170 OHL Alumni named to 2026-27 AHL Opening Night rosters

TORONTO — The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) will be well represented as the American Hockey League (AHL) opens its 2026-27 season, with 170 OHL graduates named to opening night rosters across all 32 AHL clubs.

The AHL’s 91st season begins Friday, Oct. 2, with 32 teams playing 72 games apiece. Eight games are on the schedule for opening night, the earliest start date since 2009, with 30 games across the league’s opening weekend.

The Belleville Senators (Ottawa) lead all AHL clubs with 16 OHL alumni. The Bakersfield Condors (Edmonton) and Lehigh Valley Phantoms (Philadelphia) follow with 10 each, the Coachella Valley Firebirds (Seattle) and Hartford Wolf Pack (NY Rangers) have nine apiece, and the Texas Stars (Dallas) have eight.

The London Knights lead all OHL clubs with 29 alumni on AHL rosters. The Brantford Bulldogs franchise, including its Hamilton Bulldogs and Belleville Bulls history, follows with 20. The Oshawa Generals and Soo Greyhounds each have 18, the Kitchener Rangers have 17 and the Saginaw Spirit have 16. All 20 OHL franchises are represented.

OHL alumni will be front and centre on opening night in Belleville. The Hamilton Hammers, the new affiliate of the New York Islanders, begin their inaugural season with a visit to the Senators. The two clubs combine for 20 OHL graduates. The Hammers will also visit the Toronto Marlies for the club’s 2026 Calder Cup championship banner raising at Coca-Cola Coliseum on Oct. 3. The Marlies’ roster includes seven OHL alumni.

OHL Alumni on 2026-27 AHL opening night rosters:

Abbotsford Canucks [Vancouver] – 6: Vilmer Alriksson (Guelph Storm & Brampton Steelheads), Gabriel Chiarot (Brampton Steelheads & Kitchener Rangers), Kirill Kudryavtsev (Soo Greyhounds), Riley Patterson (Niagara IceDogs & Barrie Colts), Cooper Walker (Guelph Storm), Gavin White (Hamilton Bulldogs & Peterborough Petes)

Bakersfield Condors [Edmonton] – 10: Beau Akey (Barrie Colts), Josh Brown (Oshawa Generals), Connor Clattenburg (Soo Greyhounds & Flint Firebirds), Daniel D’Amato (Erie Otters), Seth Griffith (London Knights), Ethan Keppen (Flint Firebirds), Jack Kopacka (Soo Greyhounds), William Nicholl (London Knights), Tucker Robertson (Peterborough Petes), Riley Stillman (Oshawa Generals & Hamilton Bulldogs)

Belleville Senators [Ottawa] – 16: Matthew Andonovski (Kitchener Rangers), Tyler Boucher (Ottawa 67’s), Jorian Donovan (Brantford Bulldogs & Saginaw Spirit), Mark Duarte (Hamilton Bulldogs & Soo Greyhounds), Gabriel Eliasson (Barrie Colts), Luke Ellinas (Kitchener Rangers), Kasper Halttunen (London Knights), Tomas Hamara (Kitchener Rangers & Brantford Bulldogs), Scott Harrington (London Knights), Landen Hookey (Soo Greyhounds & Owen Sound Attack), Christian Kyrou (Erie Otters & Sarnia Sting), Blake Montgomery (London Knights), Jackson Parsons (Kitchener Rangers), Ryan Suzuki (Barrie Colts & Saginaw Spirit), Phil Tomasino (Niagara IceDogs & Oshawa Generals), Djibril Toure (Sudbury Wolves & Windsor Spitfires)

Calgary Wranglers [Calgary] – 4: Hunter Brzustewicz (Kitchener Rangers), Ben Jones (Niagara IceDogs), Rory Kerins (Soo Greyhounds), Alex Nylander (Mississauga Steelheads)

Charlotte Checkers [Florida] – 7: Nathan Bastian (Mississauga Steelheads), Will Bitten (Flint Firebirds & Hamilton Bulldogs), Emil Pieniniemi (Kingston Frontenacs), Cole Schwindt (Mississauga Steelheads), Kai Schwindt (Mississauga Steelheads & Sarnia Sting), Donovan Sebrango (Kitchener Rangers), Mitchell Vande Sompel (Oshawa Generals & London Knights)

