https://www.flohockey.tv/articles/15177248-flohockey-ahl-prospect-watch-grand-rapids-griffins-defenseman-shai-buium

The Griffins moved to 14-0-1-1 on the road this season, matching the longest road points streak in AHL history. The Admirals went 16 games away from home without a regulation loss during the 2011-12 season (10-0-4-2).

Grand Rapids is 29-2-2-1 overall in 2025-26, good for 61 points and a 21-point lead over the rest of the Central Division. Their .897 points percentage has them on pace to shatter the all-time mark for best single-season record, held by the 1992-93 Binghamton Rangers (57-13-10, .775).

The Griffins return to action on Friday when they host Rockford. They will look to break the road points record when they visit Manitoba on Jan. 23.

https://www.flohockey.tv/leagues/10826833-american-hockey-league-ahl/videos?playing=15176049

The Texas Stars are accustomed to succeeding.

Western Conference finalists a year ago, the Stars have made the postseason in 11 of their 14 tries. They won the Calder Cup in 2014, and reached the Finals two other times. Being near or at the top of the Central Division standings has been a pretty reliable standard.

But the team came out of the gate with six straight losses this season, and had just eight victories (8-13-2-1) by the time the first third of their schedule had passed on Dec. 12.

To be sure, the Stars had suffered some significant offseason personnel losses. Forward Matěj Blümel took his league-leading 39 goals to the Boston Bruins organization as a free agent. Another forward, Justin Hryckowian, graduated to the Dallas Stars after winning the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s most outstanding rookie last season. Standout defensemen Alex Petrovic and Kyle Capobianco found a roles in Dallas as well. And head coach Neil Graham joined the parent club as an assistant coach.

Coaching in general has been a remarkably consistent factor in Cedar Park. Going back to 2014, they had seen just Graham (2019-25) and Derek Laxdal (2014-19) running the Texas bench. With Graham’s promotion, the organization turned to Toby Petersen, a member of that 2014 championship team, to lead its AHL affiliate.

And maybe – just maybe – the Stars are back. They have earned points in eight of their last 11 games (7-3-1-0), including an impressive 2-0 road win over the dominating Grand Rapids Griffins on Friday night. Rémi Poirier led the way with 29 saves, Cameron Hughes and former Griffin Cross Hanas scored 51 seconds apart late in the middle period, and Texas handed the Griffins their first regulation loss in seven weeks.

Poirier came back with 30 saves to backstop the Stars to a 3-1 win at Chicago on Saturday, securing the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week nod from the AHL. The 24-year-old netminder has emerged as one of the Stars’ success stories despite the trying beginning to the season. In his fourth season with Texas, the net finally and indisputably belongs to him. And he has taken on the workload to match his status: his 24 appearances lead the AHL, while his 1,355 minutes place him second overall. He holds a 10-10-4 record to go with a 2.57 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage.

So Texas, for all of its troubles, has improved to 15-16-3-1 and climbed up to fourth place in the Central Division. They are just three points behind the third-place Manitoba Moose and trail second-place Chicago by only six points. And the Stars’ power play, a major source of difficulty this season, has started to awaken; after going 6-for-72 in the team’s first 25 games, the power play has gone 7-for-26 since.

Eight of their next 10 games will be at home to take them into the AHL All-Star break. Other than a quick hop to visit Rockford and Iowa next week, the Stars can settle in at home beginning with a visit from Coachella Valley tonight and Wednesday. Ontario, Henderson and Manitoba also make visits to H-E-B Center in the next month.

That said, establishing a much stronger home-ice presence will be job-one. The Stars have won four straight home games after starting the season 2-8-2-0 in Cedar Park, with all four of those wins coming against their rivals from Milwaukee.

The second-half schedule is encouraging, too. Texas has just two match-ups left with the league-leading Griffins, a trip to West Michigan in mid-February. But seven contests remain with the Wolves and four are left with the Moose. Finishing in the top three in the Central Division means avoiding a best-of-three first-round series.

Considerable work remains to be done after such a rough start. But Poirier’s goaltending is holding up, the power play is finding some life, and the Stars are settling in with their new head coach.

The next month could tell just how dangerous this team might become down the stretch and – perhaps – into the postseason.

https://www.flohockey.tv/articles/15177224-flohockey-ahl-power-rankings-providence-bruins-taking-over-the-east

https://www.flohockey.tv/articles/15174475-erik-portillo-back-to-health-with-the-ontario-reign

Poirier stopped 59 of the 60 shots he faced in two starts for the Stars last week, good for a 0.50 goals-against average and a .983 save percentage.

On Friday night, Poirier backstopped Texas to a 2-0 win at Grand Rapids, making 29 saves and handing the Griffins their first regulation loss in seven weeks. Then on Saturday, Poirier turned aside 30 shots in a 3-1 win at Chicago, extending his shutout streak to nearly 115 minutes before allowing a third-period goal.

