CHL alumni in the NHL: 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs first round notes

With the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs in the books, more than 80 CHL alumni are still on the hunt for hockey’s ultimate prize.

Boston, Carolina, Florida, and New York remain in the East while Colorado, Dallas, Edmonton and Vancouver advanced out West.

With the second round now underway, here’s a look at some quick facts from the first round that feature CHL alumni.

• Connor McDavid (Erie Otters) led the first round in scoring with 12 points. In fact, seven of the top-11 scorers in the first round were CHL alumni with the top three spots belonging to McDavid, Leon Draisaitl (Prince Albert Raiders/Kelowna Rockets), and Evan Bouchard (London Knights). Furthermore, McDavid became the first player to record five assists in a playoff game since WHL alumnus Geoff Courtnall (Victoria Cougars / St. Louis Blues) achieved the feat in 1998 during Edmonton’s Game 1 win over LA on April 22.
• With his winner on April 23, Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe (Niagara IceDogs) became just the sixth player in Stanley Cup Playoffs history to score at least five career overtime winners.
• Brad Marchand (Moncton Wildcats/Val d’Or Foreurs/Halifax Mooseheads) passed WHL alumnus Cam Neely (Portland Winterhawks) for the most goals in Bruins postseason history on April 30 with his 56th goal. Marchand’s 136 points trail only fellow QMJHL alumnus Ray Bourque (Trois-Rivieres Draveurs/Verdun Black Hawks) who has 161 for the franchise lead.
• Brent Burns (Brampton Battalion) sits tied first in goals scored among defencemen with 23 after he scored the overtime winner on April 25 for Carolina. Burns is tied alongside Kris Letang (Val d’Or Foreurs) and Victor Hedman.
• Dallas’ Wyatt Johnson (Windsor Spitfires) had seven points in the first round against Vegas to sit tied sixth for the most points ever by a player aged 20 or younger in a single series. Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (Halifax) leads the list with 10 points during the first round in 2014.
• With Dallas’ victory over Vegas, OHL alumnus Pete DeBoer moved to 8-0-0 in Game 7s in which he has coached. DeBoer spent 15 years as a coach in the OHL, where he is a three-time J. Ross Robertson Champion (1995, 2003, 2008) and a Memorial Cup winner (2003). DeBoer and WHL alumnus Darryl Sutter (Lethbridge Broncos) are the only two coaches in NHL history to have won eight Game 7s.

Since 2014, of the 245 players who have had their names etched onto the Stanley Cup, 55% (135 players total) have come through the CHL, including 18 players on last year’s Vegas Golden Knights championship roster. Furthermore, of the 1,000-plus players who played a game in the NHL this season, more than 430 came through the CHL, which is the most of any development hockey league in the world.

82 CHL alumni set to compete in second round of 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs 

Eastern Conference 

New York Rangers (6)

Will Cuylle (Windsor Spitfires), Barclay Goodrow (Brampton Battalion), Alexis Lafrenière (Rimouski Océanic), Matt Rempe (Seattle Thunderbirds), Braden Schneider (Brandon Wheat Kings), Vincent Trocheck (Saginaw Spirit)

Carolina Hurricanes (10)

Brent Burns (Brampton Battalion), Jalen Chatfield (Windsor Spitfires), Tony DeAngelo (Sarnia Sting), Seth Jarvis (Portland Winterhawks), Brendan Lemieux (Barrie Colts), Spencer Martin (Mississauga Steelheads), Jordan Martinook (Vancouver Giants), Stefan Noesen (Plymouth Whalers), Jordan Staal (Peterborough Petes), Andrei Svechnikov (Barrie Colts)

Boston Bruins (12)

Justin Brazeau (North Bay Battalion), Brandon Carlo (Tri-City Americans), Charlie Coyle (Saint John Sea Dogs), Jake DeBrusk (Swift Current Broncos), Morgan Geekie (Tri-City Americans), Jakub Lauko (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies), Milan Lucic (Vancouver Giants)*, Brad Marchand (Moncton Wildcats), Pat Maroon (London Knights), Matthew Poitras (Guelph Storm)*, Parker Wotherspoon (Tri-City Americans), Pavel Zacha (Sarnia Sting)

Florida Panthers (11)

Sam Bennett (Kingston Frontenacs), Nick Cousins (Soo Greyhounds), Aaron Ekblad (Barrie Colts), Jonah Gadjovich (Owen Sound Attack), Dmitry Kulikov (Drummondville Voltigeurs), Steven Lorentz (Peterborough Petes), Josh Mahura (Regina Pats), Sam Reinhart (Kootenay Ice), Anthony Stolarz (London Knights), Matthew Tkachuk (London Knights), Carter Verhaeghe (Niagara IceDogs)

Western Conference

Dallas Stars (12)

Jamie Benn (Kelowna Rockets), Ty Dellandrea (Flint Firebirds), Matt Duchene (Brampton Battalion), Radek Faksa (Kitchener Rangers), Thomas Harley (Mississauga Steelheads), Wyatt Johnston (Windsor Spitfires), Mason Marchment (Erie Otters), Jason Robertson (Kingston Frontenacs), Tyler Seguin (Plymouth Whalers), Logan Stankoven (Kamloops Blazers), Sam Steel (Regina Pats), Scott Wedgewood (Plymouth Whalers)

Vancouver Canucks (7)

Conor Garland (Moncton Wildcats), Filip Hronek (Saginaw Spirit), Noah Juulsen (Everett Silvertips), J.T. Miller (Plymouth Whalers), Tyler Myers (Kelowna Rockets), Pius Suter (Guelph Storm), Nikita Zadorov (London Knights)

Colorado Avalanche (6)

Jonathan Drouin (Halifax Mooseheads), Samuel Girard (Shawinigan Cataractes), Caleb Jones (Portland Winterhawks), Gabriel Landeskog (Kitchener Rangers)*, Nathan MacKinnon (Halifax Mooseheads), Yakov Trenin (Gatineau Olympiques)

Edmonton Oilers (18)

Evan Bouchard (London Knights), Connor Brown (Erie Otters), Sam Carrick (Brampton Battalion), Cody Ceci (Ottawa 67’s), Leon Draisaitl (Prince Albert Raiders), Warren Foegele (Kingston Frontenacs), Sam Gagner (London Knights), Adam Henrique (Windsor Spitfires), Evander Kane (Vancouver Giants), Brett Kulak (Vancouver Giants), Connor McDavid (Erie Otters), Ryan McLeod (Mississauga Steelheads), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Red Deer Rebels), Darnell Nurse (Soo Greyhounds), Corey Perry (London Knights), Calvin Pickard (Seattle Thunderbirds), Derek Ryan (Spokane Chiefs), Stuart Skinner (Lethbridge Hurricanes)