Chicago Wolves [Carolina] – 2: Bryce Montgomery (London Knights), Evan Vierling (Flint Firebirds & Barrie Colts)

Cleveland Monsters [Columbus] – 5: Steven Lorentz (Peterborough Petes), Luca Marrelli (Oshawa Generals), Max McCue (London Knights), Luca Pinelli (Ottawa 67’s), Colton White (Soo Greyhounds)

Coachella Valley Firebirds [Seattle] – 9: J.R. Avon (Peterborough Petes), Andrei Loshko (Niagara IceDogs), Ian McKinnon (Peterborough Petes, London Knights & Mississauga Steelheads), Logan Morrison (Hamilton Bulldogs & Ottawa 67’s), Ty Nelson (North Bay Battalion), Carson Rehkopf (Kitchener Rangers & Brampton Steelheads), Eduard Sale (Barrie Colts & Kitchener Rangers), Mitchell Stephens (Saginaw Spirit & London Knights), Nathan Villeneuve (Sudbury Wolves & Windsor Spitfires)

Colorado Eagles [Colorado] – 1: Keaton Middleton (Saginaw Spirit)

Grand Rapids Griffins [Detroit] – 2: Tag Bertuzzi (Guelph Storm, Hamilton Bulldogs & Flint Firebirds), Cameron Butler (Peterborough Petes, Niagara IceDogs & Oshawa Generals)

Hamilton Hammers [NY Islanders] – 4: Kashawn Aitcheson (Barrie Colts), Liam Foudy (London Knights), Isaiah George (London Knights), Matt Luff (Belleville Bulls & Hamilton Bulldogs)

Hartford Wolf Pack [NY Rangers] – 9: Nathan Aspinall (Flint Firebirds), Jacob Battaglia (Kingston Frontenacs & Flint Firebirds), Cole Beaudoin (Barrie Colts), Liam Greentree (Windsor Spitfires), Spencer Martin (Mississauga Steelheads), Bryce McConnell-Barker (Soo Greyhounds), Taylor Raddysh (Erie Otters & Soo Greyhounds), Dylan Roobroeck (Niagara IceDogs & Oshawa Generals), Carey Terrance (Erie Otters)

Henderson Silver Knights [Vegas] – 5: Samuel Mayer (Ottawa 67’s & Peterborough Petes), Bronson Ride (Windsor Spitfires & North Bay Battalion), Matyas Sapovaliv (Saginaw Spirit), Trent Swick (Kitchener Rangers), Tuomas Uronen (Ottawa 67’s & Kingston Frontenacs)

Hershey Bears [Washington] – 4: Cam Allen (Guelph Storm & London Knights), Sam Bitten (Ottawa 67’s & Sarnia Sting), Dalton Smith (Ottawa 67’s), Matthew Strome (Hamilton Bulldogs)

Iowa Wild [Minnesota] – 4: Hunter Haight (Barrie Colts & Saginaw Spirit), Rasmus Kumpulainen (Oshawa Generals), Stevie Leskovar (Peterborough Petes & Brampton Steelheads), Roman Schmidt (Kitchener Rangers & Kingston Frontenacs)

Laval Rocket [Montreal] – 5: Owen Beck (Mississauga Steelheads, Peterborough Petes & Saginaw Spirit), Braden Haché (Kingston Frontenacs, Barrie Colts & Saginaw Spirit), Filip Mesar (Kitchener Rangers), Sasha Pastujov (Guelph Storm & Sarnia Sting), Owen Protz (Sudbury Wolves & Brantford Bulldogs)

Lehigh Valley Phantoms [Philadelphia] – 10: Oliver Bonk (London Knights), Cam Dineen (North Bay Battalion & Sarnia Sting), Jackson Edward (London Knights), David Goyette (Sudbury Wolves), Jonathan Gruden (London Knights), Jett Luchanko (Guelph Storm & Brantford Bulldogs), Andrew Perrott (London Knights, Owen Sound Attack & Windsor Spitfires), Noah Powell (Oshawa Generals), Jack Studnicka (Oshawa Generals & Niagara IceDogs), Zayde Wisdom (Kingston Frontenacs)

Manitoba Moose [Winnipeg] – 7: Colby Barlow (Owen Sound Attack & Oshawa Generals), Domenic DiVincentiis (North Bay Battalion), Kevin He (Niagara IceDogs & Flint Firebirds), Jacob Julien (London Knights), Isaak Phillips (Sudbury Wolves), Kieron Walton (Sudbury Wolves & Peterborough Petes), Danny Zhilkin (Guelph Storm & Kitchener Rangers)

