Feature Story

Feature Story

From college to the NHL

Nearly a third of all NHL players in 2008-09 honed their skills in college before making the leap to the pros

By Kevin Kurtt

Let’s Play Hockey Editor

If you’ve watched nearly any NCAA sporting event on television in the past few years, you’ve seen the ad. You may even be able to recite the tagline: “There are 380,000 NCAA student-athletes, and just about all of them will be going pro in something other than sports.”

It’s a noble campaign directed at educating the masses that most athletes in college will see their athletic careers come to an end at graduation.

In the world of NCAA hockey, the vast majority of players on the 58 Division I and 78 Division II/III men’s teams will not make the jump to the NHL, AHL, ECHL or any other of the various professional hockey leagues around the world. But for a select few, college hockey is merely a steppingstone to the bright lights of the National Hockey League.

In fact, according to our research, 285 players who saw at least one regular season NHL game in 2008-09 honed their skills in college before making the leap to the professional ranks. That number represents nearly a third of all NHL players from the current season. In 2008-09, 65 former collegiate hockey players made their NHL debut.

Leading the list of former college players now in the NHL are standouts such as New Jersey’s Zach Parise (North Dakota), Tampa Bay’s Martin St. Louis (Vermont), Calgary’s Mike Cammalleri (Michigan), Atlanta’s Todd White (Clarkson), Ottawa’s Dany Heatley (Wisconsin), Chicago’s Jonathan Toews (North Dakota) and Boston’s Tim Thomas (Vermont).

Former college players are also among the leading 2008-09 rookies. Eight players who competed in the college ranks are currently among the top 32 rookie scorers in the NHL. They are: Boston’s Blake Wheeler (Minnesota), N.Y. Islanders’ Kyle Okposo (Minnesota), St. Louis’ T.J. Oshie (North Dakota), Anaheim’s Andrew Ebbett (Michigan), Boston’s Matt Hunwick (Michigan), Phoenix’s Kyle Turris (Wisconsin), Pittsburgh’s Alex Goligoski (Minnesota) and Ottawa’s Jesse Winchester (Colgate).

Former college players finished the regular season with the fifth overall pointgetter (Parise), fifth overal goal scorer (Buffalo’s Thomas Vanek/Minnesota), 14th overall assist scorer (White), second overall plus/minus performer (Wheeler), the ninth overall penalized player (St. Louis’ David Backes/Minnesota State), the sixth-ranked rookie pointgetter (Wheeler) and the top-ranked goalie (Thomas)

Breaking down the 285 players by college sees the University of Michigan leads the way with 25 players, followed by North Dakota (17), Wisconsin (17), Boston College (16), Michigan State (15) and Minnesota (13).

In the NHL, it sure seems some teams are more likely to sign, trade or draft for a college-bred player than others. In fact, 14 NHL teams had 10 or or more college-bred players on the ice this season, led by the New York Islanders (19), St. Louis Blues (16), Tampa Bay Lightning (15) and Pittsburgh Penguins (14).

Naturally, the state of Minnesota is well-represented among the college-to-the-NHL players. Of the 285 players, there are 42 native Minnesotans, including seven who made their NHL debut this season.

And the numbers will only continue to grow. During the 2008-09 college hockey season, there were 197 players whose rights were owned by an NHL franchise. In addition, the NHL Central Scouting Service’s rankings for the 2009 Entry Draft list numerous prospects who will head to college hockey programs across the nation this fall.

Phil Housley was the rare hockey player to make the quantum leap from high school to the NHL. Countless Canadians take the Major Junior route before making the jump to the pros. European players compete in the numerous leagues throughout the continent in hopes of someday earning a spot on an NHL team. But for 285 NHL players, college was the path to take.

Click here for a complete list of college-to-the-NHL players.

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