Image provided by Canadian Press

By Connor Gunn

Dylan Cozens, 132 other WHL alumni on NHL opening night rosters

Oct 12, 2021 | 3:10 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – 133 ex-WHL players will be taking the ice on the NHL’s opening.

All 32 NHL Club opening night rosters feature at least one WHL graduate with the Vegas Golden Knights (10), Calgary Flames (eight), Edmonton Oilers (eight) and Vancouver Canucks (eight) leading the way.

Lethbridge Hurricanes alumni Dylan Cozens is hitting the ice for the Buffalo Sabres facing off against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.

Along with Cozens, Brent Seabrook also played for the Canes

The following list of all alumni was provided by the WHL:

What's Happening in Lethbridge this week: November 12-17, 2024

Nov 12, 2024

What's Happening in Lethbridge this week: November 4-10, 2024

Nov 04, 2024

What's Happening in Lethbridge this week: October 28-November 3, 2024

Oct 28, 2024

Legend: Players listed alongside last WHL Club
* – spent 2020-21 season in WHL
^ – eligible to return to WHL for 2021-22
+ – injured / non-roster player

Anaheim Ducks (3)
Ryan Getzlaf (Calgary Hitmen); Josh Mahura (Regina Pats); Sam Steel (Regina Pats)

Arizona Coyotes (1)
Andrew Ladd (Calgary Hitmen)

Boston Bruins (3)
Brandon Carlo (Tri-City Americans); Jake DeBrusk (Red Deer Rebels), Curtis Lazar+ (Edmonton Oil Kings)

Buffalo Sabres (5)
Dylan Cozens^ (Lethbridge Hurricanes); Cody Eakin (Kootenay ICE); Henri Jokiharju (Portland Winterhawks); Mark Pysyk (Edmonton Oil Kings); Dustin Tokarski (Spokane Chiefs)

Calgary Flames (8)
Mikael Backlund (Kelowna Rockets); Dillon Dube (Kelowna Rockets); Glenn Gawdin (Swift Current Broncos); Milan Lucic (Vancouver Giants); Tyler Pitlick (Medicine Hat Tigers); Michael Stone (Calgary Hitmen); Juuso Valimaki (Tri-City Americans); Connor Zary (Kamloops Blazers) *^+

Carolina Hurricanes (4)
Ethan Bear (Seattle Thunderbirds); Seth Jarvis*^ (Portland Winterhawks); Jordan Martinook (Vancouver Giants); Nino Niederreiter (Portland Winterhawks)

Chicago Blackhawks (6)
Kirby Dach^ (Saskatoon Blades); Brandon Hagel (Red Deer Rebels); Tyler Johnson (Spokane Chiefs); Caleb Jones+ (Portland Winterhawks); Seth Jones (Portland Winterhawks); Jujhar Khaira (Everett Silvertips)

Colorado Avalanche (4)
Bowen Byram^ (Vancouver Giants); Darren Helm (Medicine Hat Tigers); Darcy Kuemper (Red Deer Rebels); Ryan Murray (Everett Silvertips)

Columbus Blue Jackets (4)
Jake Bean (Tri-City Americans); Oliver Bjorkstrand (Portland Winterhawks); Trey Fix-Wolansky+ (Edmonton Oil Kings); Cole Sillinger^ (Medicine Hat Tigers)

Dallas Stars (4)
Jamie Benn (Kelowna Rockets); Blake Comeau (Kelowna Rockets); Braden Holtby (Saskatoon Blades); Anton Khudobin (Saskatoon Blades)

Detroit Red Wings (1)
Michael Rasmussen (Tri-City Americans)

Edmonton Oilers (8)
Tyson Barrie (Kelowna Rockets); Tyler Benson (Vancouver Giants); Leon Draisaitl (Kelowna Rockets); Duncan Keith (Kelowna Rockets); Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Red Deer Rebels); Kris Russell (Medicine Hat Tigers); Derek Ryan (Spokane Chiefs); Kailer Yamamoto (Spokane Chiefs)

Florida Panthers (4)
Kevin Connauton+ (Vancouver Giants); Radko Gudas (Everett Silvertips); John Ludvig+ (Portland Winterhawks); Sam Reinhart (Kootenay ICE)

Los Angeles Kings (1)
Alexander Edler (Kelowna Rockets)

Minnesota Wild (3)
Matt Dumba (Portland Winterhawks); Victor Rask (Calgary Hitmen); Jared Spurgeon (Spokane Chiefs)

