CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. – A total of 31 ECAC Hockey alumni representing all 12 member schools are vying to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup at the conclusion of the current National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs. Of the 31 individuals, 15 former standouts are currently on playoff rosters, while 16 are members of the team’s front office staff.
Harvard headlines the list of former ECAC Hockey standouts competing for the Cup with six (6) active players, among the NHL teams in action. Clarkson and Quinnipiac each have two (2) alums on playoff rosters, while Brown, Colgate, Cornell, Dartmouth, and Union each are represented by one (1) alum.
Headlining the former standouts on current rosters is Harvard standout Alex Killorn, who is vying for a third consecutive Stanley Cup as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Nick Abruzzese, Colin Blackwell and Alexander Kerfoot as members of Toronto; Adam Fox with the New York Rangers; and John Marino, as a member of Pittsburgh, are former Crimson seeking to lay claim to sports most famous trophy.
Mark Borowiecki with Nashville and Nico Sturm with Colorado represent the former Golden Knights currently competing on ice for the Cup, while Connor Clifton with Boston and Devon Toews with Colorado are the former Bobcats striving to add their names on Lord Stanley’s Cup.
Brown alum Garnet Hathaway (Washington), Colgate alum Chris Wagner (Boston), Cornell alum Riley Nash (Tampa Bay), former Dartmouth standout Drew O’Connor (Pittsburgh) and former Union standout Keith Kinkaid (New York Rangers) also are among the contingent of players on current playoff rosters.
From an NHL playoff team perspective, Toronto has the most league alums on its playoff roster with three (3) - Abruzzese, Blackwell and Kerfoot. Five teams have two (2) alums - Boston with Clifton and Wagner; Colorado with Sturm and Toews; Pittsburgh with Marino and O’Connor; New York Rangers with Fox and Kinkaid; and Tampa Bay with Killorn and Nash.
Former Princeton standout Jeff Halpern, currently an assistant coach with Tampa Bay, tops the list of alums serving on staff or in front-office roles with NHL teams. Halpern, like Killorn, seeks to lay claim to a third consecutive Cup. In addition, Harvard alum Don Sweeney, currently general manager with Boston; Clarkson alum Craig Conroy, assistant general manager with Calgary; St. Lawrence alum Rich Peverley, currently director of player personnel with Dallas; and Yale alum Bill Zito, currently general manager of Florida are among front office staff seeking the Cup. Sweeney and Peverley are vying for their second Cup win having been part of Boston’s 2011 Cup championship team.
Following are former league standouts competing to claim the Stanley Cup:
BROWN
Garnet Hathaway, F, Washington
Peter Ihnacak, scout, Washington
CLARKSON
Mark Borowiecki, D, Nashville
Craig Conroy, assistant general manager, Calgary
Nico Sturm, F, Colorado
Dave Taylor, senior advisor hockey operations, St. Louis
COLGATE
Andrew Dickson, scout, Boston
Greg Drechsel, scout, Nashville
Chris Wagner, F, Boston
CORNELL
Riley Nash, F, Tampa Bay
DARTMOUTH
Tanner Glass, assistant director of player development, New York Rangers
Jamie Herrington, director of NCAA scouting, New York Rangers
Matt Linblad, scout, Boston
Drew O’Connor, F, Pittsburgh
HARVARD
Nick Abruzzese, F, Toronto
Colin Blackwell, F, Toronto
Peter Chiarelli, vice-president hockey operations, St. Louis
Adam Fox, D, New York Rangers
Alexander Kerfoot, F, Toronto
Alex Killorn, F, Tampa Bay
John Marino, D, Pittsburgh
Don Sweeney, general manager, Boston
PRINCETON
Jeff Halpern, assistant coach, Tampa Bay
QUINNIPIAC
Connor Clifton, D, Boston
Devon Toews, D, Colorado
RPI
Jeremy Coupal, video coach, Edmonton
ST. LAWRENCE
Dan Laperriere, scout, Colorado
Rich Peverley, director of player personnel, Dallas
UNION
Keith Kinkaid, G, New York Rangers
YALE
Sean Backman, scout, Florida
Bill Zito, general manager, Florida