390 CHL Graduates named to NHL Opening Night rosters ahead of 2024-25 season

As the National Hockey League (NHL) begins its 2024-25 season tonight, a total of 390 Canadian Hockey League (CHL) graduates from its Member Leagues (WHL, OHL & QMJHL) were among those named to the NHL’s Opening Night rosters. The 390 CHL alumni represent close to 50% of the players on the NHL’s 32 teams, marking the most of any development hockey league in the world.

In total, there were 188 graduates hailing from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), 125 from the Western Hockey League (WHL), and 77 from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).

59 of the CHL’s 60 clubs have at least one graduate on an NHL roster. Headlining the list are ten recent alumni who competed in the CHL last season — a group that features Flyers forward Jett Luchanko (Guelph Storm), Flames forward Samuel Honzek (Vancouver Giants), Avalanche forward Calum Ritchie (Oshawa Generals), Oilers forward Matthew Savoie (Winnipeg ICE), and Lightning forward Conor Geekie (Winnipeg ICE).

All 32 NHL clubs feature at least one former CHL player on their Opening Night roster with the Vegas Golden Knights leading the way with 17 CHL graduates. Right behind them is the Edmonton Oilers who have 16, followed by the Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, and Washington Capitals who each have 15 CHL alumni on their roster.

With 390+ graduates competing in the NHL for a fifth straight season, the CHL continues to be the number one supplier of talent to the NHL.

Stories To Follow:

• Heading into this new NHL season, 17 CHL alumni are looking to make their NHL debuts including Flyers forward Jett Luchanko (Guelph Storm), Flames forward Samuel Honzek (Vancouver Giants), Avalanche forward Calum Ritchie (Oshawa Generals), Blackhawks defenceman Nolan Allan (Prince Albert Raiders), Hurricanes defenceman Bryce Montgomery (London Knights), Rangers defenceman Matthew Robertson (Edmonton Oil Kings), and Lightning forward Conor Geekie (Winnipeg ICE).
• 10 CHL graduates are chasing their 1,000th NHL career game including Predators defenceman Luke Schenn (Kelowna Rockets), Canucks defenceman Tyler Myers (Kelowna Rockets), Flames forward Mikael Backlund (Kelowna Rockets), Ducks defenceman Cam Fowler (Windsor Spitfires), Kings forward Trevor Lewis (Owen Sound Attack), Stars forward Tyler Seguin (Plymouth Whalers), Panthers defenceman Dmitri Kulikov (Drummondville Voltigeurs), Blues forward Brayden Schenn (Brandon Wheat Kings), Sharks forward Logan Couture (Ottawa 67’s), and Oilers forward Evander Kane (Vancouver Giants).
• All five active NHL players who are within 101 points of reaching 1,000 career points are from the CHL: Oilers forward Connor McDavid (Erie Otters), Bruins forward Brad Marchand (Moncton Wildcats), Stars forward Jamie Benn (Kelowna Rockets), Oilers forward Corey Perry (London Knights), and Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon (Halifax Mooseheads).
• Just 18 points back of the 1,000-point milestone, Oilers forward Connor McDavid (Erie Otters) can become the third-fastest player in NHL history to reach the threshold should he achieve the feat within his first 10 games of the season.
• Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon (Halifax Mooseheads) could join fellow CHL alumni Mario Lemieux (Laval Voisins) and Phil Esposito (St. Catharines Teepees) as just the third player in NHL history to reach the 900- and 1000-point milestones in the same season. MacKinnon currently sits 1 point shy of 900 in his career and 101 shy of 1,000.
• Oilers forward Connor McDavid (Erie Otters) and Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies) can join fellow CHL alumnus Wayne Gretzky (Soo Greyhounds) as the only players in NHL history to record multiple 100-assist seasons.
• Penguins forward Sidney Crosby (Rimouski Océanic) needs four points to become the 10th player in NHL history to reach the 1,600-point milestone.
• Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl (Kelowna Rockets) can become the 15th player in NHL history to record four 50-goal seasons and the second active to do so alongside Alex Ovechkin.
• In what is set to be his final season in the NHL, Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury (Cape Breton Screaming Eagles) needs only two shutouts to tie CHL alumnus Roberto Luongo (Val-d’Or Foreurs) for ninth place in NHL history with 77 career shutouts.

