Former NCAA Players Taken by NHL's Kraken

Several former NCAA players were selected in last night's NHL Expansion Draft to help stock the league's newest club, the Seattle Kraken, who will begin play in October.

One player was chosen by Seattle from each of the 31 other NHL clubs, save for the Vegas Golden Knights, who only began play in 2017. Among the players taken by the Kraken were defensemen Gavin Bayreuther (St. Lawrence), Jamie Oleksiak (Northeastern) and Carson Soucy (Minnesota-Duluth), forwards Mason Appleton (Michigan State), Colin Blackwell (Harvard) and Brandon Tanev (Providence), and goaltender Joey Daccord (Arizona State).

Bayreuther, 27, skated for St. Lawrence from 2013 to 2017, where he recorded 35 goals and 76 points for 111 points over four seasons. He has three goals and three assists for six points in 28 NHL regular-season games with Dallas and Columbus.

Oleksiak, 28, played at Northeastern during the 2010-11 season, where he put up four goals and nine assists for 13 points with the Huskies before turning pro. He has registered 24-48—72 points in 369 NHL appearances with Dallas and Pittsburgh. and also helped Dallas to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final.

Soucy, 26, played four years at UMD, where he collected 12-35—47 points in 147 NCAA contests, and also captained the Bulldogs to a national championship game berth as a senior in 2017.  In 108 career NHL games, he has put up 8-23—31 points, all with Minnesota.

Appleton, 25, played at Michigan State from 2015 to 2017, scoring 17 goals and adding 36 assists for 53 points over 72  games with the Spartans. He has 20-23—43 points in 138 NHL outings, all with Winnipeg.

Blackwell, 28, skated for Harvard from 2011 to 2015, collecting 19-39--58 points in 94 games for the Crimson. He has 15-17—32 points in 80 NHL appearances with Nashville and the New York Rangers.

Tanev, 29, a member of Providence's 2015 NCAA title team, tallied 35-42—77 points in 149 games with the Friars from 2012 to 2016. In 295 NHL contests with Winnipeg and Pittsburgh to date, he has scored 42 goals to go with 50 assists for 92 points.

Daccord, 24, who backstopped ASU to its first-ever NCAA tournament berth in 2019, posted a career record of 32-40-7 with 3.07 goals-against average and eight shutouts in three seasons with the Sun Devils, including a 21-13-1 mark and seven shutouts in his third and final campaign. He has gone 1-4-1 with a 3.50 GAA in nine NHL appearances, all with Ottawa.

Stars Stay Alive in Stanley Cup Final

Joe Pavelski (Wisconsin) scored the tying goal late in the third period, and the Dallas Stars pulled out a 3-2 victory in double overtime in Game Five on Saturday night to stay alive in the Stanley Cup Final. The Tampa Bay Lightning now lead the best-of-seven NHL championship series, three games to two.

Jamie Oleksiak (Northeastern) assisted on the game-opening goal for Dallas in the first period, but Tampa Bay battled back to take a 2-1 lead with just over 16 minutes remaining in regulation. Pavelski, a 2006 NCAA champion with Wisconsin, then knotted matters off a rebound with just under seven minutes left, setting a new record for American-born players with his 61st career NHL playoff goal.

The Stars then won it midway through the second extra session, despite being outshot, 41-33, on the night. Game Six is Monday night in Edmonton.

Hanley, Oleksiak Put Stars Ahead in Cup Final

Joel Hanley (Massachusetts) opened the scoring and Jamie Oleksiak (Northeastern) tallied what turned out to be the game-winning goal as the Dallas Stars opened the 2020 Stanley Cup Final with a 4-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Edmonton. 

Hanley took a pass in the slot and wristed the puck home just 5:40 into regulation for his first career NHL goal. After Tampa Bay forged a 1-1 tie before the end of the first period, on a goal set up by Blake Coleman (Miami), Oleksiak picked up his own rebound and then fired the puck into the top of the net with 12:30 elapsed in the second period to put the Stars back ahead for good.

Tampa Bay outshot Dallas, 36-20, overall while both teams combined to go 0-for-5 on the power play. Game Two is Monday night in Edmonton (NBC TV). 

Hanley played at UMass from 2010 to 2014, where he registered 17 goals and 75 points to go with 127 penalty minutes in 131 career games with the Minutemen. He formerly played in the NHL with Montreal and Arizona, and spent the majority of the past two seasons with Texas (AHL).

Oleksiak, who was drafted 14th overall by Dallas in 2011, has spent his entire NHL career with the Stars, except for parts of two seasons in Pittsburgh. He posted four goals and nine assists for 13 points along with 57 PIM in his lone season at Northeastern (2010-11), and in 313 career NHL regular-season outings has collected 18-40—58 points and 255 PIM.

Coleman, a Texas native who played his first 3 1/2 NHL seasons with New Jersey, skated at Miami (Ohio) from 2011 to 2015 where he recorded 60-47—107 points and 276 PIM in 143 NCAA appearances. He has also notched 57-38—95 points and 204 PIM in 246 NHL regular-season contests with New Jersey and Tampa Bay.

Oleksiak First NCAA Player Drafted in 2011

To little surprise, Northeastern rising freshman defenseman Jamie Oleksiak was the first (and only) current college hockey player taken in the first round of tonight's 2011 NHL Entry Draft in St. Paul, Minn. The Toronto native went 14th overall to the Dallas Stars, where his selection was announced by Dallas GM and former Cornell and NHL standout Joe Nieuwendyk.

Oleksiak won't be the last collegian selected this year, either, although at 6-7 and 240 lbs., he's sure to be the biggest. The question now is does he return to Huntington Avenue in the fall, especially since Northeastern head coach Greg Cronin resigned to take an assistant coaching position with the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier this week. The Versus telecast tonight mentioned that Oleksiak's major junior rights are held by Saginaw (OHL), and it's a sure bet the Spirit will be trying to pry the first rounder away from the Huskies and Hockey East between now and the start of the 2011-12 season.

Prior to Oleksiak's selection, John-Michael Liles was dealt from Colorado to Toronto for a second-round choice. The former Michigan State standout had spent his entire professional career to date on the Avalanche blueline. The Indianapolis native has tallied 68 goals and 207 assists in 523 career NHL regular-season games since 2003, and posted 4-7--11 points so far in 36 Stanley Cup Playoff contests.

North Dakota recruit J.T. Miller, a center, was drafted 15th overall by the New York Rangers, while a pair of incoming Miami freshmen also went in the first round. Connor Murphy, a defenseman, was claimed 20th overall by the Phoenix Coyotes, while future classmate and right wing Tyler Biggs went to Toronto two picks later.