Tuesday, October 1, 2013

210 Alums Make NHL Rosters

44 schools have a former player in the NHL as league play opens tonight.

210 Alums Make NHL Rosters
Jacob Trouba is poised to jump into the NHL after one season at Michigan.

A total of 210 former NCAA players representing 44 schools made opening-night rosters in the NHL as the 2013-14 season begins tonight.

List of Alums on Opening Night Rosters

College hockey, the fastest growing development path to the NHL, produces 30% of all NHL players. Every NHL roster features at least three former NCAA hockey players, while most teams have six or more. Seven teams have nine or more former college players, led by Florida (11), Calgary (10), Pittsburgh (10) and Vancouver (10).

The top colleges producing NHLers are Wisconsin (17), Michigan (15), Boston College (14) and Michigan State (14). More than 71% of the alums on opening-night rosters played at least three seasons in college.

In the last six seasons 36% of players making their NHL debuts have played college hockey. Among the players poised to make their NHL debuts are San Jose’s Matt Nieto (BU) and Winnipeg’s Jacob Trouba (Michigan), who played college hockey last season.

The 210 alums include those starting the season on injured reserve.