The 100th season of the National Hockey League (NHL) is officially underway! Taking the ice on opening night of the NHL's centennial season will be 37 players from 29 communities in the State of Hockey.
These elite players hail from communities all over Minnesota, ranging from Hastings up to East Grand Forks, from St. Cloud to Virginia and every corner of the metro area. Nearly all of them (31) played high school hockey, and all but one player participated in the CCM High Performance (formerly Select/Advanced) programs.
Minnesota Hockey wishes the best of luck to all of the great players that call Minnesota home!
Anaheim Ducks – None
Arizona Coyotes – Alex Goligoski (Grand Rapids) and Derek Stepan (Hastings)
Boston Bruins – David Backes (Spring Lake Park)
Buffalo Sabres – Kyle Okposo (St. Paul)
Calgary Flames – None
Carolina Hurricanes – Justin Faulk (South St. Paul)
Chicago Blackhawks – None
Colorado Avalanche – Erik Johnson (Bloomington)
Columbus Blue Jackets – None
Dallas Stars – Tyler Pitlick (Lino Lakes)
Detroit Red Wings – Nick Jensen (Rogers)
Edmonton Oilers – None
Florida Panthers – Nick Bjugstad (Blaine)
Los Angeles Kings – Jonny Brodzinski (Blaine) and Derek Forbort (Duluth)
Minnesota Wild – Matt Cullen (Moorhead), Zach Parise (Bloomington Jefferson), Mike Reilly (Chaska) and Alex Stalock (South St. Paul)
Montreal Canadiens – None
Nashville Predators – None
New Jersey Devils – None
New York Islanders – Nick Leddy (Eden Prairie), Anders Lee (Edina) and Brock Nelson (Warroad)
New York Rangers – Ryan McDonagh (Mounds View) and Brady Skjei (Lakeville)
Ottawa Senators – None
Philadelphia Flyers – None
Pittsburgh Penguins – Josh Archibald (Brainerd) and Jake Guenztel (Woodbury)
San Jose Sharks – Paul Martin (Elk River) and Justin Braun (White Bear Lake)
St. Louis Blues – Nate Prosser (Elk River)
Tampa Bay Lightning – J.T. Brown (Rosemount)
Toronto Maple Leafs – Jake Gardiner (Minnetonka)
Vancouver Canucks – Brock Boeser (Bursnville)
Vegas Golden Knights - Nate Schmidt (St. Cloud)
Washington Capitals – Taylor Chorney (Hastings), Aaron Ness (Roseau), Matt Niskanen (Virginia) and TJ Oshie (Warroad)
Winnipeg Jets – Blake Wheeler (Wayzata), Dustin Byfuglien (Roseau), Matt Hendricks (Blaine) and Tucker Poolman (East Grand Forks)