AHL unveils 2025-26 All-Rookie Team, Murashov leads star-studded picks

Sergei Murashov’s NHL win in Stockholm already made him a name to watch, and the American Hockey League’s All-Rookie Team underscored why he is viewed as one of the fastest-rising goaltenders in the pipeline. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins netminder headlined a six-player group selected by coaches, players and media from all 32 member cities, a snapshot of how much top-end talent has flowed into the AHL in its 90th season.

Murashov’s case was built on results that travel well from the AHL to the NHL. The Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2022 fourth-round pick went 23-8-4 with a 2.24 goals-against average, a .918 save percentage and three shutouts in 36 appearances. Born in Yaroslavl, Russia, he already has NHL experience, including his first victory, a shutout against Nashville in Stockholm during the 2025 NHL Global Series. Among the six honorees, he looks closest to becoming a regular NHL contributor because the résumé already includes high-end AHL numbers and a proven ability to handle a big stage.

The blue line was just as loaded. Tyson Jugnauth of the Coachella Valley Firebirds produced one of the league’s most productive rookie defenseman seasons, finishing with 44 points in 70 games and leading rookie blueliners with 35 assists. The Seattle Kraken’s 2022 fourth-round pick arrived with a polished path, after two seasons at Wisconsin and two major-junior seasons with Portland, where he was named the Western Hockey League’s defenseman of the year in 2024-25. Tucson’s Dmitri Simashev also earned a spot after a 40-game rookie campaign that produced eight goals and 35 points, a scoring line that showed rare offense from the back end.

Up front, Bakersfield supplied the most obvious scoring punch. Isaac Howard delivered 22 goals and 47 points in 45 games after winning the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top player at Michigan State in 2024-25, then added 29 NHL games with Edmonton. Quinn Hutson gave the Condors another direct finishing threat, posting 30 goals, 61 points and 12 power-play goals. He was named AHL Rookie of the Month for December after collecting nine goals and four assists for 13 points in eight games, and he also scored his first NHL goal during the season.

Ilya Protas completed the group after a 66-game season for Hershey that produced 28 goals, 62 points, a plus-16 rating and 10 power-play goals. Washington recalled him on April 6, 2026, while describing him as the AHL rookie scoring leader and sixth among all AHL skaters at the time, a reminder that Hershey continues to function as one of the league’s clearest finishing schools. With the regular season set to end April 19 and the Calder Cup playoffs to follow, the All-Rookie Team reads less like a year-end honor roll than a preview of the next wave of NHL contributors.