COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – With the 2026-27 National Hockey League (NHL) season getting underway Tuesday night, 56 former National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) players have earned a spot on NHL Opening Day rosters. The 56 NCHC alumni in the NHL to start the season are the most in conference history, while a total of 64 alumni from NCHC teams made an NHL roster to open the year.
 
Nine NCHC teams are represented across 27 NHL teams’ Opening Day rosters. Denver leads the National with 12 former players on NHL rosters, while Minnesota Duluth and North Dakota each have 11 alumni suiting up in the NHL to begin the season. St. Cloud State and Western Michigan each saw nine former standouts make NHL rosters, while Miami (four), Colorado College (three), Omaha (three) and Arizona State (two) are also showcased on NHL rosters.
 
Among NCHC alumni only, Denver, UMD and NoDak each have 10 former players on NHL rosters. All nine of WMU’s NHL players played in the NCHC, while eight of SCSU’s nine competed in the National.
 
Among NHL teams, the Anaheim Ducks lead the way with six alumni of NCHC teams on their opening roster, including five who played in the NCHC. The Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets each have five NCHC alumni on their Opening Day rosters, as well.
 
Former Western Michigan captain and 2025 NCAA Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player Owen Michaels made his NHL debut with the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night, becoming the 129th former NCHC player to play in the National Hockey League. Former North Dakota forward Judd Caulfield earned a spot on the Ducks roster and is looking to make his NHL debut this season.
 
Former Denver forward Carter Mazur made his first Opening Day roster with Detroit this year, having played eight games for the Red Wings over the last two seasons. Former WMU standout forward Alex Bump also made his first Opening Day roster after finishing last season with the Philadelphia Flyers.
 
A total of 25 NHL teams have at least one former NCHC standout on their Opening Day roster, while 27 NHL teams have an alumnus from a team in the National. The only NHL teams without any alumni of NCHC teams currently are Dallas, Florida, Montreal, New Jersey and St. Louis.
 
Of the 56 NCHC alumni on Opening Night rosters, 35 are forwards, 18 are defensemen and three are goaltenders. Of the 64 overall alumni on NHL opening rosters, 39 are forwards, 21 are defensemen and four are netminders.
 
In addition to the former players, former Denver head coach Jim Montgomery (2013-18), who won the NHL’s Jack Adams Award in 2023 with Boston, is the head coach of the St. Louis Blues. Former North Dakota head coach Dave Hakstol (2004-15) is an assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche.
 
Last season, 74 NCHC alumni played at least one game in the NHL, including 14 players making their debut. Entering the 2026-27 season, 128 NCHC alumni had played at least one game in the NHL in the conference’s 13-year history, with Michaels now the 129th.
 
Below is a list of all NCHC teams’ alumni on an Opening Day NHL roster (including those on injured reverse/non-roster) broken down by alma mater first, and then NHL team below that. Those that played collegiately prior to their team joining the NCHC are denoted with an asterisk (*):
 
ARIZONA STATE
*Joey Daccord, G, Seattle
*Josh Doan, F, Buffalo
 
COLORADO COLLEGE
Noah Laba, F, New York Rangers
*Jaden Schwartz, F, Colorado
Jaccob Slavin, D, Carolina
 
DENVER
Bobby Brink, F, Minnesota
Garrett Brown, D, Winnipeg (IR)
Tristan Broz, F, Pittsburgh (IR)
Zeev Buium, D, Vancouver
Devin Cooley, G, Calgary
Danton Heinen, F, Columbus
*Scott Mayfield, D, New York Islanders
Carter Mazur, F, Detroit
Trevor Moore, F, Los Angeles
Logan O’Connor, F, Colorado (IR)
Troy Terry, F, Anaheim (IR)
*Jason Zucker, F, Buffalo (IR)
 
MIAMI
Blake Coleman, F, Minnesota
Sean Kuraly, F, Boston
Jack Roslovic, F, Toronto
Kiefer Sherwood, F, San Jose
 
MINNESOTA DULUTH
Mikey Anderson, D, Los Angeles
Noah Cates, F, Philadelphia
*Justin Faulk, D, Detroit
Isaac Howard, F, Edmonton
Alex Iafallo, F, Winnipeg
Dominic James, F, Tampa Bay (IR)
Wyatt Kaiser, D, Chicago
Cole Koepke, F, Winnipeg
Neal Pionk, D, Winnipeg
Dylan Samberg, D, Winnipeg
Carson Soucy, D, Columbus
 
NORTH DAKOTA
Jacob Bernard-Docker, D, Detroit (IR)
Jackson Blake, F, Carolina
Brock Boeser, F, Vancouver
Judd Caulfield, F, Anaheim
Tyler Kleven, D, Ottawa
*Brock Nelson, F, Colorado
Shane Pinto, F, Ottawa
Jake Sanderson, D, Ottawa
Nick Schmaltz, F, Utah
Cole Smith, F, Chicago
Troy Stecher, D, Toronto
 
