Thursday, September 12, 2013

Alums Start NHL Training Camps

Nearly 500 former college hockey players are vying for NHL jobs this preseason.

Alums Start NHL Training Camps
Former BC star Cory Schneider is in his first training camp with the New Jersey Devils.

A total of 478 former college players earned invitations to NHL training camps as they began across North America this week.

College alums, who made up 30% of the NHL last season, are prevalent on every NHL roster. At least 10 former NCAA players are attending every camp, while seven teams have 20 or more former college players vying for spots.

NHL Matchup Tool | NCAA in the NHL

Fifty-five players who played college hockey last season have since signed NHL contracts. They are joined by many more on AHL, ECHL or tryout agreements, as more than half of all of last year’s seniors are playing pro hockey.

CHI’s NHL Matchup Tool has been updated to reflect offseason movement and includes all players on NHL contracts.

Back on campus

Four NHL teams are holding portions of training camp on college: Chicago (at Notre Dame), Colorado (Air Force), Minnesota (Minnesota) and Pittsburgh (Army).

Chicago, which opened camp in South Bend on Wednesday, raved about the facility.

“It’s a great building,” former North Dakota star Jonathan Toews told the Chicago Tribune. “I heard a lot about it. A couple buddies I played college hockey with had been here before, and they were raving about it. I kind of had high expectations, and here we are. It’s a pretty cool place to be.”