Nine Former Pats On 2023-24 NHL Opening Night Rosters
Regina, Sask. – Nine former Regina Pats players have cracked NHL opening night rosters, as the 2023-24 NHL season gets underway tonight.
The list includes; Connor Bedard (Chicago Blackhawks), Sam Steel (Dallas Stars), Josh Mahura (Florida Panthers), Jordan Eberle (Seattle Kraken), Egor Zamula (Philadelphia Flyers), Nikolai Knyzhov (San Jose Sharks) Chandler Stephenson (Vegas Golden Knights), Kyle Burroughs (San Jose Sharks) and Dryden Hunt (Calgary Flames).
Connor Bedard – Chicago Blackhawks
Bedard, 18, will make his NHL debut tonight against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins, as he will become the 165th Pats player to make his NHL debut. The North Vancouver, B.C. product is coming off a pre-season where he tallied five points (1G-4A) in three games. Last season, the right-shot forward gathered 143 points (71G-72A) across 57 games with the Pats. He led the entire Canadian Hockey League in goals, points, shots on goal (360), points per-game (2.51), goals per-game (1.24), while finishing tied for second in game-winning-goals (11), as well as tied for fifth in assists (72).
Sam Steel – Dallas Stars
Steel, 25, signed a one-year, $850,000 contract with the Dallas Stars this off-season after he set career-highs in goals (10), assists (18) and points (28) in 65 games with the Minnesota Wild in 2022-23, helping them to a third place finish in the Central Division, going 46-25-11-6. The former Pats captain who hails from Ardrossan, Alta. played for Regina for parts of five seasons from 2013-2018, recording 338 points (123G-215A) in 258 career WHL games, helping the Pats reach to the 2018 Memorial Cup Final, and later being named Memorial Cup MVP leading all players in scoring with 13 points (2G-11A) in five contests. The former Ducks 2016 first-round pick ranks seventh in Pats history in assists.
Josh Mahura – Florida Panthers
Mahura, 25, produced 16 points (4G-12A) in 82 games with the Florida Panthers in 2022-23, setting career-highs in goals, assists, points and games played. In the playoffs, he helped the Panthers reach the Stanley Cup Final, recording three assists in 21 games. The 6-foot, 190 lb. defenceman spent parts of four seasons with the Anaheim Ducks before joining the Panthers via waivers on October 10, 2022. Mahura was acquired by Regina Pats from the Red Deer Rebels during the 2016-17 season. In the 2017-18 season, he tallied 69 points (22G-47A) in 60 games.
Jordan Eberle – Seattle Kraken
Eberle, 33, helped the Seattle Kraken win their first playoff series in team history in 2022-23, as he finished with 11 points (6G-5A) in 14 playoff games. The Regina, Sask. product completed his second season with the Kraken, helping the club to a 46-28-8-4 record, recording 100 points, finishing first in the Western Conference Wild Card standings. Eberle tallied 63 points (20G-43A) in 82 games, playing 82 contests for the second time in his 13 year NHL career. He also picked up his second straight 20+ goal season and reached 60+ points for the first time since the 2014-15 season. The right winger began his journey to the NHL here in Regina, where he played for his hometown Pats from 2006-2010, where he amassed 310 points (155G-155A) in 254 games across four seasons.
Egor Zamula – Philadelphia Flyers
Zamula, 23, played 14 games for the Flyers during the 2022-23 season, recording four assists. Across parts of three seasons with Philadelphia, the Chelyabinsk, RUS product has played in 26 games. The 6-foot-3, 176 lb. defenceman played for the Pats during the 2017-18 season, picking up seven assists in 38 games.
Nikolai Knyzhov – San Jose Sharks
Knyzhov, 25, enters his fifth season with the Sharks. Throughout his career, he has played in 71 games, adding three goals and eight assists for 11 points. The Kemerovo, RUS product played 19 games with the Pats during the 2015-16 season, recording one assist.
Chandler Stephenson – Vegas Golden Knights
Stephenson, 29, posted his second straight 60+ point season with Vegas, scoring a career-best 65 points (16G-49A) in 81 games this past season. Now in his fifth season with Vegas, the Saskatoon, Sask. product has played in 420 regular season NHL contests, recording 219 points (73G-146A). Stephenson was also clutch in the playoffs, leading Vegas to winning the Stanley Cup with 20 points (10G-10A) in 22 games. The 5-foot-11, 190 lb. forward played for the Pats from 2010-2014, producing 89 points (30G-59A) in his final season.
Kyle Burroughs – San Jose Sharks
Burroughs, 28, played the last two seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, recording 10 points (3G-7A) in 90 games from 2021-2023 with the club. The Vancouver, B.C., product spent nearly six full seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and Colorado Eagles, totaling 86 points (18G-68A) and 431 penalty minutes in 324 games. Burroughs inked a three-year deal, worth $3,300,000 with the Sharks this off-season. The 6-foot, 193 lb. defenceman played for the Pats from 2011-2015, captaining the club from 2013-2015 before being dealt alongside Dryden Hunt to the Medicine Hat Tigers for Connor Hobbs and a pair of draft picks.
Dryden Hunt – Calgary Flames
Hunt, 27, will begin his seventh NHL season, as he joins the Calgary Flames after splitting last year with the New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Cranbrook, B.C. product played for the Pats from 2011-2015 before being traded to Medicine Hat and finishing his career with the Moose Jaw Warriors. He has played in 202 NHL games, recording 43 points (15G-28A).