News and Notes:

• The No. 13 overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, Jett Luchanko (Guelph Storm) of the Philadelphia Flyers will make history on Friday night as he will become the youngest player in Flyers’ franchise history at 18 years and 51 days old when Philadelphia travels to Vancouver to play the Canucks.
• The Predators added some championship pedigree during this summer’s free-agency period, landing CHL alumni Steven Stamkos (Sarnia Sting) and Jonathan Marchessault (Québec Remparts), making Nashville the first team in NHL history to acquire two 40-goal scorers in a single offseason.
• 20 of the NHL’s 32 head coaches either previously coached and/or played in the CHL, including six CHL alumni who have new coaching roles to start the 2024-25 season: Lindy Ruff (Buffalo Sabres), Dean Evason (Columbus Blue Jackets), Sheldon Keefe (New Jersey Devils), Travis Green (Ottawa Senators), Craig Berube (Toronto Maple Leafs), and Scott Arnie (Winnipeg Jets).
• Entering the 2024-25 season, 19 CHL alumni are set to lead their clubs as captains, including Kraken forward Jordan Eberle (Regina Pats), Panthers defenceman Radko Gudas (Everett Silvertips), and Blackhawks forward Nick Foligno (Sudbury Wolves) who are among the group of seven new captains in the NHL.
• Entering his 18th season as captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby (Rimouski Océanic) has served as the club’s captain since the 2007-08 season. His 18 seasons as captain stand one shy of the record held by CHL alumnus Steve Yzerman (Peterborough Petes / Detroit Red Wings) for the longest-tenured captain in NHL history.

Complete list of CHL Alumni on NHL Opening Night rosters

Players are listed alongside the CHL club they’ve played the most games with

* denotes player who is injured and/or non-roster

Anaheim Ducks (12)

Robby Fabbri (Guelph), Cam Fowler (Windsor), John Gibson (Kitchener)*, Radko Gudas (Everett), Ross Johnston (Moncton), Brett Leason (Prince Albert), Tristan Luneau (Gatineau), Brock McGinn (Guelph), Mason McTavish (Peterborough), Pavel Mintyukov (Saginaw), Ryan Strome (Niagara), Olen Zellweger (Kamloops).

Boston Bruins (12)

Justin Brazeau (North Bay), Brandon Carlo (Tri-City), Charlie Coyle (Saint John), Morgan Geekie (Tri-City), Max Jones (London), Mark Kastelic (Calgary), Brad Marchand (Moncton), Matthew Poitras (Guelph)*, Alex Regula (London)*, Parker Wotherspoon (Tri-City), Pavel Zacha (Sarnia), Nikita Zadorov (London).

Buffalo Sabres (12)

Nicolas Aube-Kubel (Val-d’Or), Zach Benson (Winnipeg), Bowen Byram (Vancouver), Kale Clague (Brandon), Dylan Cozens (Lethbridge), Henri Jokiharju (Portland), Peyton Krebs (Kootenay), Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Sudbury),  Beck Malenstyn (Calgary), Ryan McLeod (Mississauga), Jack Quinn (Ottawa), James Reimer (Red Deer).

Calgary Flames (14)

Rasmus Andersson (Barrie), Kevin Bahl (Ottawa), Mikael Backlund (Kelowna), Tyson Barrie (Kelowna), Jake Bean (Tri-City), Samuel Honzek (Vancouver), Jonathan Huberdeau (Saint John), Nazem Kadri (Kitchener), Anthony Mantha (Val-d’Or), Daniil Miromanov (Acadie-Bathurst), Brayden Pachal (Prince Albert), MacKenzie Weegar (Halifax), Dustin Wolf (Everett), Connor Zary (Kamloops). 

Carolina Hurricanes (10)

Brent Burns (Brampton), William Carrier (Cape Breton), Jalen Chatfield (Windsor), Seth Jarvis (Portland), Brendan Lemieux (Barrie), Jordan Martinook (Vancouver), Bryce Montgomery (London), Jordan Staal (Peterborough), Riley Stillman (Oshawa)*, Andrei Svechnikov (Barrie).

