Like most hockey people, Dave Andrews would prefer not to see games decided in shootouts. So far this season, Andrews, President and CEO of the American Hockey League, has gotten his wish.

Last season, 65 percent of overtime games in the AHL went to shootouts. This season, entering this weekend, only 23 percent of overtime games had to be settled in shootouts.

The reduction stems from a rule change introduced this season following a proposal by the AHL’s competition committee. Overtime is now seven minutes. Like the NHL, teams play at four on four to start OT. But upon the first whistle following three minutes of play, teams go to three on three.

According to Andrews, the goal-scoring rate during four-on-four action is once every 11 minutes. In three-on-three situations, it’s a goal every three minutes.

The result: more space, wide-open play, regular scoring chances, and fewer phony skills contests at the end of 67 minutes. Some coaches go all out by tabbing three forwards. Others with weaker teams use two defensemen and one forward. It’s asking coaches to think and players to produce, two things nobody will ever discourage.

“I really like it,” Andrews said. “It’s more engaging for the fans. It’s really exciting. It’s edge-of-your-seat stuff. It’s a little cautious when it starts out at three on three. But inevitably there’s a good chance and teams go for it. There’s an odd-man rush and there’s always back and forth.”

The NHL, which is also interested in reducing shootouts, is monitoring the rule change. The varsity is also watching the progress of another first-year rule targeting fighting. This season, if an AHL player fights twice in one game, he is given a game misconduct. Once a player accrues three game misconducts, he is suspended for one game.

The aim is to reduce fighting, but also to sharpen the league’s watch over the instigator penalty. So far, referees have been more diligent about calling the instigator. In the NHL, the penalty is rarely called, even when an instigator is clear about his intentions to draw an opponent into dropping his mitts.

The NHL’s study of minor league rules is only one segment of how the AHL serves as the big boys’ laboratory. The AHL has always served as a locus of development, innovation, and experimentation as the NHL’s primary feeder league. But in the NHL’s salary cap system, especially amid the ripple effects of the 2012-13 lockout, the AHL is at the peak of its relevance.

The cap touches the AHL in many ways. Teams tight against the upper limit ask players on entry-level contracts, who’ve been playing in the AHL, to take NHL shifts. Clubs wear out shuttle service to their AHL affiliates to stay cap compliant. They’re investing in their prospects by hiring development coaches to work with AHL players.

“There’s more attention paid to player development than in the past,” Andrews said. “There’s a financial necessity to develop young players. They’re playing more games going up. More players are going back and forth because of the cap.”

Andrews refers to the Boston-Providence relationship as being a model for NHL-AHL affiliations. Call-ups arrive at TD Garden in an hour. Management regularly travels to Providence to monitor player progress and consult with coaches Bruce Cassidy and Kevin Dean. Providence benefits from the geographic overlap of Bruins fans.

This season, the Bruins have depended on Providence. Instead of returning David Pastrnak to Sodertalje of the Swedish Elite League, the Bruins assigned the 18-year-old to Providence. They believed the AHL was the best place for Pastrnak to learn the North American game and adapt to the grind (Providence regularly plays three games in three days). Pastrnak scored five goals and 13 assists in 17 games.

Because of injuries and poor play, the Bruins also have dipped into the AHL for Seth Griffith, Joe Morrow, Zach Trotman, David Warsofsky, Alexander Khokhlachev, Craig Cunningham, Ryan Spooner, Jordan Caron, Matt Lindblad, and Bobby Robins.

The advantage the Bruins have is Providence’s proximity. Other teams have it too, including Toronto (the Marlies are in the same city), Philadelphia (Lehigh Valley), and the Islanders (Bridgeport).

It’s not as easy for teams such as San Jose. The Sharks’ affiliate is in Worcester, which requires cross-country travel for a call-up to play in a home game. The Kings are also 3,000 miles away from Manchester, their farm team.

The future initiative, therefore, is for the AHL to migrate west. As much as San Jose and Los Angeles like their prospects to play three-in-three sets, bus home after away games, and maximize practice times in New England, they want their future NHLers closer to their headquarters. This would most likely require relocation for some AHL clubs.

“We need a critical mass of teams to replicate what we have in New England, New York, and Pennsylvania,” Andrews said.

It’s not keeping Andrews up at night. But it’s a movement he’d like to see happen sooner rather than later. The AHL’s footprint is set to expand.