Former NCAA Players Shine in NHL

 

Former NCAA players continued to shine in the early part of the 2021-22 NHL season.

Brock Nelson (North Dakota) scored the first two goals ever by a New York Islanders player in their new home of UBS Arena, but the home team fell to the Calgary Flames by a 5-2 count on Saturday night. Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College) had a goal and an assist for the visitors. 

Earlier that day, Jimmy Vesey (Harvard) registered the game-tying goal in the third period as the New Jersey Devils overcame the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 5-3 triumph in Florida. The loss snapped a nine-game points streak by the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning.

Zach Whitecloud (Bemidji State) returned to the Vegas lineup with two goals in the Golden Knights' 5-2 victory over Detroit on Nov. 18. That same evening, Spencer Knight (Boston College) made a career-high 45 saves to lift the Florida Panthers to a 4-1 win over New Jersey, while Troy Terry (Denver) extended his personal point streak to 16 games (12g, 10a) with a goal as his Anaheim Ducks fell to the Carolina Hurricanes, 2-1. 

Kevin Hayes (Boston College) notched the game-tying goal and Cam Atkinson (Boston College) won it in overtime as the Philadelphia Flyers edged the Calgary Flames, 2-1, on Nov. 16. Lastly, Rem Pitlick (Minnesota) notched his first career NHL hat trick as the Minnesota Wild upended the Seattle Kraken, 4-2, on Nov. 13.

Former NCAA Players Trading NHL Places

Several former NCAA players recently changed NHL teams, or will be changing clubs in the near future.

Cam Atkinson (Boston College), a career-long Columbus Blue Jacket, was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers had previously traded Shayne Gostisbehere (Union) to the Arizona Coyotes. 

Jay Beagle (Alaska Anchorage) was part of a multi-player deal between his team, the Vancouver Canucks, and Arizona, while Duncan Keith (Michigan State), who helped the Chicago Blackhawks to three Stanley Cup titles, is now a member of the Edmonton Oilers.

Zach Parise (North Dakota) and Ryan Suter (Wisconsin) were bought out by the Minnesota Wild and will be seeking employment elsewhere. Zach Hyman (Michigan) is not returning to the Toronto Maple Leafs and will also become free agent.

In terms of staying put, Peter Stastny (Denver) inked a one-year deal to re-up with the the Winnipeg Jets, after Adam Gaudette (Northeastern) did the same with Chicago. Cale Makar (UMass) just signed a six-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche.

The NHL's free agency period begins tomorrow.

ADDENDUM: The Winnipeg Jets have acquired Nate Schmidt (Minnesota) from Vancouver.  

NCAA Players Shine in 2020 Stanley Cup Start

Some notes on several former NCAA players from the qualifying round/round robin portion of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs contested in Edmonton and Toronto that began this month:

- Chicago captain Jonathan Toews (North Dakota) had four goals and seven points in four games in the Blackhawks' qualifying round victory over Edmonton.

- Quinn Hughes (Michigan) recorded five assists and six points for Vancouver as the Canucks outlasted Minnesota in four contests.

- Cam Atkinson scored twice and set up three other goals for Columbus as the Bluejackets rebounded to overcome Toronto in five games, the only series in the qualifying round that went the distance.

- Cam Talbot (Alabama-Huntsville) registered three victories in goal, and also posted a 1.51 goals-against average and a shutout for Calgary as the Flames eliminated Winnipeg in four games.

- Kevin Hayes (Boston College) assisted on all four Philadelphia goals in a 4-1 win over Tampa Bay that clinched the first seed in the Eastern Conference for the Flyers.

The NHL's usual Stanley Cup round of 16 began on Tuesday. Four series will be played in each city (Edmonton and Toronto), with each series a best-of-seven affair.

U.S. Wins First Two at World Championship

The United States is off to a good start at the 2018 IIHF World Championship in Denmark, winning its first two games in Group “B” round-robin play.

The Americans opened the tournament on Friday by besting rival Canada, 5-4, in a shootout. Cam Atkinson (Boston College) of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets scored twice in the extra session, including the deciding shootout goal.

Dylan Larkin (Michigan) of the Detroit Red Wings recorded two goals in regulation for the U.S. against the Canadians, with Chris Kreider (Boston College) of the New York Rangers setting up both of Larkin’s tallies. Anders Lee (Notre Dame) of the New York Islanders and Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College) of the Calgary Flames also scored for Team USA in regulation. Keith Kinkaid (Union) of the New Jersey Devils stopped 40 shots in net, and then made five saves on six shootout attempts for the win. Colton Parayko (Alaska Fairbanks) of the St. Louis Blues scored for Canada in regulation.

The U.S. then blanked host Denmark, 4-0, on Saturday. Will Butcher (Denver) of the New Jersey Devils collected the game-winning goal in the first period, before Kreider and Atkinson connected in the second stanza. Nick Jensen (St. Cloud State) of the Detroit Red Wings then closed out the scoring in the third period, and also joined Kreider and Gaudreau in recording an assist on the day. Kinkaid finished with 20 stops for the shutout.

Team USA will face Germany on Monday in its next outing, before taking on Latvia on May 10 and Korea on May 11.

Former NCAA Players Taking Center Stage in NHL Playoffs

The 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs are almost a week old, and already former NCAA players have been stepping up and serving as difference-makers.

