What are Black Aces?

May 3, 2019

Like a lot of changes that Colorado Eagles fans have had to go through this season, there is still one more new term fans should learn. The term “Black Aces”, refers to a hand in poker consisting of both black aces and two eights. It comes from the legend of an Old West gunfighter, lawman and gambler Wild Bill Hickok, who was holding this hand when he was murdered in 1876. How that story connects to the hockey world, well that comes from NHL star Eddies Shore. In the 1920s and ‘30s Shore was an AHL owner and coach and is believed to have brought this term into the hockey realm while he was talking about players working their way back from injury and into the lineup.

This has now evolved into a term the hockey world uses for AHL players that are added to an NHL team’s roster during the playoffs. The Stanley Cup Playoffs take a lot of grit and strength to get through and are widely known as the most physical part of the year. This increase in physical play can often result in injury. That’s where the “Black Aces” come into play. While these players don’t practice with the team, they don’t travel with the team, and in most cases are not considered a part of the team, being named one of the “Black Aces” can make a player’s career. If a player on the current NHL roster goes down, the “Black Aces” are called into action and expected to be up to game speed at a moment notice in the most important time of the year.

AJ Greer. Dominic Toninato. Logan O’Connor. Anton Lindholm. Pavel Francouz.

Those are your “Black Aces”. They are the ones that continue to workout and skate every day even though their season has ended. They could potentially be the heroes that come into the lineup for an injured superstar and their career changed forever. That’s the motivation they carry with themselves every day that they show up to the rink.