With so many players on the Marlies roster, many with hundreds of professional games of experience, it a good time to take another read through the AHL’s rules about veteran players.
What is a "development player"?
The AHL is explicitly tasked to be a "development league" and that mission comes with codified rules about which players can dress for any given game.
Of the 18 skaters (not counting two goaltenders) that teams may dress for a game, at least 13 must be qualified as "development players." Of those 13, 12 must have played in 260 or fewer professional games (including AHL, NHL and European elite leagues), and one must have played in 320 or fewer professional games.