SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … American Hockey League President and CEO David Andrews announced that the league’s Board of Governors, convening for its Spring Meeting earlier this week in Chicago, Ill., has approved the following division alignment for the 2017-18 AHL season:

EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Charlotte Checkers
Hartford Wolf Pack
Hershey Bears
Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Providence Bruins
Springfield Thunderbirds
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

North Division
Belleville Senators
Binghamton Devils
Laval Rocket
Rochester Americans
Syracuse Crunch
Toronto Marlies
Utica Comets

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central Division
Chicago Wolves
Cleveland Monsters
Grand Rapids Griffins
Iowa Wild
Manitoba Moose
Milwaukee Admirals
Rockford IceHogs

Pacific Division
Bakersfield Condors
Ontario Reign
San Antonio Rampage
San Diego Gulls
San Jose Barracuda
Stockton Heat
Texas Stars
Tucson Roadrunners

The format for the 2018 Calder Cup Playoffs will be finalized by the Board of Governors at its Annual Meeting in Hilton Head Island, S.C., July 2-6, and the complete playing schedule for the 2017-18 regular season, which begins Oct. 6, will be announced this summer.

In operation since 1936, the AHL continues to serve as the top development league for all 30 National Hockey League teams. More than 88 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and for the 16th year in a row, more than 6 million fans attended AHL games across North America in 2016-17.