Scott Howson agrees to multi-year extension as AHL president and CEO

The American Hockey League’s Board of Governors has announced that Scott Howson has agreed to terms on a multi-year contract extension. Howson’s contract was up at the end of the 2024-25 AHL regular season.

“The Board of Governors is pleased to extend Scott Howson as President and CEO of the American Hockey League,” said Laurence Gilman, senior vice president/governor of the Toronto Marlies and chair of the AHL’s Executive Committee. “Under Scott’s leadership, he has maintained a commitment to a high standard of excellence on and off the ice. We look forward to working together towards the continued success of the AHL.”

In 2020, Howson was unanimously selected as the 10th president of the AHL and joined the league following 26 years as an NHL executive with the Edmonton Oilers and Columbus Blue Jackets organizations. Howson was GM of the Oilers’ affiliates from 1994 to 2007, he guided the team to two Calder Cup Finals and was a member of the AHL Board of Governors. The Toronto native managed the league for two years through the pandemic, dealing with logistics, government protocols, mandates, and more.

Howson saw continued success with the league and helped the AHL expand to 32 teams. Howson also implemented a new 72-game schedule in the regular season and increased its Calder Cup Playoff field to 23 teams to allow for better player development. Howson has been an advocate for diversity and in 2021 the AHL added women to the league’s roster of referees and linespeople for the first time in history.