The Veteran Rule

Captain Chase De Leo makes his return from injury. Credit San Diego Gulls.

Updated: April 11th 2023.

The AHL Veteran rule has always existed as a preventive measure to stop teams from straight up stacking their rosters with talent to the detriment of those players still trying to find and fine-tune their game at the professional level. First and foremost the AHL is a developmental league whose sole purpose is for NHL clubs to develop and eventually graduate their incoming prospects. Yes clubs like to win and yes their main focus is to win a Calder Cup but all must adhere to the same enforced roster restriction.

The Rule:

Like most rules it is worded in a way that prevents any potential loop holes but to put it succinctly.

Teams can only dress a maximum of five veteran players (goaltenders not included) in a game.

What constitutes a veteran player?

Must have played over 320 NHL, AHL or “elite-level” European regular season games

Additionally teams may dress one “veteran-exempt” player – one who has played between 261-320 NHL, AHL or high-level European regular season contests. I call this one the “Wild-Card Vet”.

So who do the Gulls currently have under contract that fit The AHL Veteran rule criteria?
Note: Updated for 2022-2023

Name	Age	NHL Games Played	AHL Games Played	Total
Michael Del Zotto	32	736	97	833
Chase De Leo	27	7	439	466
Glenn Gawdin	26	12	253	265
Justin Kirkland	26	7	363	370
Dylan Sikura	27	58	248	306
Andrej Sustr	32	339	133	472

Of this group – only Chase De Leo and Glenn Gawdin are under contract next season. Michael Del Zotto, Justin Kirkland, Dylan Sikura and Andrej Sustr are all on expiring deals.

Then there are those who deserve honorable mention as quickly approaching veteran status. It is a good idea to keep an eye on these because it means they either need to gradate to the NHL, get dealt or the same needs to happen to one of the above established veterans to create a spot on the veteran exempt list.

Honourable Mentions – On The Cusp

Name	Age	NHL Games Played	AHL Games Played	Total
Niklas Brouillard	28	0	166	166
Olli Juolevi	24	41	102	143
Bryce Kindopp	23	1	169	170
Josiah Slavin	24	15	129	144
BO Groulx	23	18	143	161
Chase Priskie	27	4	184	188
Evan Weinger	25	0	195	195
Josh Healey	28	0	239	239

	Denotes Veteran Status
	Denotes Wild-Cart Vet Status
	Denotes Exempt (for now)

Josh Healey is the closest among the group here but I cannot see him coming back next season with the amount of defensive prospects the Ducks have coming through. The rest all have at least another season if not two left before they become veterans. It should also be noted that none of the above list of players are under contract for next season – Brouillard, Weinger, Priskie, Healey and Juolevi are set to become UFAs while Groulx and Slavin will become RFA with the later having arbitration rights.

I have let it be known in several post-game notes that I would like to see them bring back the likes of Michael Del Zotto, Chase Priskie and Niklas Brouillard on defense while at forward I think it would be equally important to retain BO Groulx and Josiah Slavin among the RFAs.

I will do a separate article giving a break down and potential crystal ball look at next years roster to give us a better idea of exactly how much room there will be on the roster.