Many WHL Alumni On Opening Night NHL Rosters

The Western Hockey League is proud to announce that 127 WHL Alumni have been named to National Hockey League opening night rosters to start the 2019-20 season.

All 31 NHL teams feature at least one WHL graduate with the Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, and Vegas Golden Knights boasting the largest number of WHL Alumni with eight players listed. The Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, and Washington Capitals follow next as they start the season with six WHL Alumni each on their roster.

Providing the most WHL Alumni to the NHL this season are the Kelowna Rockets, who boast 14. Three other WHL member Clubs are sending double-digit WHL Alumni to the NHL ranks this season, including the Brandon Wheat Kings (12), Portland Winterhawks (11), and Moose Jaw Warriors (10). 

Of the 127 WHL Alumni on NHL opening day rosters, 17 are currently on the injured reserved lists for their respective NHL clubs.

Listed below are the WHL Alumni who are on NHL opening day rosters for the 2019-20 season. WHL Alumni are listed with the most recent WHL team they played for:

Anaheim Ducks (3):
Ryan Getzlaf, F — Calgary Hitmen
Sam Steel, F — Regina Pats*
Brendan Guhle, D — Prince George Cougars

Arizona Coyotes (4):
Michael Grabner, F — Spokane Chiefs
Marian Hossa, F — Portland Winterhawks*
Eric Comrie, G  — Tri-City Americans
Darcy Kuemper, G — Red Deer Rebels

Boston Bruins (3):
Jake DeBrusk, F – Red Deer Rebels
Brandon Carlo, D — Tri-City Americans
Zdeno Chara, D — Prince George Cougars

Buffalo Sabres (2):
Curtis Lazar, F — Edmonton Oil Kings
Sam Reinhart, F — Kootenay ICE

Calgary Flames (6):
Mikael Backlund, F — Kelowna Rockets
Milan Lucic, F — Vancouver Giants
Derek Ryan, F — Spokane Chiefs
Travis Hamonic, D — Brandon Wheat Kings
Michael Stone, D — Calgary Hitmen
Juuso Valimaki, D — Tri-City Americans*

Carolina Hurricanes (5):
Jordan Martinook, F — Vancouver Giants
Nino Niederreiter, F — Portland Winterhawks
Joel Edmundson, D — Kamloops Blazers
Haydn Fleury, D — Red Deer Rebels
James Reimer, G — Red Deer Rebels

Chicago Blackhawks (5):
Kirby Dach, F — Saskatoon Blades*
John Quenneville, F — Brandon Wheat Kings*
Zack Smith, F — Swift Current Broncos
Duncan Keith, D — Kelowna Rockets
Brent Seabrook, D — Lethbridge Hurricanes

Colorado Avalanche (1):
Matt Calvert, F — Brandon Wheat Kings

Columbus Blue Jackets (4):
Oliver Bjorkstrand, F — Portland Winterhawks
Brandon Dubinsky, F — Portland Winterhawks*
Seth Jones, D — Portland Winterhawks
Ryan Murray, D — Everett Silvertips

Dallas Stars (6):
Jamie Benn, F — Kelowna Rockets
Blake Comeau, F — Kelowna Rockets
Justin Dowling, F — Swift Current Broncos
Martin Hanzal, F  — Red Deer Rebels*
Roman Polak, D — Kootenay ICE
Anton Khudobin, G — Saskatoon Blades

Detroit Red Wings (4):
Darren Helm, F — Medicine Hat Tigers
Madison Bowey, D — Kelowna Rockets
Dennis Cholowski, D — Portland Winterhawks
Mike Green, D — Saskatoon Blades

Edmonton Oilers (8):
Kyle Brodziak, F — Moose Jaw Warriors*
Colby Cave, F — Swift Current Broncos
Leon Draisaitl, F — Kelowna Rockets
Jujhar Khaira, F — Everett Silvertips
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, F — Red Deer Rebels
Ethan Bear, D — Seattle Thunderbirds
Brandon Manning, D — Chilliwack Bruins
Kris Russell, D — Medicine Hat Tigers

Florida Panthers (5):
Brett Connolly, F — Prince George Cougars
Jayce Hawryluk, F — Brandon Wheat Kings
Dryden Hunt, F — Regina Pats
Colton Sceviour, F — Lethbridge Hurricanes
Mark Pysyk, D — Edmonton Oil Kings

