A dozen NCAA alumni on the Boston Bruins will stare down top St. Louis Blues scorer Jaden Schwartz and three other former college players in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.
Those 16 NCAA alumni who have seen action in the playoffs for the Bruins and Blues represent 13 Division I schools. Boston University leads the way with three alumni in the series, all with the Bruins, while Denver is the only school with a former player on each team.
Schwartz, who starred at Colorado College, leads all players in the Final with 12 playoff goals and ranks second with 16 points. The Blues have also gotten significant contributions from Alaska alum Colton Parayko (11 points, 24:26 average ice time) and Denver alum Tyler Bozak (10 points).
Schwartz is seeking to become the second CC alum to win the Cup (Doug Lidster, 1994). Only one Alaska alum has won the Cup either, with Shawn Chambers capturing it in 1995 and ’99.
A Boston win in the Final would mark the third time in four years that more than 10 NCAA alumni won the Cup (also Pittsburgh in 2016 and ’17). The dozen alums who have suited up for the Bruins in the playoffs are led by Charlie Coyle (Boston University) and Torey Krug (Michigan State) with 12 points each.
Quinnipiac alum Connor Clifton could become the first former Bobcat to lift the Stanley Cup. David Backes (Minnesota State) and Chris Wagner (Colgate) could become the second player from their schools to win the Cup.
Both front offices and coaching staffs have extensive college connections as well, led by Boston general manager Don Sweeney (Harvard). Eight of the last 10 Stanley Cup-winning GMs are graduates of NCAA schools.
Assistant coaches with NCAA ties include Boston’s Jay Pandolfo (Boston University), Joe Sacco (Boston University) and Kevin Dean (New Hampshire) as well as St. Louis’s Mike Van Ryn (Michigan).