A sixth-round choice by Dallas in the 2020 NHL Draft, Poirier has a record of 10-10-4 with a 2.57 goals-against average, a .911 save percentage and two shutouts in 24 appearances for Texas this season, ranking second in the AHL in both minutes played (1,355) and saves (591). In 109 AHL games over four seasons with the Stars, the 24-year-old native of Farnham, Que., is 53-42-12 with a 2.79 GAA, a .907 save percentage and six shutouts.

https://www.masslive.com/bruins/2026/01/after-six-seasons-in-ahl-bruins-defenseman-has-become-pleasant-surprise.html

https://www.nhl.com/panthers/news/vilmanis-earned-some-fans-during-nhl-debut-with-panthers

by Jason Karnosky

The Milwaukee Admirals have a knack for developing National Hockey League defensemen.

Since becoming affiliated with Nashville shortly after the Predators’ expansion, a steady stream of All-Star level defensemen – including Roman Josi, Shea Weber, Ryan Suter and Kimmo Timonen – started their careers in Milwaukee. Countless other defenders such as Mattias Ekholm, Dan Hamhuis, Cody Franson, Spencer Stastney and, most recently, Adam Wilsby enjoyed solid NHL careers after wearing an Admirals sweater.

Ryan Ufko represents the next link in the Admirals’ development chain. Now in his second full season with Milwaukee, the 22-year-old blueliner leads Milwaukee – as well as all AHL defensemen – in scoring with 33 points through 32 games.

“Ryan’s getting lots of opportunities and ice time, and he’s running with it.” Admirals head coach Karl Taylor said. “He’s been really good for us.”

Ufko had a goal and an assist in Milwaukee’s most important win of the season, a 3-0 victory over Rockford on Dec. 30 that ended his team’s nine-game losing streak.

“We still believe in ourselves, and we believe in how we’ve been playing even when we are behind or losing,” said Ufko. “We’ve tried not to dwell on getting down, but instead we’ve stuck together because we know what we can pull off.”

Much like his team, Ufko got off to a fast start this season. The University of Massachusetts-Amherst product had goals in each of the last four games of October. During that time Milwaukee trailed only league leader Grand Rapids in the Central Division standings.

“It’s been a really good start to the year for me (personally),” Ufko said. “I feel like I’m a lot more comfortable this year, and I have a lot of confidence in myself and in how I’m playing.”

The talented blueliner is emerging as a weapon on the power play. Four of his nine goals have come on the man advantage.

“Our power play has really been clicking and capitalizing on those moments,” said Ufko, who also scored his first career shorthanded goal this season. “Especially at the start of the year it seemed like we were scoring power-play goals in every game.”

While Milwaukee limped through December, falling back to fifth place in the Central Division, the Admirals’ power play remained elite. They are scoring power-play goals at a stunning 29.8 percent clip, which is the best success rate in the AHL.

“(I appreciate) all of the opportunities I’ve been getting this season,” said Ufko, who also had a five-game point streak wrapped around the Thanksgiving holiday. “It shows the trust that the coaches have in me, and I’ve tried to capitalize on that.”

While Ufko is breaking out this season, his progression started in the spring of 2024, as the Smithtown, N.Y., native joined the Admirals about a month before his 21st birthday. Ufko signed an entry-level contract with Nashville on March 29 after playing three years of college hockey at UMass.

“The [time] I’ve been here since college has gone really quickly,” Ufko said. “Yet I also feel like I’ve been here for a while, especially after getting into all of those playoff games that first spring. That 2024 playoff run was really good for my career.”

Ufko played in nine regular-season games with the Admirals in 2023-24, contributing six points. The Predators’ 2021 fourth-round draft pick then helped Milwaukee advance to the Western Conference Finals for the second straight season.

“Ryan had 10 points in those 15 playoff games, but he’s come a long way as a player since then,” Taylor said. “I’m really proud of his development, and how he is playing now for us.”

Last season as a rookie, Ufko was the only Admirals player to skate in all 72 regular-season games. He struggled a bit coming out of the gates but ended as Milwaukee’s top scoring defenseman with 30 points. He added three assists in 10 playoff games last spring.

“Ryan battled through a bit of a slow start last year, coming back after all of that momentum he had from the previous postseason,” Taylor said. “But by the end of the year he was one of our better players.”

The peak moment of Ufko’s season came on April 14, 2025, when he made his NHL debut with Nashville.

“Ryan is yelling at Nashville to give him a chance,” Taylor said. “He is demanding it with his play. He’s learned a lot from his slow start last year, and that’s been a teachable moment for all of our players.”

This season the 5-foot-10 defenseman found another level, and that has meant a lot to a Milwaukee squad trying to regain the tailwind they had behind them in the early going.

“Ryan’s been a little more confident, and a little more secure with the puck, so he’s been able to hold on to it a little longer to make those late plays,” Taylor said. “He’s been outstanding for us, and what a way to start the year, especially after how it started for him last year.”