12 Former Wheat Kings Open in NHL
October 8, 2015 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Brandon Wheat Kings News Release
Calgary, AB - The Western Hockey League is proud to announce that 146 WHL Alumni, including twelve former Brandon Wheat Kings are on National Hockey League opening day rosters for the start of the 2015-16 season.
Led by the Vancouver Canucks, whose roster includes nine WHL grads, all 30 NHL Clubs boast at least one former WHL player. The Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs enter the 2015-16 season each with seven WHL grads on their respective rosters.
The list of former Wheat Kings occupying NHL roster spots include blueliners Travis Hamonic and Ryan Pulock of the New York Islanders.
The others are Michael Ferland (Calgary), Matt Calvert (Columbus), Rob Klinkhammer (Edmonton), Jordin Tootoo (New Jersey), Mark Stone (Ottawa), Brayden Schenn (Philadelphia), Eric Fehr (Pittsburgh), Ryan Reaves (St. Louis), Jason Chimera (Washington) and Dustin Byfuglien of the Winnipeg Jets, who kick off their 2015-16 season Thursday night in Boston against the Bruins.
Of the twelve, four were members of the 2010 MasterCard Memorial Cup Host Team - Calvert, Hamonic, Schenn and Ferland.
Below is the complete list of WHL Alumni who are on NHL opening day rosters for the 2015-16 season:
Anaheim Ducks (5)
Ryan Getzlaf; Calgary Hitmen
Anton Khudobin; Saskatoon Blades
Clayton Stoner; Tri-City Americans
*Kenton Helgesen; Calgary Hitmen
*Nate Thompson; Seattle Thunderbirds
Arizona Coyotes (7)
Kyle Chipchura; Prince Albert Raiders
Shane Doan; Kamloops Blazers
Stefan Elliott; Saskatoon Blades
Boyd Gordon; Red Deer Rebels
Martin Hanzal; Red Deer Rebels
Jordan Martinook; Vancouver Giants
Michael Stone; Calgary Hitmen
Boston Bruins (3)
Brett Connolly; Prince George Cougars
Joe Morrow; Portland Winterhawks
*Zdeno Chara; Prince George Cougars
Buffalo Sabres (7)
Tyler Ennis; Medicine Hat Tigers
Cody Franson; Vancouver Giants
Evander Kane; Vancouver Giants
Mark Pysyk; Edmonton Oil Kings
Sam Reinhart; Kootenay ICE
*Josh Gorges, Kelowna Rockets
*Brendan Guhle, Prince Albert Raiders
Calgary Flames (6)
Mikael Backlund; Kelowna Rockets
Lance Bouma, Vancouver Giants
Deryk Engelland; Moose Jaw Warriors
Micheal Ferland; Brandon Wheat Kings, Saskatoon Blades
Brett Kulak; Vancouver Giants
Kris Russell; Medicine Hat Tigers
Carolina Hurricanes (3)
Victor Rask; Calgary Hitmen
Kris Versteeg; Lethbridge Hurricanes, Kamloops Blazers, Red Deer Rebels
Cam Ward; Red Deer Rebels
Chicago Blackhawks (4)
Marian Hossa; Portland Winterhawks
Duncan Keith; Kelowna Rockets
Brent Seabrook; Lethbridge Hurricanes
*Michal Rozsival; Swift Current Broncos
Colorado Avalanche (6)
Tyson Barrie; Kelowna Rockets
Blake Comeau; Kelowna Rockets
Nick Holden; Chilliwack Bruins
Jarome Iginla; Kamloops Blazers
Cody McLeod; Portland Winterhawks
Brad Stuart; Regina Pats, Calgary Hitmen
Columbus Blue Jackets (6)
Matt Calvert; Brandon Wheat Kings
Kevin Connauton; Vancouver Giants
Brandon Dubinsky; Portland Winterhawks
Scott Hartnell; Prince Albert Raiders
Ryan Johansen; Portland Winterhawks
Ryan Murray; Everett Silvertips
Dallas Stars (5)
Jamie Benn; Kelowna Rockets
Cody Eakin; Swift Current Broncos, Kootenay ICE
Vernon Fiddler; Kelowna Rockets, Medicine Hat Tigers
Travis Moen; Kelowna Rockets
Colton Sceviour; Portland Winterhawks, Lethbridge Hurricanes
Detroit Red Wings (3)
Landon Ferraro; Red Deer Rebels, Everett Silvertips
Mike Green; Saskatoon Blades
*Darren Helm; Medicine Hat Tigers
Edmonton Oilers (7)
Brandon Davidson; Regina Pats
Andrew Ference; Portland Winterhawks
Rob Klinkhammer; Lethbridge Hurricanes, Seattle Thunderbirds, Portland Winterhawks, Brandon Wheat Kings
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins; Red Deer Rebels
Griffin Reinhart; Edmonton Oil Kings
*Jordan Eberle; Regina Pats
*Martin Gernat; Edmonton Oil Kings
Florida Panthers (3)
Quinton Howden; Moose Jaw Warriors
Alex Petrovic; Red Deer Rebels
*Steven Hodges; Chilliwack Bruins, Victoria Royals
L.A. Kings (5)
Milan Lucic; Vancouver Giants
Brayden McNabb; Kootenay ICE
Jeff Schultz; Calgary Hitmen
Jordan Weal; Regina Pats
*Dwight King; Lethbridge Hurricanes
Minnesota Wild (5)
Devan Dubnyk; Kamloops Blazers
Matt Dumba; Red Deer Rebels, Portland Winterhawks
Darcy Kuemper; Red Deer Rebels
Nino Niederreiter; Portland Winterhawks