Los Angeles Kings (1):
Austin Wagner, F – Regina Pats

Minnesota Wild (5):
Victor Rask, F — Calgary Hitmen
Mason Shaw, F — Medicine Hat Tigers*
Matt Dumba, D — Portland Winterhawks
Jared Spurgeon, D — Spokane Chiefs
Devan Dubnyk, G — Kamloops Blazers

Montreal Canadiens (8):
Brendan Gallagher, F — Vancouver Giants
Nate Thompson, F — Seattle Thunderbirds
Jordan Weal, F — Regina Pats
Cale Fleury, D  — Regina Pats
Noah Juulsen, D — Everett Silvertips*
Brett Kulak, D  — Vancouver Giants
Shea Weber, D — Kelowna Rockets
Carey Price, G — Tri-City Americans

Nashville Predators (3):
Ryan Johansen, F — Portland Winterhawks
Colton Sissons, F — Kelowna Rockets
Dan Hamhuis, D — Prince George Cougars

New Jersey Devils (2):
Mirco Müller, D  — Everett Silvertips
Damon Severson, D  — Kelowna Rockets

New York Islanders (5):
Mathew Barzal, F — Seattle Thunderbirds
Jordan Eberle, F — Regina Pats
Andrew Ladd, F — Calgary Hitmen*
Johnny Boychuk, D — Moose Jaw Warriors
Ryan Pulock, D — Brandon Wheat Kings

New York Rangers (2):
Brett Howden, F — Moose Jaw Warriors
Libor Hajek, D — Regina Pats

Ottawa Senators (3):
Rudolfs Balcers, F  — Kamloops Blazers*
Tyler Ennis, F  — Medicine Hat Tigers
Clarke MacArthur, F — Medicine Hat Tigers

Philadelphia Flyers (6):
Nolan Patrick, F — Brandon Wheat Kings*
Tyler Pitlick, F — Medicine Hat Tigers*
Carsen Twarynski, F — Kelowna Rockets
Ivan Provorov, D — Brandon Wheat Kings
Travis Sanheim, D — Calgary Hitmen
Carter Hart, G — Everett Silvertips

Pittsburgh Penguins (2):
Justin Almeida, F — Moose Jaw Warriors*
Tristan Jarry, G — Edmonton Oil Kings

San Jose Sharks (3):
Evander Kane, F — Vancouver Giants
Brenden Dillon, D — Seattle Thunderbirds
Martin Jones, G — Calgary Hitmen

St. Louis Blues (2):
Brayden Schenn, F — Saskatoon Blades
Jay Bouwmeester, D — Medicine Hat Tigers

Tampa Bay Lightning (3):
Tyler Johnson, F — Spokane Chiefs
Brayden Point, F — Moose Jaw Warriors*
Braydon Coburn, D — Portland Winterhawks

Toronto Maple Leafs (3):
Tyson Barrie, D — Kelowna Rockets
Martin Marincin, D — Regina Pats
Morgan Rielly, D  — Moose Jaw Warriors

Vancouver Canucks (5):
Micheal Ferland, F — Brandon Wheat Kings
Brandon Sutter, F — Red Deer Rebels
Jake Virtanen, F — Calgary Hitmen
Alexander Edler, D — Kelowna Rockets
Tyler Myers, D — Kelowna Rockets

Vegas Golden Knights (8):
Cody Eakin, F — Swift Current Broncos
Cody Glass, F — Portland Winterhawks
Ryan Reaves, F — Brandon Wheat Kings
Mark Stone, F — Brandon Wheat Kings
Deryk Engelland, D — Moose Jaw Warriors
Nick Holden, D — Chilliwack Bruins
Brayden McNabb, D — Kootenay ICE
Shea Theodore, D — Seattle Thunderbirds

Washington Capitals (6):
Brendan Leipsic, F — Portland Winterhawks
Chandler Stephenson, F – Regina Pats
Riley Sutter, F — Everett Silvertips*
Radko Gudas, D — Everett Silvertips
Tyler Lewington, D — Medicine Hat Tigers
Braden Holtby, G — Saskatoon Blades

Winnipeg Jets (4):
Adam Lowry, F — Swift Current Broncos
Dustin Byfuglien, D — Prince George Cougars**
Josh Morrissey, D — Kelowna Rockets
Laurent Brossoit, G — Edmonton Oil Kings

*Denotes player on the injured reserved list
** Denotes players not with team


(WHL Communications)