The American Hockey League has long been considered a difficult league to score in. The majority of players on that circuit are veterans who are making good scratch to play the game they love - even if it’s unlikely they’ll ever get a true look at in NHL. A lot of the ultra offensive types who aren’t quite gifted enough for an NHL top-nine job end up signing for more money in Europe where they’re treated to plane trips, nice apartments, a car, and a fancy city like Vienna or Zurich.

That’s pretty hard for Utica or Belleville to contend with.

That leaves the league a grinding style. But just because it’s a tight-checking, veteran-laden league doesn’t mean there aren’t a bushel of exciting young players working their way up. It may not be to the level of that incredible 2004-05 lockout season