Chicago Blackhawks (15)

Nolan Allan (Prince Albert), Andreas Athanasiou (Barrie), Connor Bedard (Regina), Tyler Bertuzzi (Guelph), T.J. Brodie (Saginaw), Laurent Brossoit (Edmonton)*, Jason Dickinson (Guelph), Nick Foligno (Sudbury), Taylor Hall (Windsor), Seth Jones (Portland), Philipp Kurashev (Québec), Pat Maroon (London), Petr Mrazek (Ottawa), Connor Murphy (Sarnia), Isaak Phillips (Sudbury).

Colorado Avalanche (8)

Calvin de Haan (Oshawa), Jonathan Drouin (Halifax), Samuel Girard (Shawinigan), Parker Kelly (Prince Albert), Gabriel Landeskog (Kitchener)*, John Ludvig (Portland), Nathan MacKinnon (Halifax), Calum Ritchie (Oshawa).

Columbus Blue Jackets (11)

Jake Christiansen (Everett), Jordan Dumais (Halifax)*, Erik Gudbranson (Kingston), Boone Jenner (Oshawa)*, Kevin Labanc (Barrie), Max McCue (London)*, Sean Monahan (Ottawa), Mathieu Olivier (Shawinigan), Ivan Provorov (Brandon), Damon Severson (Kelowna), Cole Sillinger (Medicine Hat).

Dallas Stars (11)

Jamie Benn (Kelowna), Mavrik Bourque (Shawinigan)*, Matt Duchene (Brampton), Matt Dumba (Red Deer), Thomas Harley (Mississauga), Wyatt Johnston (Windsor), Mason Marchment (Erie), Jason Robertson (Kingston), Tyler Seguin (Plymouth), Logan Stankoven (Kamloops), Sam Steel (Regina).

Detroit Red Wings (9)

Ben Chiarot (Guelph), Alex DeBrincat (Erie), Christian Fischer (Windsor), Tim Gettinger (Soo)*, Patrick Kane (London), Olli Maatta (London), Michael Rasmussen (Tri-City), Joe Veleno (Saint John), Austin Watson (Windsor).

Edmonton Oilers (16)

Evan Bouchard (London), Connor Brown (Erie), Leon Draisaitl (Prince Albert), Adam Henrique (Windsor), Evander Kane (Vancouver)*, Brett Kulak (Vancouver), Connor McDavid (Erie), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Red Deer), Darnell Nurse (Soo), Corey Perry (London), Calvin Pickard (Seattle), Derek Ryan (Spokane), Matthew Savoie (Winnipeg), Brady Stonehouse (Ottawa)*, Jeff Skinner (Kitchener), Stuart Skinner (Lethbridge).

Florida Panthers (12)

Sam Bennett (Kingston), Adam Boqvist (London), Chris Driedger (Calgary), Aaron Ekblad (Barrie), MacKenzie Entwistle (Hamilton), Jonah Gadjovich (Owen Sound), A.J. Greer (Rouyn-Noranda), Dmitry Kulikov (Drummondville), Sam Reinhart (Kootenay), Justin Sourdif (Vancouver)*, Matthew Tkachuk (London), Carter Verhaeghe (Niagara).

Los Angeles Kings (14)

Kyle Burroughs (Regina), Quinton Byfield (Sudbury), Brandt Clarke (Barrie), Phillip Danault (Victoriaville), Drew Doughty (Guelph)*, Joel Edmundson (Moose Jaw), Warren Foegele (Kingston), Tanner Jeannot (Moose Jaw), Caleb Jones (Portland), Arthur Kaliyev (Hamilton)*, Darcy Kuemper (Red Deer), Trevor Lewis (Owen Sound), Jordan Spence (Moncton), Akil Thomas (Niagara).

Minnesota Wild (14)

Zach Bogosian (Peterborough), Declan Chisholm (Peterborough), Graeme Clarke (Ottawa)*, Marc-Andre Fleury (Cape Breton), Marcus Foligno (Sudbury), Frederick Gaudreau (Shawinigan), Ryan Hartman (Plymouth), Jakub Lauko (Rouyn-Noranda), Michael Milne (Winnipeg)*, Jacob Middleton (Ottawa), Marco Rossi (Ottawa), Jared Spurgeon (Spokane), Luke Toporowski (Spokane)*, Yakov Trenin (Gatineau).

