SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League held its 2024 Awards Gala during the Board of Governors’ Annual Meeting at Hilton Head Island, S.C., on Thursday evening, presenting several awards for excellence and service:
For the second year in a row, Hershey Bears vice president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer has been voted by the Board as the winner of the James C. Hendy Memorial Award, given to the outstanding executive in the American Hockey League.
Elected to the AHL Hall of Fame following a storied playing career, Helmer joined the Bears’ front office in 2016 to oversee the day-to-day operations of the franchise’s hockey department. With Helmer working closely with the Hershey coaching staff as well as the Washington Capitals on all personnel decisions, the Bears posted a 53-win, 111-point regular season – the second-best record in AHL history – before getting major contributions from several players in supporting roles en route to winning the organization’s 13th Calder Cup championship.
The James C. Hendy Memorial Award is named for the late Jim Hendy, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and AHL Hall of Fame and long-time statistician and historian for the AHL who won four Calder Cups as general manager of the Cleveland Barons.
The Syracuse Crunch’s Vance Lederman has been honored with the Thomas Ebright Award in recognition of career contributions to the AHL.
Lederman has been part of the Crunch organization since its inception 30 years ago, currently serving as its senior vice president of business operations and chief financial officer. His unique, effervescent personality has made him an integral liaison between the front office and the Crunch’s fans, corporate partners, players, coaches and NHL partners in Tampa Bay. Through the years, Lederman has been a driving force behind many tentpole events to ensure the organization’s vibrancy and strength in the Syracuse community, including the first outdoor game in AHL history, the first pro hockey game ever at the iconic Carrier Dome and two AHL All-Star Classics.
The Thomas Ebright Award honors Tom Ebright, the former owner and governor of the Baltimore Skipjacks and Portland Pirates who passed away in 1997.
The Hershey Bears (team of the year) and Mavrik Bourque of the Texas Stars (player excellence) were named the 2023-24 winners of the President’s Awards.
The Bears wrote another chapter in their storied history in 2023-24, posting the second-best regular-season record ever in the American Hockey League before going on to capture their second consecutive Calder Cup championship. Off the ice, they saw marked increases in all areas of their sales operations – including season tickets, group tickets, individual game tickets and corporate sales – and the Bears finished among the top three in the league in average attendance for the 17th consecutive season.
At 22, Bourque won the Les Cunningham Award as the AHL’s most valuable player in 2023-24 and was the AHL’s youngest scoring champion in more than a decade, leading the league with 77 points on 26 goals and 51 assists. Dallas’s first-round choice (30th overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft was voted a First Team AHL All-Star, participated in the AHL All-Star Classic, and made both his regular-season and Stanley Cup Playoff debuts with the parent Stars.
Established in 2009, the President’s Awards are given to an AHL organization and/or player for overall excellence in the past year.
Referee Shaun Davis has been named the 2023-24 recipient of the Michael Condon Memorial Award for outstanding contributions by an on-ice official.
A resident of Long Grove, Ill., Davis has served on the AHL’s officiating staff since 2006 working more than 550 games, including the AHL All-Star Challenge in 2023. As one of the league’s most tenured on-ice officials, Davis has worked with and mentored many young officials through the years, demonstrating the expertise, professionalism and work ethic required to be successful.
The Michael Condon Memorial Award was created in 2002 following the sudden passing of veteran AHL linesman Mike Condon.
The League also recognized several outstanding achievements in a variety of categories with its annual Team Business Services awards.
As part of its Team Business Services program, the AHL honored clubs for top revenue growth in four areas during this past season: overall ticket sales, season-ticket sales, group-ticket sales and corporate sponsorship sales. Recognized for overall ticket sales growth were the Laval Rocket (Eastern Conference) and the Coachella Valley Firebirds (Western Conference). The winners in season-ticket sales revenue growth were the Hartford Wolf Pack (Eastern) and the Coachella Valley Firebirds (Western). The Bridgeport Islanders (Eastern) and Henderson Silver Knights (Western) earned the awards for corporate sponsorship sales growth, and the Utica Comets (Eastern) and Coachella Valley Firebirds (Western) were recognized for group-ticket sales growth.
Additionally, teams from each conference were selected for excellence in the areas of digital media, community relations and fan experience. The Laval Rocket (Eastern) and Calgary Wranglers (Western) were honored for digital media excellence; the Springfield Thunderbirds (Eastern) and Rockford IceHogs (Western) earned the nods for exceptional community relations efforts; and the Hershey Bears (Eastern) and Texas Stars (Western) were recognized for outstanding fan experience at home games.
The AHL also honored several teams and individuals for their efforts during the 2023-24 season at the league’s Team Business Meetings in Rosemont, Ill., last month, including the Texas Stars as the marketing department of the year, the Cleveland Monsters as the merchandise department of the year, the Colorado Eagles as the sponsorship sales department of the year and the Chicago Wolves as the ticket sales department of the year.
The Laval Rocket were recognized for unique ticket sales promotion or theme night (“Old Time Hockey Night”); the Cleveland Monsters were selected for immersive game operations experience (“Total Solar Eclipse Game”); the Toronto Marlies were chosen for unique community relations initiative (“Capes for Kids”); the Syracuse Crunch were honored for unique social media content (“Syracuse Canal Mules”); the Henderson Silver Knights were given the award for unique sponsorship package or entitlement (Tactical Night Vision Company partnership); and the Iowa Wild were recognized for outstanding marketing campaign (“It Starts in DSM”).
In operation since 1936, the AHL serves as the top development league for all 32 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent time in the AHL in their careers.
