That team was moved to Worcester and was dissolved but in its stead, the Falcons formed and kept hockey in Springfield MA.

3. Hartford Wolfpack
The Wolfpack is not as new you think they are. And I'm not just talking about the year the spent as the Whale. They have historically been one of Springfield's biggest rivals since day 1, when they weren't even in Hartford, but were AHL founding member, the Providence Reds. They moved from place to place, Re-branding after re-branding, until they wound up where they are, living out the history they started with Springfield as a major market rival.

4. Utica Comets
While Springfield is home to the AHL for its founding and growth, Utica is home to one of those founding Springfield teams. Early on they were the Springfield Indians, before moving around from city to city and landing in Utica.

5. Rochester Americans
Founded in 1956, they're currently one of the oldest operating teams in the AHL, were founded to be a Canadiens affiliate, and Rochester is also home to an old IHL (International Hockey League) team, which the IHL was an early predecessor for the AHL.

6. Syracuse Crunch
The team might be as old as the Falcons, but the city is rich with AHL history, with teams coming and going for years. Syracuse is just another place that is just a good AHL market and some team always finds a home there.

Also worth consideration are the Senators, whom have been around since 1972, though just not in New York, and the St. Johns Ice Caps whom were founded in the 60s. But I don't consider these locations as important to the AHL history, nor have a historical team history to them. So, there we have it, your AHL hockey tradition as defined by me: The guy who started blogging about this last week.