Patrick Williams again will deliver the FloHockey AHL Power Rankings throughout the regular season.

The Grand Rapids Griffins finally took their first regulation loss of the season, but they barely show any sign of slowing down. Most of the AHL’s teams have reached the quarter-point of their schedule or will do so this week. That means it is time for NHL organizations to take a hard look at what they have with their AHL affiliates, and, perhaps even more importantly, what they do not.

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Here is how this week’s Top 10 looks.

1) Grand Rapids Griffins (--)
Credit to Carter Gylander for securing the Griffins in net with Sebastian Cossa and Michal Postava out with injuries this month. Gylander has since returned to the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye, but he showed that he could be trusted at the AHL level. It’s even more insurance for the Griffins, who now have Cossa back and teamed up with AHL veteran Dustin Tokarski.

2) Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (--)
After a stumble last Friday at Hartford, the Penguins immediately rebounded by going into Providence and shutting out the P-Bruins, 1-0. They get plenty of Keystone State rivalry hockey this week with two trips to Hershey surrounding a home date with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Friday. Sergei Murashov remains in Pittsburgh, but Joel Blomqvist is a highly capable alternative in net.

3) Providence Bruins (--)
The losses of snipers like Matěj Blümel, Alex Steeves, and Riley Tufte on recall to the Boston Bruins are definitely being felt as the P-Bruins have been shut out in two of their past three games. Those types of personnel losses would slow down almost any team, but management in Providence is nothing if not proactive. They went out and signed a top defenseman like Christian Wolanin for additional help while also bringing in physical play with Shawn Element and more forward help in Jacob Perreault from their ECHL affiliate, the Maine Mariners. An Ontario swing takes them to Toronto on Wednesday before a Saturday-Sunday stop in Belleville.

4) Colorado Eagles (--)
After a weekend split at Tucson, the Eagles will have a chance to settle in at home well into December. A stretch of six of eight games on home ice starts Friday when they face the San Jose Barracuda in the opener of a two-game series. Colorado has steadily been cutting through the competition this season, but the team has been shut out twice at home already. This extended time at home, which will be broken up with a two-game trip to Rockford, can give the Eagles time to establish home-ice dominance in one of the AHL’s loudest buildings.

5) Laval Rocket (+1)
Two strong performances at Place Bell against a solid opponent in Belleville sent the Rocket into a week-long schedule break. Adam Engström broke loose with 3-4-7 in three games last week, and Laurent Dauphin’s excellent season continues. That break ends Saturday at Lehigh Valley as the team starts a two-game Pennsylvania trip that finishes in Hershey.

6) Milwaukee Admirals (-1)
As pressure continues to build around the Nashville Predators, one question is how potential moves could impact Milwaukee eventually. If Nashville decides to overhaul its roster and send veterans out of town, several Admirals have set themselves up well for promotions to the NHL team as replacements. For now, though, the Admirals continue to handle their business well. They got a split of a two-game trip to Henderson that sets them up for Wednesday’s home match-up with the Iowa Wild. Then it’s on to a home-and-home series with the Rockford IceHogs.

7) Charlotte Checkers (+2)
Going into Van Andel Arena last Friday and dealing Grand Rapids its first regulation loss has to rank as an early season highlight for the Checkers. Cooper Black provided 40 saves in that victory. On a 5-0-1-0 streak, they have the Toronto Marlies in town Friday and Saturday as they settle in for a six-game homestand at Bojangles Coliseum. They’ll need to stock up on points because mid-December starts a run of eight of 10 games on the road.

8) Hershey Bears (-1)
Splitting a two-game trip to Cleveland sends the Bears franchise-record nine-game homestand. They will need to be ready, however, with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton visiting Wednesday and Saturday and then Laval stopping by to finish the weekend. After a dominant OHL season with the Windsor Spitfires, rookie forward Ilya Protas has heated up with 5-5-10 in his past five outings for Hershey. The Bears’ early success following extensive offseason personnel changes has been impressive. Going on a run at home now would really solidify their place in the Eastern Conference’s upper echelon.

9) Lehigh Valley Phantoms (+1)
Those Phantoms knocked off visiting Rochester, played Providence hard, and then finished up their weekend with a win at Hartford.  They got Adam Ginning and Max Guenette as blueline additions last week. This is a much deeper Lehigh Valley roster than in the past several seasons. Rookie Denver Barkey is 7-6-13 through his first 18 games for the Phantoms. Philadelphia Flyers management has worked to start stocking up on prospects, something that the organization has lacked for years. Put that youth with a good base of experience, and you have this season’s Phantoms.

10) San Jose Barracuda (NR)
Are the Barracuda for real? They are on an 8-0-1-1 surge, though four of those games have come against the last-place Abbotsford Canucks. So while some hesitation is warranted, the Barracuda are winning the games that they should win. This team can score, and it is young blue-chip talent like Filip Bystedt, Igor Chernyshov, and Quentin Musty driving much of that offense. That is encouraging long-term for the San Jose Sharks’ rebuilding effort. However, the Barracuda are going to need better goaltending from Gabriel Carriere and Jakub Skarek to compete long-term with the Western Conference’s higher-level teams.

Out of the Top 10
Rochester Americans

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