Jared Spurgeon; Spokane Chiefs
Montreal Canadiens (4)
Tomas Fleischmann; Moose Jaw Warriors
Brendan Gallagher; Vancouver Giants
Carey Price; Tri-City Americans
Dale Weise; Swift Current Broncos
Nashville Predators (5)
Victor Bartley; Kamloops Blazers, Regina Pats
Paul Gaustad; Portland Winterhawks
Barret Jackman; Regina Pats
Seth Jones; Portland Winterhawks
Shea Weber; Kelowna Rockets
New Jersey Devils (3)
David Schlemko; Medicine Hat Tigers
Damon Severson; Kelowna Rockets
Jordin Tootoo; Brandon Wheat Kings
New York Islanders (4)
Johnny Boychuk; Calgary Hitmen, Moose Jaw Warriors
Travis Hamonic; Moose Jaw Warriors, Brandon Wheat Kings
Ryan Pulock; Brandon Wheat Kings
*Thomas Hickey; Seattle Thunderbirds
New York Rangers (5)
Emerson Etem; Medicine Hat Tigers
Dylan McIlrath; Moose Jaw Warriors
Jarret Stoll; Edmonton ICE, Kootenay ICE
*Mackenzie Skapski; Kootenay ICE
*Nick Tarnasky; Vancouver Giants, Kelowna Rockets, Lethbridge Hurricanes
Ottawa Senators (6)
Jared Cowen; Spokane Chiefs
Curtis Lazar; Edmonton Oil Kings
Clarke MacArthur; Medicine Hat Tigers
Zack Smith; Swift Current Broncos
Mark Stone; Brandon Wheat Kings
*Chris Phillips; Prince Albert Raiders, Lethbridge Hurricanes
Philadelphia Flyers (6)
Radko Gudas; Everett Silvertips
Brandon Manning; Chilliwack Bruins
Brayden Schenn; Brandon Wheat Kings, Saskatoon Blades
Luke Schenn; Kelowna Rockets
Nick Schultz; Prince Albert Raiders
Ryan White; Calgary Hitmen
Pittsburgh Penguins (1)
*Eric Fehr; Brandon Wheat Kings
St. Louis Blues (6)
Jay Bouwmeester; Medicine Hat Tigers
Kyle Brodziak; Moose Jaw Warriors
Troy Brouwer; Moose Jaw Warriors
Joel Edmundson; Moose Jaw Warriors, Kamloops Blazers
Ryan Reaves; Brandon Wheat Kings
Scottie Upshall; Kamloops Blazers
San Jose Sharks (3)
Brenden Dillon; Seattle Thunderbirds
Martin Jones; Calgary Hitmen
Patrick Marleau, Seattle Thunderbirds
Tampa Bay Lightning (2)
Braydon Coburn; Portland Winterhawks
Tyler Johnson; Spokane Chiefs
Toronto Maple Leafs (7)
Michael Grabner; Spokane Chiefs
Joffrey Lupul; Medicine Hat Tigers
Martin Marincin; Prince George Cougars, Regina Pats
Dion Phaneuf; Red Deer Rebels
Roman Polak; Kootenay ICE
James Reimer; Red Deer Rebels
Morgan Rielly; Moose Jaw Warriors
Vancouver Canucks (9)
Sven Baertschi; Portland Winterhawks
Adam Cracknell; Kootenay ICE
Derek Dorsett; Medicine Hat Tigers
Alexander Edler; Kelowna Rockets
Dan Hamhuis; Prince George Cougars
Jannik Hansen; Portland Winterhawks
Luca Sbisa; Lethbridge Hurricanes, Portland Winterhawks
Brandon Sutter; Red Deer Rebels
Jake Virtanen; Calgary Flames
Washington Capitals (4)
Karl Alzner; Calgary Hitmen
Jason Chimera; Medicine Hat Tigers, Brandon Wheat Kings
Braden Holtby; Saskatoon Blades
Brooks Laich; Moose Jaw Warriors, Seattle Thunderbirds
Winnipeg Jets (6)
Dustin Byfuglien; Brandon Wheat Kings, Prince George Cougars
Andrew Ladd; Vancouver Giants, Calgary Hitmen
Adam Lowry; Swift Current Broncos
Tyler Myers; Kelowna Rockets
Nicolas Petan; Portland Winterhawks
Paul Postma; Swift Current Broncos, Calgary Hitmen
As for the Wheat Kings, they continue a 4-game home stand Friday night against the visiting Kootenay Ice. Tickets are on sale at the Keystone box office, by calling 726-3555 or online at keystonecentre.com.
Western Hockey League Stories from October 8, 2015
- Silvertips Open 2015-16 Home Schedule Saturday at XFINITY Arena for "Fill the House" Night - Everett Silvertips
- Blades Trade Braid to Kamloops - Saskatoon Blades
- Blazers Acquire Chasetan Braid from Blades - Kamloops Blazers
- Whittingham Suspended Three Games - Spokane Chiefs
- Wheat Kings Busy Weekend Planned - Brandon Wheat Kings
- Four Former Chiefs on NHL Opening Rosters - Spokane Chiefs
- 12 Former Wheat Kings Open in NHL - Brandon Wheat Kings
- BRP and the WHL, OHL and QMJHL Announce Multi-Year League Sponsorship Across All 52 Canadian Teams - WHL
- 146 WHL Alumni Listed on NHL Opening Day Rosters - WHL
- Food and Beverage Specials at the Brandt Centre - Regina Pats
- Raiders Launch Cancer Awareness Campaign - Prince Albert Raiders
- Ams Squeeze by Blazers 4-3 - Kamloops Blazers
- Royals Drop Chiefs - Victoria Royals
- Blades Keep Ice Cold - Saskatoon Blades
- Americans Rally Past Blazers 4-3 - Tri-City Americans
- Giants Fall Short in Moose Jaw - Vancouver Giants
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