Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Alums Capture Stanley Cup with Hawks

Seven players and a large front office contingent that led Chicago’s run played college hockey.

Alums Capture Stanley Cup with Hawks

Jonathan Toews – who joined Wayne Gretzky as the only players to captain two Stanley Cup champions by the age of 25 – led a large contingent of former college players who were instrumental in the Chicago Blackhawks’ second championship in four years.

Seven former college players are assured of having their name on the Cup, led by North Dakota’s Toews. It marks the 37th consecutive season that at least one college alum has laid claim to the sport’s greatest prize as a player.

Joining Toews among the engraved names will be Brandon Bollig (St. Lawrence), Duncan Keith (Michigan State), Nick Leddy (Minnesota), Ben Smith (Boston College) and Patrick Sharp and Viktor Stalberg (both Vermont). Veteran Jamal Mayers (Western Michigan) figured prominently in the Blackhawks’ postgame celebration and, while he doesn’t meet the standards to be included among the names on the Cup, Chicago may petition for him to be added.

The seven alums match Los Angeles’s total from last year, tied for the most former college players on a Cup champ since Pittsburgh had eight in 2009. That was also the last time one school had multiple winners, as Vermont did this season (that year it was Boston College with three alums on the Penguins).

In all, 195 former college players have captured the Stanley Cup as players.

More in the Front Office

In addition to the players, a number of Blackhawks front office staff have college hockey ties. Assistant general manager Norm MacIver played at Minnesota Duluth, while the team’s directors of amateur scouting (Mark Kelley, Colby), pro scouting (Ryan Stewart, Canisius), player development (Barry Smith, Ithaca) and player recruitment (Ron Anderson, Boston University) all played college hockey.

Mayers and five other NCAA alums were part of the Blackhawks group of “black aces” during the playoffs. Smith had been part of that group before being pressed into duty in Game 3. Others were Adam Clendening (Boston University), Jimmy Hayes (Boston College), Carter Hutton (UMass Lowell), Dylan Olsen (Minnesota Duluth) and Brandon Pirri (Rensselaer).

Chicago played 12 former college players during their Presidents’ Trophy-winning regular season, which trailed only Vancouver (15) for the most in the league. Three of Chicago’s top six scorers in both the regular season and the playoffs were NCAA alums.

In the playoffs, Sharp led the Hawks with 10 goals, while he, Toews and Keith were among the team’s top six scorers. Keith and Toews shared the team lead in assists with 11 and led the team’s defensemen and forwards, respectively, in ice time.