Montreal Canadiens (15)

Josh Anderson (London), Alex Barré-Boulet (Drummondville), Justin Barron (Halifax), Kirby Dach (Saskatoon), Christian Dvorak (London), Brendan Gallagher (Vancouver), Kaiden Guhle (Prince Albert), Rafael Harvey-Pinard (Rouyn-Noranda)*, Sam Montembeault (Blainville-Boisbriand), Jacob Perreault (Sarnia)*, Michael Pezzetta (Sudbury), Carey Price (Tri-City)*, David Savard (Moncton), Nick Suzuki (Owen Sound), Arber Xhekaj (Kitchener).

Nashville Predators (12)

Alexandre Carrier (Gatineau), Luke Evangelista (London), Jeremy Lauzon (Rouyn-Noranda), Jonathan Marchessault (Québec), Michael McCarron (London), Ryan O’Reilly (Erie), Austin Roest (Everett)*, Luke Schenn (Kelowna), Colton Sissons (Kelowna), Steven Stamkos (Sarnia), Philip Tomasino (Niagara), Scott Wedgewood (Plymouth).

New Jersey Devils (14)

Jake Allen (Montreal), Nathan Bastian (Mississauga), Adam Beckman (Spokane)*, Paul Cotter (London),  Brenden Dillon (Seattle), Josh Filmon (Swift Current)*, Dougie Hamilton (Niagara), Nico Hischier (Halifax), Curtis Lazar (Edmonton), Kurtis MacDermid (Owen Sound), Timo Meier (Halifax), Dawson Mercer (Drummondville), Stefan Noesen (Plymouth), Ondrej Palat (Drummondville).

New York Islanders (11)

Mathew Barzal (Seattle), Dennis Cholowski (Portland), Casey Cizikas (Mississauga), Noah Dobson (Acadie-Bathurst), Anthony Duclair (Québec), Julian Gauthier (Val-d’Or), Bo Horvat (London), Kyle MacLean (Oshawa), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (Gatineau), Adam Pelech (Erie), Ryan Pulock (Brandon).

New York Rangers (7)

Sam Carrick (Brampton), Ben Harpur (Guelph), Alexis Lafrenière (Rimouski), Jake Leschyshyn (Regina), Matthew Robertson (Edmonton), Braden Schneider (Brandon), Vincent Trocheck (Saginaw).

Ottawa Senators (11)

Michael Amadio (North Bay), Drake Batherson (Cape Breton), Thomas Chabot (Saint John), Nick Cousins (Soo), Claude Giroux (Gatineau), Noah Gregor (Moose Jaw), Ridly Greig (Brandon), Travis Hamonic (Moose Jaw), Matthew Highmore (Saint John)*, Zack MacEwen (Moncton), David Perron (Lewiston).

Philadelphia Flyers (12)

Sean Couturier (Drummondville), Nicolas Deslauriers (Rouyn-Noranda), Jamie Drysdale (Erie), Ryan Ellis (Windsor)*, Tyson Foerster (Barrie), Morgan Frost (Soo), Travis Konecny (Ottawa), Scott Laughton (Oshawa), Jett Luchanko (Guelph), Travis Sanheim (Calgary), Owen Tippett (Mississauga), Egor Zamula (Calgary).

Pittsburgh Penguins (10)

Anthony Beauvillier (Shawinigan), Michael Bunting (Soo), Sidney Crosby (Rimouski), Cody Glass (Portland), Ryan Graves (Charlottetown), Tristan Jarry (Edmonton), Kris Letang (Val-d’Or), Alex Nedeljkovic (Plymouth)*, Vasily Ponomarev (Shawinigan)*, Rickard Rakell (Plymouth).

San Jose Sharks (10)

Mackenzie Blackwood (Barrie), Cody Ceci (Ottawa), Igor Chernyshov (Saginaw)*, Logan Couture (Ottawa)*, Ty Dellandrea (Flint), Barclay Goodrow (Brampton), Danil Gushchin (Niagara), Givani Smith (Guelph), Tyler Toffoli (Ottawa), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (Québec)*.

Seattle Kraken (13)

Oliver Bjorkstrand (Portland), Andre Burakovsky (Erie), Vince Dunn (Niagara), Jordan Eberle (Regina), Ryker Evans (Regina), Yanni Gourde (Victoriaville), Philipp Grubauer (Belleville), Tye Kartye (Soo), Josh Mahura (Regina), Jared McCann (Soo), Jamie Oleksiak (Niagara), Chandler Stephenson (Regina), Shane Wright (Kingston).

