NHL Opening Night rosters have plenty of NAHL alumni

October 7, 2015

The National Hockey League (NHL) begins the 2015-16 season tonight and the North American Hockey League (NAHL) is pleased to announce that a total of 54 NAHL alumni are listed on opening night rosters of NHL clubs. 25 of the 30 NHL clubs begin the season with at least one NAHL alumni on the roster.

The list also includes former NAHL Coach of the Year Jon Cooper, who enters his third full season as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Cooper began his NAHL coaching career with the Texarkana Bandits in the 2003-04 season. He coached in the NAHL a total of five seasons. In 2004-05 and again in 2007-08, he was honored as the NAHL Coach of the Year. Cooper took the Lightning all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals last season

The list also includes five of the 30 starting goalies in the NHL. They include Craig Anderson (Ottawa), Ben Bishop (Tampa Bay), Jimmy Howard (Detroit), Ryan Miller (Vancouver) and Cory Schnieder (New Jersey).

That list of alumni includes former Austin Bruins defenseman Christian Folin, who made the opening roster of the Minnesota Wild. Folin played in the 2012 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament.

Over 90 NAHL alumni played at least a game in the NHL last season.

Anaheim Ducks: Cam Fowler, Ryan Kesler, Patrick Maroon

Arizona Coyotes: Dylan Reese, John Scott

Boston Bruins: Jimmy Hayes, Zach Trotman

Buffalo Sabres: David Legwand

Carolina Hurricanes: Justin Faulk, Nathan Gerbe, Ron Hainsey, John-Michael Liles, James Wisniewski

Chicago Blackhawks: Scott Darling, Patrick Kane

Colorado Avalanche: Erik Johnson

Columbus Blue Jackets: Nick Foligno, Jack Johnson, Brandon Saad

Dallas Stars: Patrick Eaves

Detroit Red Wings: Jimmy Howard, Drew Miller

Florida Panthers: Al Montoya