Scott Howson Delivers AHL State-of-the-League Address at All-Star Classic

ROCKFORD, Ill., AHL President and CEO Scott Howson met with local and national media on Feb. 12, 2026, at the AHL All-Star Classic and highlighted a major labor milestone: the league and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association ratified a new five-year collective bargaining agreement last month, a deal that will run through August 31, 2030.

Howson framed the All-Star Classic itself as part of the league’s momentum, recalling the event’s January 2025 announcement and its reception. “When we announced this event (in January 2025), we got a great reception,” Howson recalled. “I could tell how meaningful it was going to be. You can see the impact that it’s had.” TheAHL notes point out that the press conference tradition began under predecessor Dave Andrews and serves as a regular chance to measure where the league stands each season at the All-Star Classic.

On the CBA, TheAHL’s published notes said the agreement was ratified by the AHL and the PHPA and emphasized personnel on both sides. Brian Ramsay is identified as PHPA executive director, and the notes state this was the first time Howson and Ramsay worked together on CBA negotiations. The copy preserves the league’s broader negotiating history, noting that Andrews and Ramsay’s predecessor, Larry Landon, went through the process several times across a span of more than 25 years.

Howson’s tenure and the AHL’s leadership arc were part of the conference context. Howson was elected AHL President and CEO in 2020 and had entered his fourth season as president in 2023-24, a timeframe in which the notes credit him with guiding the league through COVID-19 pandemic seasons that required intensive protocols and logistics. TheAHL material also highlights David A. Andrews’ 26 seasons as president and CEO and his transition to chairman of the Board of Governors in July 2020, a stat that underscores organizational continuity behind the new five-year labor pact.

TheAHL’s published notes from Howson’s media conference covered a range of league issues, from the logistics and community success of the

Patrick Williams, a features writer on the AHL beat for two decades and a recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award in 2016, filed the league notes with a Brad Repplinger/AHL photo attached. The five-year CBA through Aug. 31, 2030 gives teams a defined labor horizon that will shape roster decisions, contract planning and development timelines across affiliations from Abbotsford to Tucson as the league heads toward the 2030 off-season.