St. Louis Blues (12)

Jordan Binnington (Owen Sound), Zachary Bolduc (Québec), Radek Faksa (Kitchener), Joel Hofer (Portland), Mathieu Joseph (Saint John), Pierre-Olivier Joseph (Charlottetown), Jordan Kyrou (Sarnia), Jake Neighbours (Edmonton), Brandon Saad (Saginaw)*, Brayden Schenn (Brandon), Robert Thomas (London), Alexei Toropchenko (Guelph).

Tampa Bay Lightning (10)

Erik Cernak (Erie), Anthony Cirelli (Oshawa), Conor Geekie (Winnipeg), Jack Finley (Spokane)*, Gabriel Fortier (Baie-Comeau)*, Brandon Hagel (Red Deer), Nikita Kucherov (Rouyn-Noranda), Nicholas Paul (North Bay), Brayden Point (Moose Jaw), Darren Raddysh (Erie).

Toronto Maple Leafs (14)

Simon Benoit (Shawinigan), Connor Dewar (Everett)*, Max Domi (London), Steven Lorentz (Peterborough), Mitchell Marner (London), Philippe Myers (Rouyn-Noranda), Dakota Mermis (London)*, Fraser Minten (Kamloops)*, Ryan Reaves (Brandon), Morgan Rielly (Moose Jaw), Nicholas Robertson (Peterborough), Anthony Stolarz (London), John Tavares (Oshawa), Conor Timmins (Soo).

Utah Hockey Club (14)

Robert Bortuzzo (Kitchener), Michael Carcone (Drummondville), Lawson Crouse (Kingston), Curtis Douglas (Windsor)*, Sean Durzi (Owen Sound), Dylan Guenther (Edmonton), Barrett Hayton (Soo), Connor Ingram (Kamloops), Vladislav Kolyachonok (Flint), Liam O’Brien (Rouyn-Noranda), Mikhail Sergachev (Windsor), Juuso Valimaki (Tri-City), Shea Weber (Kelowna)*, Kailer Yamamoto (Spokane).

Vancouver Canucks (9)

Jake DeBrusk (Swift Current), Conor Garland (Moncton), Filip Hronek (Saginaw), Noah Juulsen (Everett), J.T. Miller (Plymouth), Tyler Myers (Kelowna), Arturs Silovs (Barrie), Daniel Sprong (Charlottetown), Pius Suter (Guelph).

Vegas Golden Knights (17)

Ivan Barbashev (Moncton), Lukas Cormier (Charlottetown)*, Jakub Demek (Edmonton)*, Jordan Gustafson (Seattle)*, Nicolas Hague (Mississauga), Adin Hill (Portland), Brett Howden (Moose Jaw), Keegan Kolesar (Seattle), Kaedan Korczak (Kelowna), Raphael Lavoie (Halifax), Brayden McNabb (Kootenay), Tanner Pearson (Barrie), Alex Pietrangelo (Niagara), Nicolas Roy (Chicoutimi), Cole Schwindt (Mississauga), Mark Stone (Brandon), Shea Theodore (Seattle).

Washington Capitals (15)

Alexander Alexeyev (Red Deer), John Carlson (London), Jakob Chychrun (Sarnia), Pierre-Luc Dubois (Cape Breton), Andrew Mangiapane (Barrie), Dylan McIlrath (Moose Jaw), Connor McMichael (London), Sonny Milano (Plymouth), Aliaksei Protas (Prince Albert), Taylor Raddysh (Erie), Rasmus Sandin (Soo), Spencer Smallman (Saint John)*, Dylan Strome (Erie), Logan Thompson (Brandon), Tom Wilson (Plymouth).

Winnipeg Jets (14)

Dylan Coghlan (Tri-City), Eric Comrie (Tri-City), Dylan DeMelo (Mississauga), Nikolaj Ehlers (Halifax), Haydn Fleury (Red Deer), Adam Lowry (Swift Current), Colin Miller (Soo), Josh Morrissey (Prince Albert), Vladislav Namestnikov (London), Nino Niederreiter (Portland), Cole Perfetti (Saginaw), Mark Scheifele (Barrie), Logan Stanley (Windsor)*, Gabriel Vilardi (Windsor).