COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - With the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs beginning tomorrow, Saturday, April 19, 25 former National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) players and one former head coach from eight NCHC schools will begin the quest to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup. A total of 30 alumni from NCHC teams will compete for the Stanley Cup this year, with five playing collegiate hockey prior to the NCHC.
 
North Dakota paces NCHC teams with eight total alumni in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including six who played in the NCHC. Minnesota Duluth has five former NCHC players and six total alumni participating in the NHL’s postseason, while St. Cloud State has four NCHC alums and five former players in the playoffs.
 
Denver has three former NCHC standouts in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, plus former head coach Jim Montgomery at the helm of the St. Louis Blues. Omaha also has three alumni in the postseason, while Miami and Western Michigan have two each. Colorado College is represented by inaugural NCHC Rookie of the Year and Carolina Hurricanes standout defenseman Jaccob Slavin.
 
Among NHL teams, the Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets each have four NCHC alumni on their roster, with all four Jets hailing from Minnesota Duluth (Alex Iafallo, Neal Pionk, Dylan Samberg and Dominic Toninato). The Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals also have four former players of NCHC teams on their squad, but each team has one player who played collegiately prior to the NCHC (former SCSU defenseman Nick Jensen on the Senators and former UND star T.J. Oshie, who is on long-term injured reserve with the Capitals). The other three Senators were all North Dakota teammates in Tyler Kleven, Shane Pinto and Jake Sanderson.
 
Only one first-round series features former NCHC college teammates going head-to-head. Former Omaha standout and current Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jake Guentzel battles Jaycob Megna and the Florida Panthers. The two played together with the Mavericks in the NCHC’s inaugural 2013-14 season.  
 
Guentzel is also one of two NCHC alums with a chance to win a second Stanley Cup, along with former Denver forward Logan O’Connor. Guentzel won his first Cup in 2017 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, while O’Connor lifted the Cup with his current team, the Colorado Avalanche, in 2022.
 
In all, 13 teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs have at least one alumnus of an NCHC team, with only the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and Dallas Stars not having an NCHC team represented. The NCHC has an alumnus on 11 of the 16 Stanley Cup Playoff teams, with the St. Louis Blues and Vegas Golden Knights only having a player who played collegiately prior to the NCHC. More alumni could be added to rosters throughout the playoffs.
 
The Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils first-round series features the most NCHC alumni with six (four Hurricanes, two Devils). Vegas-Minnesota and Dallas-Colorado have the fewest NCHC alums in a first-round series with two former players of NCHC teams in each and only one NCHC alum per series. To see the Stanley Cup Playoffs bracket and schedule, click here. A complete list of NCHC alumni in the playoffs is at the bottom.
 
Among the 30 alumni of NCHC teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, 16 are forwards, 13 are defensemen, and one is a goaltender. Among only the 25 former NCHC players, 13 are forwards, 11 are blueliners and one is a netminder.
 
The NCHC saw 64 alumni play in the NHL during the 2024-25 regular season, including seven former players making their NHL debut. The NCHC has now produced 113 alumni to play at least one game in the NHL in the conference’s 12-year history. Five have lifted Lord Stanley’s Cup, including Guentzel and O’Connor.
 
All 30 alumni (and coach) of NCHC teams looking to lift the Stanley Cup this year are listed below by NCHC school and then by NHL team (rosters as of 4/18/25), with players who played collegiately prior to the NCHC in italics:
 
COLORADO COLLEGE
Jaccob Slavin, D, 2013-15 (Carolina)
 
DENVER
Zeev Buium, D, 2023-25 (Minnesota)
Jim Montgomery, Head Coach, 2013-18 (St. Louis)
Trevor Moore, F, 2013-16 (Los Angeles)
Logan O’Connor, F, 2015-18 (Colorado)
 
MIAMI
Jack Roslovic, F, 2015-16 (Carolina)
Reilly Smith, F, 2009-12 (Vegas)
 
MINNESOTA DULUTH
Mikey Anderson, D, 2017-19 (Los Angeles)
Justin Faulk, D, 2010-11, (St. Louis)
Alex Iafallo, F, 2013-17 (Winnipeg)
Neal Pionk, D, 2015-17 (Winnipeg)
Dylan Samberg, D, 2017-20 (Winnipeg)
Dominic Toninato, F, 2013-17 (Winnipeg)
 
NORTH DAKOTA
Jackson Blake, F, 2022-24 (Carolina)
Tyson Jost, F, 2016-17 (Carolina)
Tyler Kleven, D, 2020-23 (Ottawa)
Brock Nelson, F, 2010-12 (Colorado)
Shane Pinto, F, 2019-21 (Ottawa)
T.J. Oshie, F, 2005-08 (Washington - LTIR)
Jake Sanderson, D, 2020-22 (Ottawa)
Troy Stecher, D, 2013-16 (Edmonton)
 
OMAHA
Jake Guentzel, F, 2013-16 (Tampa Bay)
Jaycob Megna, D, 2011-14 (Florida)
Taylor Ward, F, 2018-22 (Los Angeles)
 
ST. CLOUD STATE
Dennis Cholowski, D, 2016-17 (New Jersey)
Nic Dowd, F, 2010-14 (Washington)
Nick Jensen, D, 2010-13 (Ottawa)
Charlie Lindgren, G, 2013-16 (Washington)
Nick Perbix, D, 2018-22 (Tampa Bay)
 
WESTERN MICHIGAN
Paul Cotter, F, 2018 (New Jersey)
Ethen Frank, F, 2017-22 (Washington)
 
BY NHL TEAM:
 
OTTAWA SENATORS
Nick Jensen, D, St. Cloud State
Tyler Kleven, D, North Dakota
Shane Pinto, F, North Dakota
Jake Sanderson, D, North Dakota
 
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
None
 
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Jake Guentzel, F, Omaha
Nick Perbix, D, St. Cloud State
 
FLORIDA PANTHERS
Jaycob Megna, D, Omaha
 
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Nic Dowd, F, St. Cloud State
Ethen Frank, F, Western Michigan
Charlie Lindgren, G, St. Cloud State
T.J. Oshie, F, North Dakota (LTIR)
 
MONTREAL CANADIENS
None
 
CAROLINA HURRICANES
Jackson Blake, F, North Dakota
Tyson Jost, F, North Dakota
Jack Roslovic, F, Miami
Jaccob Slavin, D, Colorado College
 
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Dennis Cholowski, D, St. Cloud State
Paul Cotter, F, Western Michigan
 
WINNIPEG JETS
Alex Iafallo, F, Minnesota Duluth
Neal Pionk, D, Minnesota Duluth
Dylan Samberg, D, Minnesota Duluth
Dominic Toninato, F, Minnesota Duluth
 
ST. LOUIS BLUES
Justin Faulk, D, Minnesota Duluth
Jim Montgomery, Head Coach, Denver
 
DALLAS STARS
None
 
COLORADO AVALANCHE
Logan O’Connor, F, Denver
Brock Nelson, F, North Dakota
 
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Reilly Smith, F, Miami
 
MINNESOTA WILD
Zeev Buium, D, Denver
 
LOS ANGELES KINGS
Mikey Anderson, D, Minnesota Duluth
Trevor Moore, F, Denver
Taylor Ward, F, Omaha
 
EDMONTON OILERS
Troy Stecher, D, North Dakota