WHL Players Advance

Special thanks to the WHL for the interesting stat regarding the number of alumni players that have played in various rinks in Western Canada and have advanced to make their dream come true by playing in the NHL.

The Western Hockey League is proud to announce that 131 WHL Alumni have been named among National Hockey League opening day rosters to start the 2018-19 season.

All 31 NHL teams boast at least one WHL Alumni, with the Edmonton Oilers holding the largest number of WHL graduates on opening night with eight players listed.

The Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers and Winnipeg Jets all include seven previous WHL players each while the Vegas Golden Knights and the Vancouver Canucks start the season with six WHL graduates.

The Portland Winterhawks take the title this season, providing the most WHL Alumni to NHL opening night rosters with 18 players.

Next behind Portland in supplying WHL graduates to NHL opening night rosters is the Kelowna Rockets (15), Brandon Wheat Kings (11), Calgary Hitmen (10), Red Deer Rebels (10) and Moose Jaw Warriors (nine).

Of the 131 number of WHL Alumni on NHL opening day rosters, two are currently on the injured reserve lists for their respective NHL Clubs.

Listed below are the WHL Alumni who are on NHL opening day rosters for the 2018-19 season:

Anaheim Ducks (3):

Ryan Getzlaf, C — Calgary Hitmen, Sam Steel, C — Regina Pats, Luke Schenn, D — Kelowna Rockets

Arizona Coyotes (2):

Michael Grabner, RW — Spokane Chiefs, Darcy Kuemper, G — Spokane Chiefs/Red Deer Rebels

Boston Bruins (3):

Jake DeBrusk, LW – Swift Current Broncos/Red Deer Rebels, Brandon Carlo, D – Tri-City Americans

Zdeno Chara, D – Prince George Cougars

Buffalo Sabres (1):

Sam Reinhart, C/RW, Kootenay ICE

Calgary Flames (7):

Mikael Backlund, C — Kelowna Rockets, Dillon Dube, C/RW — Kelowna Rockets

Curtis Lazar, C — Edmonton Oil Kings, Derek Ryan, C/RW — Spokane Chiefs

Travis Hamonic, D — Moose Jaw Warriors/Brandon Wheat Kings, Michael Stone, D — Calgary Hitmen

Juuso Valimaki, D — Tri-City Americans

Carolina Hurricanes (4):

Micheal Ferland, LW – Brandon Wheat Kings/ Saskatoon Blades, Jordan Martinook, LW – Vancouver Giants

Victor Rask, C – Calgary Hitmen, Haydn Fleury, D – Red Deer Rebels

Chicago Blackhawks (6):

Brandon Davidson, D – Regina Pats, Henri Jokiharju, D – Portland Winterhawks

Brandon Manning, D – Chilliwack Bruins, Duncan Keith, D  – Kelowna Rockets

Brent Seabrook, D – Lethbridge Hurricanes, Cam Ward, G – Red Deer Rebels

Colorado Avalanche (2):

Matt Calvert, LW- Brandon Wheat Kings, Tyson Barrie, D – Kelowna Rockets

Columbus Blue Jackets (3):

Oliver Bjorkstrand, RW/LW – Portland Winterhawks, Brandon Dubinsky, C/LW – Portland Winterhawks

*Seth Jones, D – Portland Winterhawks

Dallas Stars (5):

Jamie Benn, LW — Kelowna Rockets, Blake Comeau, LW/RW — Kelowna Rockets

Julius Honka, D — Swift Current Broncos, Roman Polak, D — Kootenay ICE

Anton Khudobin, G — Saskatoon Blades

Detroit Red Wings (3):

Darren Helm, C/LW – Medicine Hat Tigers, Michael Rasmussen, C – Tri-City Americans

Mike Green, D – Saskatoon Blades

Edmonton Oilers (8):

Kyle Brodziak, C – Moose Jaw Warriors, Leon Draisaitl, C – Prince Albert Raiders

Jujhar Khaira, LW – Everett Silvertips, Milan Lucic, LW – Vancouver Giants

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C – Red Deer Rebels, Ty Rattie, RW – Portland Winterhawks

Kailer Yamamoto, RW – Spokane Chiefs, Kris Russell, D – Medicine Hat Tigers

Florida Panthers (5):

Troy Brouwer, RW/LW – Moose Jaw Warriors, Colton Sceviour, C – Portland Winterhawks/ Lethbridge Hurricanes

Alexander Petrovic, D – Red Deer Rebels, Mark Pysyk, D – Edmonton Oil Kings

James Reimer, G – Red Deer Rebels

Los Angeles Kings (4):

Jaret Anderson-Dolan, C — Spokane Chiefs, Nate Thompson, C/LW — Seattle Thunderbirds

Dion Phaneuf, D — Red Deer Rebels, Austin Wagner, LW — Regina Pats

Minnesota Wild (5):

