Charlotte Checkers Embrace Road Life in Push for Calder Cup Playoffs

Charlotte's playoff spot is locked up, but the Checkers aren't done grinding. The Checkers have clinched a spot in the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs, marking the eighth consecutive season in which the team has qualified for the American Hockey League postseason. What remains unsettled is where they'll land in the Atlantic Division standings, and that's where the road trips come in.

The Checkers are battling for seeding in the Atlantic Division. Should they finish in one of the top two spots they will earn a bye past the first round, while finishing in the third or fourth spot would secure the entirety of their first-round series played on home ice. Finishing in fifth or sixth place would put the team on the road for the first-round series. With that much at stake, every game away from Bojangles' Coliseum carries real weight.

FloHockey's weekly AHL Power Rankings, written by Patrick Williams, put the Checkers in the spotlight for the week of March 25 under the headline "Back on the Bus For The Charlotte Checkers," highlighting the team's strong road form and the ways sustained travel has shaped their recent play. The framing is apt: "Back on the road go the Charlotte Checkers as they try to secure another trip to the Calder Cup Playoffs." The Checkers also earned a slot in FloHockey's AHL Top Five Plays of the week, joining the Milwaukee Admirals, Hartford Wolf Pack, Coachella Valley Firebirds and Manitoba Moose.

Elsewhere in the league, the Henderson Silver Knights emerged as arguably the hottest team in the AHL heading into the final weeks of the regular season. The Silver Knights won seven of their past eight games and poured in 44 goals across their six most recent victories, capped by a 7-2 dismantling of the visiting Texas Stars on March 22. Raphael Lavoie was named the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending March 22, posting a 5-3-8 line across four games. Alexander Holtz joined the Silver Knights from the Vegas Golden Knights on March 11 and immediately contributed, racking up two goals and seven assists for nine points after arriving.

The Bakersfield Condors, sitting at No. 11 in the rankings after dropping one spot, steadied themselves by shutting out Calgary, a necessary corrective after back-to-back losses in which they surrendered a combined 13 goals. The San Diego Gulls climbed one spot to No. 16 on the strength of three wins in four games. Coming home from a split in Colorado, the Gulls beat up on Bakersfield 7-4 and then handled Calgary, putting them on track for their first Calder Cup Playoffs appearance since 2022.

In the bottom half of the rankings, the Iowa Wild (+4) and Bridgeport Islanders (+4) made the biggest upward moves of the week, while the Lehigh Valley Phantoms tumbled five spots to No. 26. The Grand Rapids Griffins, sitting atop the overall standings, faced a challenge from the streaking Providence Bruins, who were positioned to make a run at first place in the AHL.

Off the ice, the American Hockey League and the Professional Hockey Players' Association ratified a new five-year Collective Bargaining Agreement, providing labor stability across the league. AHL President and CEO Scott Howson also met with local and national media for his annual state-of-the-league address.

For Charlotte, the CBA news is background noise. The Checkers are headed to the postseason for the eighth consecutive season, but the seeding battle is what drives the final weeks. Every road win between now and the end of the regular season shapes how difficult that postseason path becomes.