COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - With the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs beginning tomorrow, Saturday, April 18, a total of 35 alumni from all nine National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) teams will begin the quest to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup. Among the 35 alumni on NHL postseason rosters, 30 are former players who competed in the NCHC since 2013-14.
 
All nine NCHC teams are represented in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, led by North Dakota with nine alumni competing for the Cup, including eight who played in the NCHC. Denver is second with six alums in the postseason, five of which played in the NCHC. St. Cloud State is third with five former standouts in the NHL Playoffs, four of whom played in the NCHC. Western Michigan has four NCHC alumni on playoff rosters, while Miami, Minnesota Duluth and Omaha each have a trio of former players in the postseason. Arizona State and Colorado College have one each.
 
Among NHL teams, the Los Angeles Kings lead the way with four NCHC alums on their roster, including two Pioneers, while the Ottawa Senators have a trio of North Dakota alumni and former SCSU defenseman Nick Jensen, who played prior to the NCHC. The Carolina Hurricanes, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Anaheim Ducks each have a trio of former NCHC players on their team, while the Buffalo Sabres and Vegas Golden Knights both have three alumni of NCHC teams.
 
Of the 16 NHL teams in the playoffs, 14 have at least one NCHC alumnus. The Montreal Canadiens and the Dallas Stars are the only playoff teams without an alum of an NCHC team on their roster.
 
Two pairs of former teammates will go head-to-head in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In the Hurricanes and Senators series, Carolina forward Jackson Blake and Ottawa defenseman Tyler Kleven were both on the 2022-23 North Dakota Fighting Hawks squad. In the Avalanche and Kings series, Colorado forward Logon O’Connor and L.A. forward Trevor Moore were teammates at Denver in 2015-16.
 
The Hurricanes-Senators series also features the most alumni of NCHC teams with seven, three on the Canes and four on the Senators. The Avalanche-Kings series boasts six alums with two on the Avs and four on the Kings, while the Penguins and Flyers series combines for five NCHC alumni. To see the Stanley Cup Playoffs bracket and schedule, click here. A complete list of NCHC alumni in the playoffs is below.
 
Two former NCHC standouts have a chance to win their second Stanley Cup in O’Connor with the Avalanche and former Omaha forward Jake Guentzel with the Tampa Bay Lightning. O’Connor won his first Cup in Colorado in 2022, while Guentzel won his with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2017.
 
Among the 35 alumni of NCHC teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, 25 are forwards, nine (9) are defensemen, and one is a goaltender in WMU alum Brandon Bussi with Carolina. Among only the 30 former NCHC players, 21 are forwards, eight (8) are blueliners and Bussi is the lone netminder.
 
The NCHC saw 74 alumni play in the NHL during the 2025-26 regular season, including 14 former players making their NHL debut. The NCHC has now produced 128 alumni to play at least one game in the NHL in the conference’s 13-year history. Five have lifted Lord Stanley’s Cup, including Guentzel and O’Connor.
 
All 35 alumni of NCHC teams looking to lift the Stanley Cup this year are listed below by NCHC school and then by NHL team, with players who played collegiately prior to the NCHC in italics:
 
ARIZONA STATE
Josh Doan, F, 2021-23 (Buffalo)

COLORADO COLLEGE
Jaccob Slavin, D, 2013-15 (Carolina)
 
DENVER
Bobby Brink, F, 2019-22 (Minnesota)
Trevor Moore, F, 2013-16 (Los Angeles)
Logan O’Connor, F, 2015-18 (Colorado)
Troy Terry, F, 2015-18 (Anaheim)
Jared Wright, F, 2022-25 (Los Angeles)
Jason Zucker, F, 2010-12 (Buffalo)
 
MIAMI
Sean Kuraly, F, 2012-16 (Boston)
Jack Roslovic, F, 2015-16 (Edmonton)
Reilly Smith, F, 2009-12 (Vegas)
 
MINNESOTA DULUTH
Mikey Anderson, D, 2017-19 (Los Angeles)
Noah Cates, F, 2018-22 (Philadelphia)
Dominic James, F, 2021-25 (Tampa Bay)
 
NORTH DAKOTA
Jackson Blake, F, 2022-24 (Carolina)
Matt Kiersted, D, 2017-21 (Minnesota)
Tyler Kleven, D, 2020-23 (Ottawa)
Jake Livanavage, D, 2023-26 (Pittsburgh)
Brock Nelson, F, 2010-12 (Colorado)
Shane Pinto, F, 2019-21 (Ottawa)
Jake Sanderson, D, 2020-22 (Ottawa)
Nick Schmaltz, F, 2014-16 (Utah)
Cole Smith, F, 2016-20 (Vegas)
 
OMAHA
Jake Guentzel, F, 2013-16 (Tampa Bay)
Nick Seeler, D, 2012-14 (Philadelphia)
Taylor Ward, F, 2018-22 (Los Angeles)
 
ST. CLOUD STATE
Nic Dowd, F, 2010-14 (Vegas)
Mikey Eyssimont, F, 2015-18 (Boston)
Nick Jensen, D, 2010-13 (Ottawa)
Blake Lizotte, F, 2017-19 (Pittsburgh)
Ryan Poehling, F, 2016-19 (Anaheim)
 
WESTERN MICHIGAN
Alex Bump, F, 2023-25 (Philadelphia)
Brandon Bussi, G, 2019-22 (Carolina)
Mattias Samuelsson, D, 2018-20 (Buffalo)
Tim Washe, F, 2020-25 (Anaheim)
 
BY NHL TEAM:
 
BUFFALO SABRES
Josh Doan, F, Arizona State
Mattias Samuelsson, D, Western Michigan
Jason Zucker, F, Denver
 
BOSTON BRUINS
Mikey Eyssimont, F, St. Cloud State
Sean Kuraly, F, Miami
 
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Jake Guentzel, F, Omaha
Dominic James, F, Minnesota Duluth
 
MONTREAL CANADIENS
None
 
CAROLINA HURRICANES
Jackson Blake, F, North Dakota
Brandon Bussi, G, Western Michigan
Jaccob Slavin, D, Colorado College
 
OTTAWA SENATORS
Nick Jensen, D, St. Cloud State
Tyler Kleven, D, North Dakota
Shane Pinto, F, North Dakota
Jake Sanderson, D, North Dakota
 
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Jake Livanavage, D, North Dakota
Blake Lizotte, F, St. Cloud State
 
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Alex Bump, F, Western Michigan
Noah Cates, F, Minnesota Duluth
Nick Seeler, D, Omaha
 
COLORADO AVALANCHE
Brock Nelson, F, North Dakota
Logan O’Connor, F, Denver
 
LOS ANGELES KINGS
Mikey Anderson, D, Minnesota Duluth
Trevor Moore, F, Denver
Taylor Ward, F, Omaha
Jared Wright, F, Denver
 
DALLAS STARS
None
 
MINNESOTA WILD
Bobby Brink, F, Denver
Matt Kiersted, D, North Dakota
 
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Nic Dowd, F, St. Cloud State
Cole Smith, F, North Dakota
Reilly Smith, F, Miami
 
UTAH MAMMOTH
Nick Schmaltz, F, North Dakota
 
EDMONTON OILERS
Jack Roslovic, F, Miami
 
ANAHEIM DUCKS
Ryan Poehling, F, St. Cloud State
Troy Terry, F, Denver
Tim Washe, F, Western Michigan