Eric Fehr, C/RW — Brandon Wheat Kings, Nino Niederreiter, RW/LW — Portland Winterhawks

Matt Dumba, D — Red Deer Rebels/Portland Winterhawks, Jared Spurgeon, D — Spokane Chiefs

Devan Dubnyk, G — Kamloops Blazers

Montreal Canadiens (7):

Brendan Gallagher, RW – Vancouver Giants, Nikita Scherbak, RW/LW – Saskatoon Blades/ Everett Silvertips

Karl Alzner, D – Calgary Hitmen, Noah Juulsen, D – Everett Silvertips

David Schlemko, D – Medicine Hat Tigers, Shea Weber, D – Kelowna Rockets

Carey Price, G – Tri-City Americans

Nashville Predators (3):

Ryan Johansen, C — Portland Winterhawks, Colton Sissons, C —Kelowna Rockets

Dan Hamhuis, D, Prince George Cougars

New Jersey Devils (2):

Mirco Muller, D – Everett Silvertips, Damon Severson, D – Kelowna Rockets

New York Islanders (7):

Mathew Barzal, C – Seattle Thunderbirds, Jordan Eberle, RW – Regina Pats

Andrew Ladd, LW – Vancouver Giants/ Calgary Hitmen, Johnny Boychuk, D – Calgary Hitmen/ Moose Jaw Warriors

Thomas Hickey, D – Seattle Thunderbirds, Ryan Pulock, D – Brandon Wheat Kings

Luca Sbisa, D – Lethbridge Hurricanes/ Portland Winterhawks

New York Rangers (2):

Brett Howden, C – Moose Jaw Warriors, Cody McLeod, LW – Portland Winterhawks

Ottawa Senators (3):

Zack Smith, LW/C – Swift Current Broncos, Mark Stone, RW – Brandon Wheat Kings

Maxime Lajoie, D – Swift Current Bronco

Philadelphia Flyers (7):

Taylor Leier, LW – Portland Winterhawks, Nolan Patrick, C – Brandon Wheat Kings

Jordan Weal, C/W – Regina Pats, Dale Weise, RW – Swift Current Broncos

Radko Gudas, D – Everett Silvertips, Ivan Provorov, D – Brandon Wheat Kings

Travis Sanheim, D – Calgary Hitmen

Pittsburgh Penguins (1):

Tristan Jarry, G – Edmonton Oil Kings

San Jose Sharks (4):

Rourke Chartier, C – Kelowna Rockets, Evander Kane, LW – Vancouver Giants

Brenden Dillon, D – Seattle Thunderbirds, Martin Jones, G – Calgary Hitmen

St. Louis Blues (3):

Brayden Schenn, C — Brandon Wheat Kings, Jay Bouwmeester, D —Medicine Hat Tigers

Joel Edmundson, D — Moose Jaw Warriors/Kamloops Blazers

Tampa Bay Lightning (4):

Tyler Johnson, C/RW – Spokane Chiefs, Brayden Point, C – Moose Jaw Warriors

Braydon Coburn, D – Portland Winterhawks, Ben Thomas, D – Calgary Hitmen

Toronto Maple Leafs (4):

Tyler Ennis, LW/RW – Medicine Hat Tigers, Patrick Marleau, LW – Seattle Thunderbirds

Martin Marincin, D – Prince George Cougars/ Regina Pats, Morgan Rielly, D – Moose Jaw Warriors

Vancouver Canucks (6):

Sven Baertschi, LW/RW — Portland Winterhawks, Brandon Leipsic, C/LW — Portland Winterhawks

Brandon Sutter, C — Red Deer Rebels, Jake Virtanen, RW — Calgary Hitmen

Alexander Edler, D — Kelowna Rockets, Derrick Pouliot, D — Portland Winterhawks

Vegas Golden Knights (6):

*Cody Eakin, C – Swift Current Broncos, Ryan Reaves, RW – Brandon Wheat Kings

Deryk Engelland, D – Moose Jaw Warriors, Nick Holden, D – Chilliwack Bruins

Brayden McNabb, D – Kootenay ICE, Shea Theodore, D – Seattle Thunderbirds

Washington Capitals (4):

Brett Connolly, RW/LW – Prince George Cougars, Chandler Stephenson, C/LW – Regina Pats

Madison Bowey, D – Kelowna Rockets, Braden Holtby, G – Saskatoon Blades

Winnipeg Jets (7):

Adam Lowry, C — Swift Current Broncos, Nic Petan, C — Portland Winterhawks

Josh Morrissey, D — Prince Albert Raiders/Kelowna Rockets, Tyler Myers, D — Kelowna Rockets

Joe Morrow, D — Portland Winterhawks, Dustin Byfuglien, D — Brandon Wheat Kings/Prince George Cougars

Laurent Brossoit, G — Edmonton Oil Kings