Case in point was Monday night in Chicago, where the defending NHL champion Blackhawks won 2-0 over the St. Louis Blues. Hawks captain Jonathan Toews (North Dakota) tallied the game-winning goal against Ryan Miller (Michigan State), who finished with 23 saves. St. Louis still leads the series, 2-1.

Ryan Garbutt (Brown) helped the Dallas Stars climb back into their series with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring the Stars' third goal in a 3-0 win in Game 3 on Monday night in Texas. Anaheim now leads the series, 2-1.

The Pittsburgh Penguins scored three times in the third period to best the Columbus Bluejackets, 4-3, in Ohio and take a 2-1 lead in that series. Brooks Orpik (Boston College) and Lee Stempniak (Dartmouth) scored for the Pens, who also got two assists from Paul Martin (Minnesota). Jack Johnson (Michigan) and Cam Atkinson (Boston College) scored for Columbus.

Lastly, in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, the Minnesota Wild clawed away at its two-game deficit with a 1-0 overtime victory against the Colorado Avalanche. Zach Parise (North Dakota) assisted on the Wild's winning goal.

Boston College Raises One More Banner

I was fortunate enough to be at Boston College’s NCAA Championship banner ceremony on Saturday night at Conte Forum. I missed 2008’s event because I got stuck in traffic on the Mass Pike that night, and 2010’s gathering was too close to Halloween to travel to New England and back—so it sure was nice to finally watch one get raised to the rafters. 

I'm still smiling two days later.

Besides the 2012-13 team and over 7,000 of their closest friends in Maroon and Gold, some of the program's past champions made it back to Chestnut Hill to celebrate on Oct. 20, including former coach Len Ceglarski and locked-out NHL players like Nathan Gerbe. Hoisting the newest banner to the skies were graduated seniors Chris Venti and Tommy Atkinson, part of the 2012 team that won 19 straight contests to close out the campaign, including the national title game in Florida against Ferris State.

To top off the festivities Saturday, the Eagles won, 3-0, over local and Hockey East rival Northeastern, which had beaten BC a week before in Boston. Goals came from forwards Kevin Hayes, Johnny Gaudreau and Stephen Whitney, while captain Pat Mullane had two assists and goaltender Parker Milner made 26 saves before a raucous sold-out crowd of 7,884 at Kelley Rink that included almost an entire section of black-clad NU undergrads who surely got back on the Green Line unhappy.

It was a nice night of nostalgia and one final salute to last year’s title team, which not only made mustard-colored jerseys a thing of beauty, but was also the third BC squad in five years to claim a national crown. When I was a student, BC made the 1990 Frozen Four and won a few Hockey East championships, but not the sheer plethora of team prizes that the program has brought home since 1998.

For me, as an alumnus, it was good to be back on an ever-changing campus that still feels like home. It was good to sit again at the Forum, where I covered several scores worth of games as an undergraduate, and to see old friends like Jack Casey and Paul Gallivan. They and the rest of the Zamboni crew work hard to keep the ice smooth for one of college hockey’s top programs, led by head coach Jerry York (915 career wins and counting) and old friend and Eagle defenseman Greg Brown.


Yes, life has been good at the Heights lately. Keep up the good work, all.

2011 Hobey Hat Trick Revealed

It's down to the final three contestants in the 2011 Hobey Baker Memorial Award race. The trio includes Cam Atkinson of Boston College, Matt Frattin of North Dakota, and Andy Miele of Miami.

Atkinson, who just signed a pro contract with the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets and will not return to the Heights next season, is second in the nation with 31 goals, one year after registering 30 tallies and helping BC to the 2010 national title. He scored his final collegiate goal in BC's 8-4 West Regional first-round loss to Colorado College on March 25.

Frattin leads NCAA Division I with 36 goals this season, and is second in the nation with 60 points. He's also the only one of the trio that will be playing in the 2011 Frozen Four, after the Fighting Sioux rampaged through the Midwest Regional in Green Bay with lopsided wins over both Rensselaer and Denver on March 26-27. Frattin, who collected a goal and two assists last weekend, is property of the the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Miele leads all college players with 47 assists and 71 points, although his season and career ended with Miami's 3-1 loss to New Hampshire in the first round of the Northeast Regional on March 26. I'd say he's the favorite, judging by his point totals, plus he seems to have avoided arrest issues that have afflicted his competition, although none of those incidents occurred this winter.

http://www.collegehockeynews.com/news/2011/03/30_atkinson,_frattin,_miele_in.php

Frattin and Atkinson have seemingly cleaned up their acts. It's been well-documented how Frattin was suspended from North Dakota after two arrests, left campus to sort out his life, and came back stronger for it. Atkinson's one-time troubles with the law actually took place two months before he ever skated for the Eagles. It all depends on how much weight the committee gives to character issues, although both players have been pretty active in their communities, as has Miele, a pro free agent.

Still, the Hobey Baker Award is supposed to encompass a number of factors, including playing ability, statistics, character and academics. Selfishly, I'd like to see Atkinson win it, having met him at last year's Northeast Regional, and also with his being a (now) fellow BC alumnus. Still, 36 goals are hard to ignore - and so are 71 points. It may very well come down to so-called character, which could put Miele in the driver's seat.

The 31st Hobey Baker winner will be revealed on April 8 on ESPNU at 7:00 p.m. EDT. That's one day after the Frozen Four commences in St. Paul with Minnesota-Duluth taking on Notre Dame, and North Dakota facing off against Michigan, both on ESPN2. The national championship game itself, and the final college contest of the 2010-11 campaign, will be televised on April 9 at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN.