Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Former NCAA Stars Shine on NHL Stage in 2024-25

10 College Hockey Alums Up for 11 Major Individual Awards

Former NCAA Stars Shine on NHL Stage in 2024-25
UMass alum Cale Makar led NHL defensemen with 92 points (Photo: Getty Images).

College hockey alumni continued to impact the National Hockey League in significant ways during the 2024-25 regular season, not only on the ice but behind the bench and in the front office.

A total of 340 former college hockey players appeared in the NHL during the regular season, second-most ever behind the record 349 in 2021-22. Additionally, 42 percent of all NHL debuts this season were made by NCAA alumni, the highest rate in history.

Forty-six NCAA Division I schools had at least one alum playing in the NHL in 2024-25. Michigan led all schools with 31 alumni in the NHL, followed by Boston College (28), Boston University (25), Minnesota (25), Northeastern (15), UMass (14), Minnesota Duluth (14), North Dakota (14), Notre Dame (14) and Providence (14).

A trio of former college hockey standouts – Colorado’s Cale Makar (UMass), Columbus’ Zach Werenski (Michigan), and Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes (Michigan) – finished 1-2-3 among NHL defensemen in scoring. The NHL’s rookie scoring race was topped by Montreal defenseman Lane Hutson (Boston University), whose 66 points set a franchise record for a first-year defenseman.

Former college hockey players also stood out between the pipes, where Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck (UMass Lowell) and Dallas’ Jake Oettinger (Boston University) ranked first and third, respectively, in wins.

Three of the eight NHLers to score 40-plus goals this season were college hockey alumni: Buffalo’s Tage Thompson (UConn), Tampa Bay’s Jake Guentzel (Omaha), and Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor (Michigan).

NCAA Alums in the NHL | Alums in NHL Front Offices | NHL Matchup Tool

Other highlights included:

AWARDS

  • Two-time Vezina Trophy winner Hellebuyck was again named one of three finalists for the award, the fifth time in his career. He was also chosen as a finalist for the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player.
  • Hughes, Makar and Werenski were named the three finalists for the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman. A former college hockey player has won the award in three of the past four seasons: Hughes in 2023-24, Makar in 2021-22 and the New York Rangers’ Adam Fox (Harvard) in 2020-21.
  • Hutson and San Jose forward Macklin Celebrini (Boston University), who were collegiate teammates at BU in 2023-24, are two of the three finalists for Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie.
  • Vegas center Jack Eichel (Boston University) was named one of three finalists for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, awarded “to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.” An NCAA alum has won the award in three of the past four seasons: Carolina defenseman Jaccob Slavin (Colorado College) in 2023-24 and 2020-21, and Connor in 2021-22.
  • Two of the three finalists for the Jack Adams Award as top coach were NCAA alumni: Washington’s Spencer Carbery (Alaska Anchorage, St. Norbert) and Montreal’s Martin St. Louis (Vermont).
  • For the third straight season, Florida general manager Bill Zito (Yale) is a finalist for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award.

MILESTONES

  • Two NCAA alumni reached 1,000 career NHL games: Colorado/Philadelphia defenseman Erik Johnson (Minnesota) and Tampa Bay defenseman Ryan McDonagh (Wisconsin).
  • New York Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick (UMass) won his 400th game, becoming just the 15th goalie in NHL history to reach that plateau.
  • Fifty-two NCAA alumni made their NHL debuts, including a record-tying 16 who had played in the NCAA earlier in the same season.

STATISTICAL LEADERS

  • Ten NCAA alums led their respective teams in goals: Minnesota’s Matt Boldy (Boston College), Montreal’s Cole Caufield (Wisconsin), Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor (Michigan), Chicago’s Ryan Donato (Harvard), Columbus’ Adam Fantilli (Michigan), Utah’s Clayton Keller (Boston University), the New York Islanders’ Anders Lee (Notre Dame), Seattle’s Jaden Schwartz (Colorado College), Buffalo’s Tage Thompson (UConn), and Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk (Boston University).
  • The top-scoring defensemen on 14 NHL teams were college hockey alumni.
  • Four of the NHL’s five top-scoring rookies played NCAA hockey: Hutson, Celebrini, San Jose’s Will Smith (Boston College) and Anaheim’s Cutter Gauthier (Boston College).

FRONT OFFICE

  • Nearly half (15 out of 32) of the NHL’s general managers in 2024-25 played college hockey.
  • More than 40 percent (13 out of 32) of the NHL’s head coaches were NCAA alumni, including recent Jack Adams winners Rod Brind’Amour (Michigan State), Jim Montgomery (Maine) and John Tortorella (Maine).

EDUCATION

  • Many active and retired NHL players continued to work toward completion of their college degrees, including Boston University alum and 11-year NHL forward Alex Chiasson, who received his diploma earlier this month. Ninety-three percent of NCAA Division I men’s hockey players earn their degrees.