The Ontario Reign, proud affiliate of the NHL’s LA Kings, have officially qualified for the American Hockey League’s 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs following a 3-2 in over Tucson.  

The Reign, with 87 points and a 41-18-3-2 overall record, became the first team in the Pacific Division and seventh team in the AHL to secure a playoff berth to compete for the Calder Cup this spring. Ontario holds a three-point lead on Colorado for the division lead with the Reign having eight games remaining and the Eagles nine. San Jose is just seven points back of Ontario with 11 games to play. The top finisher will be rewarded with a bye during the opening round of the postseason tournament. 

The 2026 postseason appearance marks Ontario’s sixth consecutive trip to the Calder Cup Playoffs and eighth AHL postseason berth. It is the first time in the team’s AHL history they’ve reached the playoffs in six straight years. 

Current members of the Reign team who have previously won the Calder Cup include captain Joe Hicketts, who won with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2017 as well as associate coach Chris Hajt, who was part of the Manchester Monarchs winning team in 2015. Nikita Alexandrov was a member of the Springfield Thunderbirds club that lost in the 2022 Calder Cup Championship to the Chicago Wolves. 

Ontario has 10 players who saw the ice in last year’s playoff run who are still with the team including Pheonix Copley, Martin Chromiak, Otto Salin, Glenn Gawdin, Angus Booth, Andre Lee, Joe Hicketts, Jacob Doty, Jack Millar, and Francesco Pinelli.

All details for this postseason can be found HERE. 

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Ontario Reign Hockey