18 CHL grads win Stanley Cup with Chicago
Tuesday June 16, 2015
18 CHL graduates are 2015 Stanley Cup Champions as members of the Chicago Blackhawks after a 2-0 Game 6 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Chicago on Monday. The Blackhawks victory gives them their third Stanley Cup title in six years.
Kelowna Rockets graduate Duncan Keith received the Conn Smythe Trophy as the NHL’s Playoff MVP. The Fort Frances, ON, native finished the postseason with three goals, 18 assists and 21 points in 23 games, including nine assists in Chicago’s seven game Western Conference Final series victory over the Anaheim Ducks.
“You want to keep being a part of these things,” Keith said post-game. “You don’t get these awards without being on great teams with great players, and I’m just proud to be a part of this group of guys who cares so much and do whatever it takes.”
Chicago eliminated Nashville and Minnesota before the seven game duel with Anaheim that featured a 5-3 win on the road in Game 7 behind multi-point efforts from CHL graduates Keith, Patrick Kane and Brad Richards.
“It seems like this was the hardest (Cup),” said Kane, who also hoisted the NHL’s prized possession in 2010 and 2013. “Teams are getting better and better and faster and faster. We’ll have to keep doing some adjusting as time goes on. Three in six years is amazing.”
“It’s amazing,” added Saginaw Spirit graduate and Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad. “It’s still a full building from when we had the Cup out here and it’s a hell of a city to win it in. I’m really looking forward to the parade.”
Saad, who finished the playoffs with eight goals and three assists in 23 games, netted the winning goal 6:22 into the third period of Game 4 on Wednesday to knot the series at two, a victory Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said marked a momentum swing in the series.
Goaltender Corey Crawford silenced his critics once again. The Moncton Wildcats graduate finished the playoffs with a 2.31 goals against-average and a .924 save percentage, making 25 saves for his second shutout of the postseason in Monday’s Stanley Cup clinching 2-0 victory.
Fellow QMJHL graduate Antoine Vermette paid big dividends for the Blackhawks after he was acquired from Arizona mid-season. The former Victoriaville Tigres centreman was a force in the faceoff circle, scoring the winning goal two minutes into the third period of Game 5 to send the Blackhawks home for Game 6 with a 3-2 series lead. Vermette wrapped up the playoffs with four goals, three assists and seven points in 20 games.
Once a sojourner in search of his first Stanley Cup title into his 30’s, Portland Winterhawks graduate Marian Hossa has reaped the benefits of the dynasty in the Windy City, claiming his third title since joining the Hawks in 2009-10.
Forward Andrew Desjardins, a graduate of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, was also in the lineup on Monday and finished the playoffs with a goal and three assists in 21 games. Desjardins blogged about his Stanley Cup winning experience on NHL.com.
Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville wins his fourth Stanley Cup and third behind the bench with the Blackhawks. The Windsor, ON, native was a defencemen with the Spitfires from 1975-78.
In total, 18 of the 31 players on Chicago’s playoff roster are CHL graduates.
The 2015 championship is the Blackhawks’ sixth Stanley Cup title in franchise history.
Chicago Blackhawks CHL graduates on playoff roster (18):
Bryan Bickell (Ottawa/Windsor, 2002-06)
Daniel Carcillo (Sarnia/Mississauga, 2002-05)
Corey Crawford (Moncton, 2001-05)
Kyle Cumiskey (Kelowna, 2003-06)
Phillip Danault (Victoriaville, 2009-12)
Andrew Desjardins (Sault Ste. Marie, 2003-07)
Ryan Hartman (Plymouth, 2012-14)
Marian Hossa (Portland, 1997-98)
Patrick Kane (London, 2006-07)
Duncan Keith (Kelowna, 2002-03)
Johnny Oduya (Victoriaville/Moncton, 2000-01)
Brad Richards (Rimouski, 1997-00)
Michal Rozsival (Swift Current, 1996-98)
Brandon Saad (Saginaw, 2010-12)
Brent Seabrook (Lethbridge, 2000-05)
Andrew Shaw (Niagara/Owen Sound, 2008-11)
Antoine Vermette (Quebec/Victoriaville, 1998-2002)
Kris Versteeg (Lethbridge/Kamloops/Red Deer, 2002-06)