Over 80 QMJHL alumni begin 2026-27 season in the NHL

The 2026-27 National Hockey League season gets underway tonight, and among the 32 teams, 82 former QMJHL players will begin the season in the NHL, an increase of 11 from last year.

The Pittsburgh Penguins lead the way with seven QMJHL alumni: Sidney Crosby, Gabriel D’Aigle, Samuel Girard, Ryan Graves, Hendrix Lapierre, Kristopher Letang and Oliver Okuliar. It should be noted that D’Aigle and Okuliar are currently sidelined with injuries.

The New Jersey Devils follow with six. Recently acquired, Anthony Mantha and Rémi Poirier join Jake Allen, Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Dawson Mercer, who have been with the team for several years.

The Montréal Canadiens round out the top three with five QMJHL alumni: Zachary Bolduc, Alexandre Carrier, Phillip Danault, Noah Dobson and Samuel Montembeault.

The Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Utah Mammoth and Vegas Golden Knights are also well represented, with four QMJHL alumni each.

At the other end of the spectrum, five clubs will begin the season without any QMJHL alumni on their roster: the Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and Winnipeg Jets.

All 18 QMJHL teams will be represented in the NHL this season. The Drummondville Voltigeurs lead the way with 11 former players, followed by the Moncton Wildcats and Halifax Mooseheads with 10 each, the Saint John Sea Dogs with 9, and the Gatineau Olympiques, Rimouski Océanic and Shawinigan Cataractes with 8 each.
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Anaheim Ducks (3)
Tyson Hinds (Shawinigan, Rimouski, Sherbrooke)
A.J. Greer (Rouyn-Noranda)
Tristan Luneau (Gatineau)

Boston Bruins (2)
Jonathan Aspirot (Moncton)
Frédéric Brunet (Rimouski, Victoriaville)

Buffalo Sabres (2)
Louis Crevier (Chicoutimi, Québec)
Colten Ellis (Cape Breton, Rimouski, Charlottetown)

Calgary Flames (3)
Matvei Gridin (Shawinigan)
Jonathan Huberdeau (Saint John)
Yan Kuznetsov (Saint John)

Carolina Hurricanes (3)
William Carrier (Cape Breton, Drummondville)
Nicolas Deslauriers (Rouyn-Noranda, Gatineau)
Nikolaj Ehlers (Halifax)

Chicago Blackhawks – none

Colorado Avalanche (3)
Zachary L’Heureux (Moncton, Halifax)
Nathan MacKinnon (Halifax)
Nicolas Roy (Chicoutimi)

Columbus Blue Jackets (4)
Riley Bezeau (Saint John)
Charlie Coyle (Saint John)
Conor Garland (Moncton)
Mathieu Olivier (Moncton, Shawinigan, Sherbrooke)

Dallas Stars – none

Detroit Red Wings – none

Edmonton Oilers (1)
Mathieu Joseph (Saint John)

Florida Panthers (3)
Bokondji Imama (Baie-Comeau, Saint John)
Dmitry Kulikov (Drummondville)
Brad Marchand (Moncton, Val-d’Or, Halifax)

Los Angeles Kings – none

Minnesota Wild (2)
David Spacek (Sherbrooke)
Yakov Trenin (Gatineau)

Montréal Canadiens (5)
Zachary Bolduc (Rimouski, Québec)
Alexandre Carrier (Gatineau)
Phillip Danault (Victoriaville, Moncton)
Noah Dobson (Acadie-Bathurst, Rouyn-Noranda)
Samuel Montembeault (Blainville-Boisbriand)

Nashville Predators (3)
Mavrik Bourque (Shawinigan)
Jonathan Marchessault (Québec)
William Trudeau (Charlottetown)

New Jersey Devils (6)
Jake Allen (St. John’s, Montréal, Drummondville)
Nico Hischier (Halifax)
Anthony Mantha (Val-d’Or)
Timo Meier (Halifax, Rouyn-Noranda)
Dawson Mercer (Drummondville, Chicoutimi)
Rémi Poirier (Gatineau)

New York Islanders (3)
Anthony Duclair (Québec)
Jean-Gabriel Pageau (Gatineau, Chicoutimi)
Ondrej Palat (Drummondville)

New York Rangers (2)
Alexis Lafrenière (Rimouski)
Joseph Veleno (Saint John, Drummondville)

Ottawa Senators (4)
Drake Batherson (Cape Breton, Blainville-Boisbriand)
Thomas Chabot (Saint John)
Claude Giroux (Gatineau)
Jordan Spence (Moncton, Val-d’Or)

Philadelphia Flyers (2)
Simon Benoit (Shawinigan)
Sean Couturier (Drummondville)

Pittsburgh Penguins (7)
Sidney Crosby (Rimouski)
Gabriel D’Aigle (Victoriaville)
Samuel Girard (Shawinigan)
Ryan Graves (P.E.I., Charlottetown, Val-d’Or, Québec)
Hendrix Lapierre (Chicoutimi, Acadie-Bathurst)
Kristopher Letang (Val-d’Or)
Oliver Okuliar (Sherbrooke)

San Jose Sharks (1)
Alex Barré-Boulet (Drummondville, Blainville-Boisbriand)

Seattle Kraken (2)
Frédérick Gaudreau (Shawinigan, Drummondville)
Jacob Melanson (Québec, Acadie-Bathurst, Sherbrooke)

St. Louis Blues (3)
Justin Barron (Halifax)
Zach Dean (Gatineau)
Ross Johnston (Moncton, Victoriaville, Charlottetown)

Tampa Bay Lightning (4)
Charle-Édouard D’Astous (Rimouski)
Yanni Gourde (Victoriaville)
Nikita Kucherov (Québec, Rouyn-Noranda)
Jeffrey Viel (Sherbrooke, Acadie-Bathurst)

Toronto Maple Leafs (3)
Benoit-Olivier Groulx (Halifax, Moncton)
Zack MacEwen (Moncton, Gatineau)
William Villeneuve (Saint John)

Utah Mammoth (4)
Michael Carcone (Drummondville)
Maveric Lamoureux (Drummondville)
Liam O’Brien (Rimouski, Rouyn-Noranda)
MacKenzie Weegar (Halifax)

Vancouver Canucks (1)
Guillaume Brisebois (Acadie-Bathurst, Charlottetown)

Vegas Golden Knights (4)
Ivan Barbashev (Moncton)
Lukas Cormier (Charlottetown)
Jérémy Lauzon (Rouyn-Noranda)
Raphaël Lavoie (Halifax, Chicoutimi)

Washington Capitals (2)
Anthony Beauvillier (Shawinigan)
Pierre-Luc Dubois (Cape Breton, Blainville-Boisbriand)

Winnipeg Jets – none