Asterian Hockey League
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Current season, competition or edition: 2021-2022 | |
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| Sport | Ice Hockey |
|---|---|
| Founded | November 26, 1917, Sainte-Marie, Monbec, Cassier |
| Inaugural season | 1917–18 |
| Commissioner | Jacques Guilbert |
| No. of teams | 32 |
| Countries |  Cassier (9 teams) Chistovodia (9 teams) Rizealand (7 teams)File:Eldmark.png Eldmark (6 teams)  Vinalia (1 team) |
| Headquarters | Sainte-Marie, Monbec, Cassier |
| Continent | Asteria Superior |
| Most recent champion(s) | Sainte-Marie Habitants (26th title) |
| Most titles | Sainte-Marie Habitants (26th title) |
| TV partner(s) | Cassier Hockeynet Cascom Media/Cascom Sports Chistovodia Rizealand RBC Rizal Sports RSN Eldmark ESS ASN Sport Vinalia |
| Official website | AHL.com |
The Asterian Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in Asteria Superior, currently comprising 32 teams: 9 in Cassier and Chistovodia, 7 in Rizealand, 6 in Eldmark, and 1 in Vinalia. The AHL is considered to be the premier ice hockey league in the world, one of the major professional sports leagues in the Asterias, as well as one of its oldest. The Albert Cup is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season.
The Asterian Hockey League was founded on November 26, 1917 as the Cassien Hockey League (Gaullican: Ligue de Hockey Cassien) (LHC), in Sainte-Marie as a replacement for the defunct Cassien Hockey Association (Gaullican: Association de Hockey Cassien) (AHC) founded in 1909. The organization established itself as Cassier's primary hockey league, with four teams representing the four most populated cities in western Cassier. Three years after its founding the LHC became the primary sports organization that competed for the Albert Cup, a trophy named in honour of Gaullican King Albert III, which was first awarded in 1893. The LHC underwent major changes in 1920 with the introduction of three new teams from Rizealand and Chistovodia into the league. Having established a presence internationally, the LHC was renamed to the Asterian Hockey League.
The AHL has steadily grown in size since its foundation, expanding to 32 teams across 6 different countries and is widely considered to be the foremost professional ice hockey league. While Cassiens have historically made up the majority of the players in the AHL, recent years have seen an increasing percentage of players from other Asterian and Euclean nations enter the league. It is one of the wealthiest sports organizations in the world by revenue and is amoung the largest in terms of viewership.
History
Establishment
The Asterian Hockey League was established in 1920 as the successor organization of the various hockey leagues that existed in Asteria Superior in the early 20th century. The oldest of these leagues was the Cassien Hockey Association (AHC), which was founded in 1909 and was one of the first professional ice hockey leagues. The AHC consisted of eight teams from western Cassier; including the Sainte-Marie Habitants and the predecessor organizations of the Monbec Axes, New Rayenne Gouverneurs, and Andade Olympiques; and played for a total of nine seasons. While the AHC was the most successful professional sports league in Cassier disagreements regarding rules and monetary concerns due to the ongoing Great Collapse resulted in a schism amongst players and team owners. These disputes culimated in the creation Cassien Hockey League (LHC) in 1917. Though short-lived, the LHC established many of the standards found in the modern Asterian Hockey League, perhaps the most notable of which being formalization of the Albert Cup as the championship trophy of the league. The LHC consisted of four (later five following the entrance of the Bellevue Ours in 1919) teams that played both against each other and against visitors from Rizealand.
Series between LHC against Rizean from proved to be incredibly popular and profitable, motivating the league to establish a permanant presence in other countries in Asteria Superior. By June of 1920 the Cassien Hockey League acquired two teams in Rizealand; the Belltown Gliders and Liberty City Comets. In recognition of its expansion into Rizealand, rebranded itself into the Asterian Hockey League, beginning its inaugural season in December that year.
Expansion
The Asterian Hockey League would consist of these "Original Eight" teams for the next 17 years. Although several proposals were made during the 1920s that sought to expand the league, the ongoing Great Collapse, followed by the onset of the Great War in 1927 prevented the AHL from growing. The AHL was forced to suspend play between Cassien teams and their Rizean counterparts between 1930 and 1935. Despite the war, the league continued its operations domestically, with five Cassien teams competing against each other for the Albert Cup.
Teams
The Asterian Hockey League consists of 32 teams divided amongst two different conferences: the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference. Each conference is split into two divisions comprising of 8 teams.