Nineteen alums dot first-day rosters for 31 NHL clubs
GRAND FORKS, N.D.– After a shortened offseason that just began following the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Stanley Cup championship on Sept. 28, 2020, the National Hockey League is set to open a new season tonight with five games in a shortened 56-game year due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Nineteen UND alums will travel with their respective NHL teams on opening night with others primed to make their season debuts soon.
North Dakota alums that have changed teams since last season include: Drake Caggiula (Chicago to Arizona), Aaron Dell (San Jose to Toronto), Derek Forbort (Calgary to Winnipeg) and Troy Stecher (Vancouver to Detroit).
Tonight’s games include: Tyson Jost (Colorado) vs. St. Louis (Austin Poganski– taxi squad member), Brock Boeser’s Vancouver Canucks vs. Edmonton, Dell and the Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal and Jonathan Toews, who is not currently competing, but is a member of the Chicago Blackhawks as they battle the defending champion Lightning.
Other UND alums that are currently on NHL rosters are: Carter Rowney (Anaheim), Nick Schmaltz (Arizona), Zach Parise (Minnesota), Travis Zajac (New Jersey), Rocco Grimaldi (Nashville), Brock Nelson (New York Islanders), Christian Wolanin (Ottawa), Derek Forbort and Tucker Poolman (Winnipeg) and T.J. Oshie (Washington). Luke Johnson (Minnesota) and Cole Smith (Nashville) were named to their respective team’s taxi squad, a list of maximum six players that will be allowed to travel with the NHL club to be ready for any COVID-related issues or injuries. Dallas (Rhett Gardner) has already postponed its first three games of the season due to COVID concerns, so they have not declared an official roster as of this writing.
