Draft:NAHL Midwest Division

The Midwest Division is one of the 4 divisions in the North American Hockey League, hosting 8 teams. 3 of those teams (Chippewa Steel, Janesville Jets, and Wisconsin Windigo) are located in Wisconsin. Another 3 teams (Anchorage Wolverines, Fairbanks Ice Dogs, and Kenai River Brown Bears) are located in Alaska. The Minnesota Wilderness are located in, well, Minnesota, and the Springfield Jr. Blues play in Illinois.

History
This Division officially started in 2013, although there was a Division that started in 2011 called the MidWest Division, but it only lasted that season. The Fairbanks Ice Dogs won the first division title, beating the Wenatchee Wild (junior A) 3 games to 2, walking it off two minutes and two seconds in OT in game 5, beating Wenatchee 3-2. They would go on to sweep the Austin Bruins in the championship series 2-games-to-0. Fairbanks has won the most championships as a part of this division with 2 (2013-14, 2015-16). The Minnesota Wilderness also won a championship in the 2014-15 season. Since then, the division has not had a team that has won a championship. The Anchorage Wolverines have come the closest, being defeated by the New Jersey Titans 3-0 in the Championship game.

Current members

 * Anchorage Wolverines – Joined in 2021-22
 * Chippewa Steel – Founding member; known as the Coulee Region Chill until 2018
 * Fairbanks Ice Dogs – Founding member
 * Janesville Jets – Founded in 2009, joined in 2015
 * Kenai River Brown Bears – Founding member
 * Minnesota Wilderness - Founding member, played in Central from 2016-21, rejoined in 2021-22
 * Springfield Jr. Blues - Founded in 1993, Joined in 2015-2016
 * Wisconsin Windigo - Founding member, formerly known as the Minnesota Magicians until 2022-23, played in Central during 2015-16 season

2013-14
Division Champion: Fairbanks Ice Dogs(1)

2014-15
Division Champion: Minnesota Wilderness(1)

2015-16
Division Champion: Fairbanks Ice Dogs(2)

2016-17
Division Champion: Janesville Jets(1)

2017-18
Division Champion: Fairbanks Ice Dogs(3)

2018-19
Division Champion: Fairbanks Ice Dogs(4)

2019-20
Division Champion: Kenai River Brown Bears(1)* -*The Playoffs were played on NHL 19 due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, so the legitimacy is up to you on this. I'm counting it because why not

2020-21
(Season shortened due to a late start due to the Covid-19 Pandemic)

Division Champion: Wisconsin Windigo* (1)
 * Minnesota Magicians at the time

2021-22
Division Champion: Anchorage Wolverines (1)

2022-23
Division Champion: Minnesota Wilderness(2)

2023-24
Division Champion: Anchorage Wolverines(2)

Club 49
The Club 49 Rivalry is a competition between the Anchorage Wolverines, Fairbanks Ice Dogs, and Kenai River Brown Bears. The winner is decided by head-to-head competition between the three teams. The most recent champion is the 2023-24 Midwestern champion Anchorage Wolverines, going 17-3(34 points) against the two other teams. They have also won the most Club 49 championships, with 2(back-to-back in 2022-23 and 2023-24), since it started in 2021 when the Wolverines joined the league. The Ice Dogs also won it in 2021.

Janesville-Chippewa(Battle for the milk can)
The Chippewa Steel and Janesville Jets have one of the most fiercest rivalries in the Midwest Division, with fight galore in any game. The teams used to battle for a Milk Can, called the Blain's Farm & Fleet Milk Jug. It went from the 2018-19 season till the 2022-23 season. However, that has not stopped the rivalry, as the physicality is pretty much brought every game. Both of the teams will leave you wondering if you watched a hockey game or a 5-on-5 boxing match.

Anchorage Wolverines
The Anchorage Wolverines play at the Ben Boeke Ice Rink in Anchorage, Alaska. They started play in 2021. They currently have 2 division championships, once in 2021-22, beating the Minnesota Wilderness 3-games-to-1. They made the championship game, but lost to the New Jersey Titans 3-0. They finished in 5th in 2022-23, but won the division again, winning the regular season division as well. They won the division, beating the Wisconsin Windigo 3-games-to-0. The Wolverines have no Robertson Cup Championships(although that could change, at the time of writing this they are in the league semi-finals).