Montreal Canadiens (7)
Josh Brook+ (Moose Jaw Warriors); Adam Brooks (Regina Pats); Joel Edmundson+ (Kamloops Blazers); Brendan Gallagher (Vancouver Giants); Brett Kulak+ (Vancouver Giants); Carey Price+ (Tri-City Americans); Shea Weber+ (Kelowna Rockets)

Nashville Predators (4)
Cody Glass (Portland Winterhawks); Tanner Jeannot (Moose Jaw Warriors); Ryan Johansen (Portland Winterhawks); Colton Sissons (Kelowna Rockets)

New Jersey Devils (3)
Mason Geertsen (Vancouver Giants); Damon Severson+ (Kelowna Rockets); Ty Smith+ (Spokane Chiefs)

New York Islanders (5)
Johnny Boychuk+ (Moose Jaw Warriors); Mathew Barzal (Seattle Thunderbirds); Zdeno Chara (Prince George Cougars); Thomas Hickey (Seattle Thunderbirds); Ryan Pulock (Brandon Wheat Kings)

New York Rangers (3)
Libor Hajek (Regina Pats); Dryden Hunt (Moose Jaw Warriors); Ryan Reaves (Brandon Wheat Kings)

Ottawa Senators (3)
Tyler Ennis (Medicine Hat Tigers); Nick Holden (Chilliwack Bruins); Parker Kelly (Prince Albert Raiders)

Philadelphia Flyers (6)
Carter Hart (Everett Silvertips); Martin Jones (Calgary Hitmen); Ivan Provorov (Brandon Wheat Kings); Travis Sanheim (Calgary Hitmen); Nate Thompson (Seattle Thunderbirds); Egor Zamula+ (Calgary Hitmen)

Pittsburgh Penguins (1)
Tristan Jarry (Edmonton Oil Kings)

St. Louis Blues (2)
Jake Neighbours*^ (Edmonton Oil Kings); Brayden Schenn (Saskatoon Blades)

San Jose Sharks (5)
Rudolfs Balcers (Kamloops Blazers); Adin Hill (Portland Winterhawks); Evander Kane+ (Vancouver Giants); Lane Pederson (Swift Current Broncos); James Reimer (Red Deer Rebels)

Seattle Kraken (7)
Dennis Cholowski (Portland Winterhawks); Chris Driedger (Calgary Hitmen); Jordan Eberle (Regina Pats); Haydn Fleury (Red Deer Rebels), Morgan Geekie (Tri-City Americans); Kole Lind (Kelowna Rockets); Alexander True (Seattle Thunderbirds)

Tampa Bay Lightning (3)
Cal Foote (Kelowna Rockets); Brayden Point (Moose Jaw Warriors); Brent Seabrook+ (Lethbridge Hurricanes)

Toronto Maple Leafs (2)
Morgan Rielly (Moose Jaw Warriors); Ian Scott+ (Prince Albert Raiders)

Vancouver Canucks (7)
Kyle Burroughs (Medicine Hat Tigers); Justin Dowling (Swift Current Broncos); Micheal Ferland+ (Saskatoon Blades); Tyler Myers (Kelowna Rockets); Nic Petan (Portland Winterhawks); Luke Schenn (Kelowna Rockets); Brandon Sutter+ (Red Deer Rebels)

Vegas Golden Knights (10)
Laurent Brossoit (Edmonton Oil Kings); Dylan Coghlan (Tri-City Americans); Brett Howden+ (Moose Jaw Warriors); Keegan Kolesar (Seattle Thunderbirds); Peyton Krebs*^ (Winnipeg ICE); Brayden McNabb (Kootenay ICE); Nolan Patrick (Brandon Wheat Kings); Chandler Stephenson (Regina Pats); Mark Stone (Brandon Wheat Kings); Shea Theodore (Seattle Thunderbirds)

Washington Capitals (1)
Beck Malenstyn (Swift Current Broncos)

Winnipeg Jets (5)
Eric Comrie (Tri-City Americans); Brenden Dillon (Seattle Thunderbirds); Jansen Harkins (Prince George Cougars); Adam Lowry (Swift Current Broncos); Josh Morrissey (Kelowna Rockets)

Providing the most WHL Alumni to the NHL this season are the Kelowna Rockets, who boast 16 former players on NHL opening night rosters. Four other WHL Clubs feature double digits in WHL Alumni on NHL rosters: the Portland Winterhawks (13), Calgary Hitmen (11), Red Deer Rebels (10) and Vancouver Giants (10).