Milwaukee Admirals [Nashville] – 5: Andrew Gibson (Soo Greyhounds & Oshawa Generals), Brady Martin (Soo Greyhounds), Vitali Pinchuk (Kingston Frontenacs), Hunter Skinner (London Knights), Joey Willis (Saginaw Spirit & Kingston Frontenacs)

Ontario Reign [Los Angeles] – 6: Henry Brzustewicz (London Knights), Martin Chromiak (Kingston Frontenacs), Carter George (Owen Sound Attack & Soo Greyhounds), Kaleb Lawrence (Owen Sound Attack, Ottawa 67’s & London Knights), Francesco Pinelli (Kitchener Rangers), Jared Woolley (London Knights & Kitchener Rangers)

Providence Bruins [Boston] – 3: Josh Bloom (Saginaw Spirit & North Bay Battalion), Brendan Gaunce (Belleville Bulls & Erie Otters), Navrin Mutter (Hamilton Bulldogs & Kitchener Rangers)

Rochester Americans [Buffalo] – 1: Matthew Villalta (Soo Greyhounds)

Rockford IceHogs [Chicago] – 6: Gavin Hayes (Flint Firebirds & Soo Greyhounds), Brayden Hislop (Saginaw Spirit, North Bay Battalion & Guelph Storm), Paul Ludwinski (Kingston Frontenacs), Martin Misiak (Erie Otters), AJ Spellacy (Windsor Spitfires), Marek Vanacker (Brantford Bulldogs)

San Diego Gulls [Anaheim] – 3: Coulson Pitre (Flint Firebirds), Ethan Procyszyn (North Bay Battalion), Konnor Smith (Peterborough Petes, Owen Sound Attack & Brampton Steelheads)

San Jose Barracuda [San Jose] – 5: Jordan Bax (Sarnia Sting), Ethan Cardwell (Saginaw Spirit & Barrie Colts), Tye Felhaber (Saginaw Spirit & Ottawa 67’s), Brendan Hoffmann (Erie Otters), Roland McKeown (Kingston Frontenacs)

Springfield Thunderbirds [St. Louis] – 4: Michael Buchinger (Guelph Storm), Quinton Burns (Kingston Frontenacs), Will Cranley (Ottawa 67’s & Flint Firebirds), Lukas Fischer (Sarnia Sting & Soo Greyhounds)

Syracuse Crunch [Tampa Bay] – 2: Sam O’Reilly (London Knights & Kitchener Rangers), Jarred Tinordi (London Knights)

Texas Stars [Dallas] – 8: Tristan Bertucci (Flint Firebirds & Barrie Colts), Justin Ertel (North Bay Battalion), Ben Gleason (London Knights & Hamilton Bulldogs), Brandon Halverson (Soo Greyhounds), Emil Hemming (Barrie Colts), Charlie Paquette (Guelph Storm & Brantford Bulldogs), Connor Punnett (Saginaw Spirit, Barrie Colts & Oshawa Generals), Michael Sgarbossa (Barrie Colts, Saginaw Spirit & Sudbury Wolves)

Toronto Marlies [Toronto] – 7: Ken Appleby (Oshawa Generals), Sawyer Boulton (London Knights), Ben Danford (Oshawa Generals & Brantford Bulldogs), Dakota Mermis (London Knights & Oshawa Generals), Michael Pezzetta (Sudbury Wolves & Sarnia Sting), Landon Sim (London Knights), Blake Smith (Oshawa Generals & Flint Firebirds)

Tucson Roadrunners [Utah] – 3: Owen Allard (Soo Greyhounds), Noel Nordh (Soo Greyhounds), Ty Tullio (Oshawa Generals)

Utica Comets [New Jersey] – 3: Zach Gallant (Peterborough Petes), D.J. King (Hamilton Bulldogs & Saginaw Spirit), Vladislav Kolyachonok (London Knights & Flint Firebirds)

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins [Pittsburgh] – 4: Finn Harding (Brampton Steelheads), Avery Hayes (Hamilton Bulldogs & Peterborough Petes), Ryan Mast (Sarnia Sting), Maleek McGowan (Kingston Frontenacs)

Follow along with the American Hockey League at theahl.com.