Saturday, April 19, 2025
Stanley Cup Pursuit Begins for Former College Hockey Players
More Than 100 NCAA Alumni Listed on NHL Playoff Rosters
College hockey will be well-represented during the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, with 117 NCAA alumni listed on NHL playoff rosters as the quest for the Stanley Cup begins Saturday.
Among the 117 alumni are five past winners of the Hobey Baker Memorial Award: Montreal’s Cole Caufield (Wisconsin, 2021), Vegas’ Jack Eichel (Boston University, 2015), Ottawa’s Adam Gaudette (Northeastern, 2018), and Colorado’s Cale Makar (UMass, 2019) and Jimmy Vesey (Harvard, 2016).
Colorado boasts the most NCAA alumni among the 16 playoff teams with 13 players, followed by Carolina (12), Washington (nine) and Winnipeg (nine). The first-round series with the most college hockey players in the Carolina-New Jersey matchup, which features 19.
Rostered NCAA Alumni by Series:
19 – Carolina (12) vs. New Jersey (7)
17 – Colorado (13) vs. Dallas (4)
16 – Washington (9) vs. Montreal (7)
16 – Winnipeg (9) vs. St. Louis (7)
13 – Florida (7) vs. Tampa Bay (6)
13 – Los Angeles (7) vs. Edmonton (6)
13 – Ottawa (7) vs. Toronto (6)
10 – Minnesota (6) vs. Vegas (4)
First-Round Series Involving Former Teammates:
Colorado vs. Dallas
– Jimmy Vesey vs. Colin Blackwell (2012-13 through 2015-16 at Harvard)
Edmonton vs. Los Angeles
– Ty Emberson vs. Alex Turcotte (2019-20 at Wisconsin)
Florida vs. Tampa Bay
– Jaycob Megna vs. Jake Guentzel (2013-14 at Omaha)
In addition to NCAA alumni dotting NHL playoff rosters, half of the 16 teams competing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs were assembled by general managers who played college hockey: Colorado’s Chris MacFarland (Pace), Florida’s Bill Zito (Yale), Los Angeles’ Rob Blake (Bowling Green), Minnesota’s Bill Guerin (Boston College), Montreal’s Kent Hughes (Middlebury), New Jersey’s Tom Fitzgerald (Providence), Vegas’ Kelly McCrimmon (Michigan), Washington’s Chris Patrick (Princeton).
Six of the qualifying teams are coached by former NCAA players: Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour (Michigan State), Los Angeles’ Jim Hiller (Northern Michigan), Minnesota’s John Hynes (Boston University), Montreal’s Martin St. Louis (Vermont), St. Louis’ Jim Montgomery (Maine), and Washington’s Spencer Carbery (Alaska Anchorage, St. Norbert).
The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs get underway Saturday night with the St. Louis-Winnipeg and Colorado-Dallas series. Click HERE to visit College Hockey Inc.’s NHL Matchup Tool for all NHL players and staff with NCAA ties.
Take part in the 2025 NHL Bracket Challenge and enter your own bracket at NHL.com/CollegeHockey for a chance to win a prize package of official College Hockey Inc. gear.