Monday, May 2, 2022

Quest for Cup begins for NCAA alumni

Puck drops on Stanley Cup Playoffs on Monday

Quest for Cup begins for NCAA alumni

UPDATE: This article was updated May 3 to reflect additional player recalls.

No fewer than 130 former NCAA Division I hockey players will be chasing the National Hockey League’s holy grail when the 2022 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs get underway Monday.

Seven of the eight first-round series feature at least a dozen college hockey products (rosters as of May 1), topped by the combined 28 in the Penguins-Rangers showdown.

Rostered NCAA Alumni by Series:
28 – Pittsburgh (14) vs. NY Rangers (14)
18 – Boston (11) vs. Carolina (7)
16 – Nashville (5) vs. Colorado (11)
15 – Los Angeles (9) vs. Edmonton (6)
15 – St. Louis (7) vs. Minnesota (8)
14 – Washington (10) vs. Florida
12 – Dallas (6) vs. Calgary (6)
12 – Tampa Bay (5) vs. Toronto (7)

The Pittsburgh-New York series will also pit two sets of former collegiate teammates against each other: former Harvard defensemen John Marino and Adam Fox, as well as ex-Boston College teammates Brian Dumoulin and Chris Kreider.

Other series featuring former collegiate teammates facing off include:

  • Nashville vs. Colorado (Northeastern’s Matt Benning vs. Josh Manson)
  • Tampa Bay vs. Toronto (Harvard’s Alex Killorn vs. Colin Blackwell)
  • Boston vs. Carolina (Minnesota’s Mike Reilly and Erik Haula vs. Brady Skjei and Wisconsin’s Craig Smith vs. Brendan Smith)

In all, 40 NCAA schools had alumni see action for the 16 playoff teams during the regular season.

In addition to the 130 NCAA alumni listed on NHL playoff rosters, half of the 16 qualifying teams were assembled by general managers who played college hockey: Boston’s Don Sweeney (Harvard), Carolina’s Don Waddell (Northern Michigan), Florida’s Bill Zito (Yale), Los Angeles’ Rob Blake (Bowling Green), Minnesota’s Bill Guerin (Boston College), Nashville’s David Poile (Northeastern), New York’s Chris Drury (Boston University) and Washington’s Brian MacLellan (Bowling Green).

Four of the qualifying teams are coached by ex-NCAA standouts: Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour (Michigan State), Edmonton’s Jay Woodcroft (Alabama-Huntsville), Pittsburgh’s Mike Sullivan (Boston University) and Washington’s Peter Laviolette (Westfield State).