WHL Alumni poised to leave their mark on the 2021 Stanley Cup Final

The Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning open the 2021 Stanley Cup Final Monday night in Florida with both teams boasting some high-profile WHL alumni on their active rosters.

The Canadiens reached the Stanley Cup Final on the strength of series victories over the Toronto Maple Leafs (4-3), Winnipeg Jets (4-0) and Vegas Golden Knights (4-2). The Lightning dispatched the Florida Panthers (4-2), Carolina Hurricanes (4-1) and New York Islanders (4-3). Montreal has started each series on the road, while Tampa Bay has enjoyed home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Canadiens are captained by former Kelowna Rockets defenceman Shea Weber, who is making his first trip to the Stanley Cup Final, but he is no stranger to championship moments. The Sicamous, B.C. product won a pair of WHL Championships with the Rockets and was part of Kelowna’s Memorial Cup-winning team in 2004. Weber made his 1,000^th career NHL regular season appearance earlier this season and has compiled four points (1G-3A) in 17 playoff games this year.

Montreal goaltender Carey Price, an alumnus of the Tri-City Americans, is making his first appearance in the Stanley Cup Final as well. The 34-year-old ranks second among NHL netminders in goals-against average (2.02) and save percentage (0.934) during this year’s post-season.

Weber is joined on the Canadiens blue line by Joel Edmundson (Moose Jaw Warriors, Kamloops Blazers) and Brett Kulak (Vancouver Giants). Edmundson, a Stanley Cup champion in 2019 with the St. Louis Blues, leads all Montreal defencemen with six points (0G-6A) during these playoffs.

Kulak, a product of Edmonton, Alta., has suited up for 11 games during the Canadiens’ post-season run.

Kulak’s former Vancouver Giants teammate Brendan Gallagher provides Montreal with grit and an offensive spark up front. He helped set up the Canadiens’ series-clinching overtime goal June 24 against the Golden Knights, a goal that helped Montreal punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final.

The story of the 2021 post-season for the Tampa Bay Lightning might well be the play of former Moose Jaw Warrior Brayden Point, who now holds the second-longest Stanley Cup Playoff goal-scoring streak at nine games. The Calgary, Alta. product has an NHL-best 14 goals during this post-season and sits second in the league in playoff scoring with 20 points (14G-6A).

Edmundson and Point were teammates with the Warriors during their run to the WHL Eastern Conference Championship in 2012.

Point is joined in the Lightning’s forward ranks by Tyler Johnson, who won a WHL Championship and Memorial Cup with the Spokane Chiefs in 2008. Johnson, like Point, was part of Tampa Bay’s Stanley Cup-winning squad in 2020 and has totaled three points (2G-1A) during this year’s post-season.

Another ex-Kelowna Rockets defenceman, Luke Schenn, goes in search of his second career Stanley Cup ring on the Tampa Bay blue line after winning with the Lightning a season ago. The product of Saskatoon, Sask., has one goal to his credit in this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The third former Rockets blueliner in search of Stanley Cup glory this July is Tampa Bay’s Cal Foote. The 22-year-old has yet to appear in a game during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but skated in 35 games for the Lightning during the regular season, totaling three points (1G-2A).

Like Foote, former Calgary Hitmen and Vancouver Giants defenceman Ben Thomas is also hoping for a Stanley Cup Playoff debut. The 25-year-old made his NHL debut April 4 and played five games in total with Tampa Bay this season.

The Canadiens are making their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Final since 1993, when they defeated the Los Angeles Kings in five games. The Lightning are defending their Stanley Cup championship from 2020 and are 2-1 in their three prior visits to the championship series.