Tuesday, October 8, 2024
NHL Opening Night Rosters Loaded with College Hockey Talent
240 NCAA Alums Named to Opening Rosters
When the 2024-25 National Hockey League regular season gets underway Tuesday with a trio of games, there will be 240 former college hockey players on NHL Opening Night rosters. That represents an increase from 2023-24, when 234 NCAA alumni dotted opening-night rosters.
Forty-four NCAA Division I programs – representing all six NCAA Division I men’s conferences – boast at least one former player on an NHL roster, led by Michigan’s 26. Other schools with 10 or more alums on NHL rosters include: Boston College (17), Boston University (17), Minnesota (15), North Dakota (13), Minnesota Duluth (12), Northeastern (12), Wisconsin (12), Denver (11), Harvard (11), UMass (10) and St. Cloud State (10).
The New York Rangers enter the season with a league-leading 12 former college hockey players on their opening night roster, followed by Buffalo, Columbus, Utah, and Vancouver with 11 each, and Boston, Colorado, and Pittsburgh with 10 each.
Also of note, 15 of the NHL’s 32 current general managers played college hockey, as did 13 of the league’s current head coaches.
More NCAA alumni are playing in the NHL than ever before, as evidenced by the record 349 who appeared in the NHL during the 2021-22 season. NCAA Division I men’s hockey successes also extend beyond the ice, where the sport enjoys a 93-percent graduation rate that ranks among the top five of all NCAA Division I men’s sports.
The puck drops today with a triple-header on ESPN/ESPN+ featuring St. Louis at Seattle, Boston at Florida, and Chicago at Utah. Those six rosters alone showcase a combined 47 former NCAA standouts, including 2023-24 NHL All-Star Game participant and Utah captain Clayton Keller (Boston University), 2023-24 NHL All-Star Game participant and Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman (Maine), and 2023 Calder Trophy winner and Seattle forward Matty Beniers (Michigan).
For more information, visit College Hockey Inc.’s NHL Matchup Tool.
Note: Roster data includes players who are on injured reserve or long-term injured reserve to open the season, or who have been designated injured/non-roster.