The puck drops tonight on the 98th season of the National Hockey League (NHL)! As the 2015-16 NHL season gets underway, Minnesota fans should be ready for one of the most exciting seasons in years. Not only are our hometown Minnesota Wild poised for potentially the best season in franchise’s history, but 32 Minnesota natives will start the year on NHL opening day rosters.
The Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference has the look of a home away from home as it leads the league with 13 Minnesotans. Four of the division’s teams (New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh and Washington) have a combined 11 players from the State of Hockey and all of them could be battling each other for the Stanley Cup come April.
Not surprisingly, the Central Division comes in second with nine Minnesota natives, including three each on the Wild and Winnipeg Jets. Those nine players are set play key roles on their teams as five of them enter the season as either a captain (*) or assistant captain (**). In total, two Minnesotans will wear the C for their NHL squad and another six are currently listed as assistant captains.
Here's to another exciting year of NHL hockey and good luck to all of the great players that call Minnesota home!
Anaheim Ducks – Tim Jackman (Brooklyn Park)
Arizona Coyotes – None
Boston Bruins – None
Buffalo Sabres – None
Calgary Flames – None
Carolina Hurricanes – Justin Faulk (South St. Paul)
Chicago Blackhawks – None
Colorado Avalanche – Erik Johnson (Bloomington)
Columbus Blue Jackets – None
Dallas Stars – Alex Goligoski** (Grand Rapids)
Detroit Red Wings – None
Edmonton Oilers – Matt Hendricks (Blaine)
Florida Panthers – Nick Bjugstad (Blaine)
Los Angeles Kings – Derek Forbort (Duluth)
Minnesota Wild – Zach Parise** (Bloomington Jefferson), Nate Prosser (Elk River) and Ryan Carter (White Bear Lake)
Montreal Canadiens – Tom Gilbert (Bloomington Jefferson)
Nashville Predators – None
New Jersey Devils – None
New York Islanders – Kyle Okposo** (St. Paul), Brock Nelson (Warroad), Anders Lee (Edina) and Nick Leddy (Eden Prairie)
New York Rangers – Ryan McDonagh* (Mounds View) and Derek Stepan** (Hastings)
Ottawa Senators – None
Philadelphia Flyers – Chris Vandevelde (Moorhead)
Pittsburgh Penguins – Matt Cullen (Moorhead)
San Jose Sharks – Paul Martin (Elk River), Justin Braun (White Bear Lake) and Alex Stalock (South St. Paul)
St. Louis Blues – David Backes* (Spring Lake Park)
Tampa Bay Lightning – J.T. Brown (Rosemount)
Toronto Maple Leafs – Jake Gardiner (Minnetonka)
Vancouver Canucks – None
Washington Capitals – Matt Niskanen (Virginia), TJ Oshie (Warroad), Nate Schmidt (St. Cloud) and Taylor Chorney (Hastings)
Winnipeg Jets – Blake Wheeler** (Wayzata), Mark Stuart** (Rochester) and Dustin Byfuglien (Roseau)
The puck drops tonight on the 98th season of the National Hockey League (NHL)! As the 2015-16 NHL season gets underway, Minnesota fans should be ready for one of the most exciting seasons in years. Not only are our hometown Minnesota Wild poised for potentially the best season in franchise’s history, but 32 Minnesota natives will start the year on NHL opening day rosters.
The Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference has the look of a home away from home as it leads the league with 13 Minnesotans. Four of the division’s teams (New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh and Washington) have a combined 11 players from the State of Hockey and all of them could be battling each other for the Stanley Cup come April.
Not surprisingly, the Central Division comes in second with nine Minnesota natives, including three each on the Wild and Winnipeg Jets. Those nine players are set play key roles on their teams as five of them enter the season as either a captain (*) or assistant captain (**). In total, two Minnesotans will wear the C for their NHL squad and another six are currently listed as assistant captains.
Here's to another exciting year of NHL hockey and good luck to all of the great players that call Minnesota home!
Anaheim Ducks – Tim Jackman (Brooklyn Park)
Arizona Coyotes – None
Boston Bruins – None
Buffalo Sabres – None
Calgary Flames – None
Carolina Hurricanes – Justin Faulk (South St. Paul)
Chicago Blackhawks – None
Colorado Avalanche – Erik Johnson (Bloomington)
Columbus Blue Jackets – None
Dallas Stars – Alex Goligoski** (Grand Rapids)
Detroit Red Wings – None
Edmonton Oilers – Matt Hendricks (Blaine)
Florida Panthers – Nick Bjugstad (Blaine)
Los Angeles Kings – Derek Forbort (Duluth)
Minnesota Wild – Zach Parise** (Bloomington Jefferson), Nate Prosser (Elk River) and Ryan Carter (White Bear Lake)
Montreal Canadiens – Tom Gilbert (Bloomington Jefferson)
Nashville Predators – None
New Jersey Devils – None
New York Islanders – Kyle Okposo** (St. Paul), Brock Nelson (Warroad), Anders Lee (Edina) and Nick Leddy (Eden Prairie)
New York Rangers – Ryan McDonagh* (Mounds View) and Derek Stepan** (Hastings)
Ottawa Senators – None
Philadelphia Flyers – Chris Vandevelde (Moorhead)
Pittsburgh Penguins – Matt Cullen (Moorhead)
San Jose Sharks – Paul Martin (Elk River), Justin Braun (White Bear Lake) and Alex Stalock (South St. Paul)
St. Louis Blues – David Backes* (Spring Lake Park)
Tampa Bay Lightning – J.T. Brown (Rosemount)
Toronto Maple Leafs – Jake Gardiner (Minnetonka)
Vancouver Canucks – None
Washington Capitals – Matt Niskanen (Virginia), TJ Oshie (Warroad), Nate Schmidt (St. Cloud) and Taylor Chorney (Hastings)
Winnipeg Jets – Blake Wheeler** (Wayzata), Mark Stuart** (Rochester) and Dustin Byfuglien (Roseau)