Chippewa Steel
The Chippewa Steel play at the Chippewa Area Ice Arena in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, in one of the smallest markets in the NAHL. The franchise started play in 2005 as the North Iowa Bandits, then moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin and became the Coulee Region Chill in 2010 before moving to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin and becoming the Chippewa Steel. The Steel did not officially make the playoffs until 2022, when they ended Fairbanks's 25 year playoff streak and clinched the last playoff spot in the division. Unfortunately for them, they were swept by that year's division runner-ups, the Wisconsin Windigo. The Steel have no Robertson Cup Championships.

Fairbanks Ice Dogs
The Fairbanks Ice Dogs play at the Big Dipper Ice Arena in Fairbanks, Alaska. They started play in 1997, and moved to the NAHL along with the Bismarck Bobcats of the Central Division in 2003. They have the most division championships as a part of this division with 4. They also have 3 Robertson Cup Championships, 2 as a part of this Division. They had a 25 year playoff streak, starting in 1997 and lasting till 2022. It ended with a 4-1 loss to the Chippewa Steel on April 9, 2023. They missed the playoffs again the next year.

Janesville Jets
The Janesville Jets play at the Janesville Ice Arena in Janesville, Wisconsin. They started play in 2009, and joined the division six years later. They have 1 division championship, winning it in 2016-17. They have no Robertson Cup Championships, however. The Jets have not won a series since 2018, when they swept Springfield in 3 games.

Kenai River Brown Bears
The Kenai River Brown Bears play at the Soldotna Sports Center in Soldotna, Alaska. They started play in 2007, and were one of the founding members of the division in 2013. The Brown Bears have never been a great team in the Midwest, as they have 216 wins in 11 seasons(that's an average of less than 20 wins a year in a 60 game season). They have 1 Virtual Division Championship, but in real life they have no division championships. They played in Breezy Point, Minnesota during the 2020-21 season due to the Covid-19 Pandemic restrictions.

Minnesota Wilderness
The Minnesota Wilderness play at the Northwoods Credit Union Arena in Cloquet, Minnesota. They joined the league the same year the division was created in 2013. They were in the division from 2013-16. In 2016, however, they moved to the Central Division in exchange for the Minnesota Magicians. They rejoined the division again in 2021. They have 1 Robertson Cup Championship(2014-15) and 2 division titles(2014-15 and 2022-23).

Springfield Jr. Blues
The Springfield Jr. Blues play at the Nelson Center in Springfield, Illinois. They are one of the oldest franchises in the NAHL that is still around today, starting in 1993. There is only one franchise that is older that is still around today, in the Johnstown Tomahawks, who started in 1990. They are, however, not one of the founding members of the division, joining in 2015-16. They have no division championships, and both Robertson Cup Championship victories came before they joined the Midwest Division, in 1996-97 and in 1997-98.

Wisconsin Windigo
The Wisconsin Windigo play at the Eagle River Stadium in Eagle River, Wisconsin. They joined the division in its inception, however, they joined as the Minnesota Magicians. They were originally the New Mexico Mustangs, when they first got in the league in 2010. However, they stopped play there after two years of placing last in the division. They went one a one-year hiatus before returning when the Midwest Division was created, becoming the Minnesota Magicians. The Magicians took a little while finding success, winning one playoff series over the Springfield Jr. Blues in 2019. But in 2021 they made an improbable run to the final four. They placed third in the division that year, but they swept normally dominant Fairbanks and then edged out #4 seed Kenai River 3 games to 2. Their run ended after being swept in 2 games by the Aberdeen Wings. The next season ended in a 6th place finish before being sold and moved to Eagle River, Wisconsin to become the Wisconsin Windigo. They have found success in the Midwest, finishing 1st in the regular season in 2022-23. They then swept the Chippewa Steel in 3 games to have their first series win as the Windigo. The Wilderness, however, beat them in 4 games to end that run early. The next year, they finished in 2nd just a point behind the Anchorage Wolverines. They swept the Janesville Jets before being swept by Anchorage.