OMAHA
Jake Guentzel, F, Tampa Bay
Victor Mancini, D, Vancouver
Nick Seeler, D, Philadelphia
 
ST. CLOUD STATE
Jack Ahcan, D, Nashville
Will Borgen, D, Boston
Nic Dowd, F, Vegas
Mikey Eyssimont, F, Boston
*Nick Jensen, D, Anaheim
Charlie Lindgren, G, Washington
Blake Lizotte, F, Pittsburgh (IR)
Nick Perbix, D, Nashville
Ryan Poehling, F, Anaheim
 
WESTERN MICHIGAN
Alex Bump, F, Philadelphia
Brandon Bussi, G, Carolina
Sam Colangelo, F, Anaheim
Paul Cotter, F, Vancouver
Ethen Frank, F, Washington
Owen Michaels, F, Edmonton
Mattias Samuelsson, D, Buffalo (IR)
Max Sasson, F, Vancouver
Tim Washe, F, Anaheim
 
BY NHL TEAM:
 
ANAHEIM DUCKS
Judd Caulfield, F, North Dakota
Sam Colangelo, F, Western Michigan
*Nick Jensen, D, St. Cloud State
Ryan Poehling, F, St. Cloud State
Troy Terry, F, Denver (IR)
Tim Washe, F, Western Michigan
 
BOSTON BRUINS
Will Borgen, D, St. Cloud State
Mikey Eyssimont, F, St. Cloud State
Sean Kuraly, F, Miami
 
BUFFALO SABRES
*Josh Doan, F, Arizona State
Mattias Samuelsson, D, Western Michigan (IR)
*Jason Zucker, F, Denver (IR)
 
CALGARY FLAMES
Devin Cooley, G, Denver
 
CAROLINA HURRICANES
Jackson Blake, F, North Dakota
Brandon Bussi, G, Western Michigan
Jaccob Slavin, D, Colorado College
 
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
Wyatt Kaiser, D, Minnesota Duluth
Cole Smith, F, North Dakota
 
COLORADO AVALANCHE
*Brock Nelson, F, North Dakota
Logan O’Connor, F, Denver (IR)
*Jaden Schwartz, F, Colorado College
 
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
Danton Heinen, F, Denver
Carson Soucy, D, Minnesota Duluth
 
DETROIT RED WINGS
Jacob Bernard-Docker, D, North Dakota (IR)
*Justin Faulk, D, Minnesota Duluth
Carter Mazur, F, Denver
 
EDMONTON OILERS
Isaac Howard, F, Minnesota Duluth
Owen Michaels, F, Western Michigan
 
LOS ANGELES KINGS
Mikey Anderson, D, Minnesota Duluth
Trevor Moore, F, Denver
 
MINNESOTA WILD
Bobby Brink, F, Denver
Blake Coleman, F, Miami
 
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
Jack Ahcan, D, St. Cloud State
Nick Perbix, D, St. Cloud State
 
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
*Scott Mayfield, D, Denver
 
NEW YORK RANGERS
Noah Laba, F, Colorado College
 
OTTAWA SENATORS
Tyler Kleven, D, North Dakota
Shane Pinto, F, North Dakota
Jake Sanderson, D, North Dakota
 
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Alex Bump, F, Western Michigan
Noah Cates, F, Minnesota Duluth
Nick Seeler, D, Omaha
 
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Tristan Broz, F, Denver (IR)
Blake Lizotte, F, St. Cloud State (IR)
 
SAN JOSE SHARKS
Kiefer Sherwood, F, Miami
 
SEATTLE KRAKEN
*Joey Daccord, G, Arizona State
 
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Jake Guentzel, F, Omaha
Dominic James, F, Minnesota Duluth (IR)
 
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
Jack Roslovic, F, Miami
Troy Stecher, D, North Dakota
 
UTAH MAMMOTH
Nick Schmaltz, F, North Dakota
 
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
Brock Boeser, F, North Dakota
Zeev Buium, D, Denver
Paul Cotter, F, Western Michigan
Victor Mancini, D, Omaha
Max Sasson, F, Western Michigan
 
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Nic Dowd, F, St. Cloud State
 
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Ethen Frank, F, Western Michigan
Charlie Lindgren, G, St. Cloud State
 
WINNIPEG JETS
Garrett Brown, D, Denver (IR)
Alex Iafallo, F, Minnesota Duluth
Cole Koepke, F, Minnesota Duluth
Neal Pionk, D, Minnesota Duluth
Dylan Samberg, D, Minnesota Duluth