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'U' Sent 26 to NHL in 2022-23
6/16/2023 1:30:00 PM | Men's Hockey
Kessel wins third cup
MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota saw 26 former players take the ice in the National Hockey League throughout the 2022-23 season, the most of any NCAA men's hockey program, headlined by recently crowned three-time Stanley Cup champion Phil Kessel of the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
Fourteen of those players put on their team's sweater for more than 60 games this season, while four made their NHL debuts during the year, including three at the end of the Golden Gophers postseason run.
Kessel played in the 990th-consecutive game of his career Oct. 25 setting the Iron Man record for most games played without missing a contest, while also scoring the 400th goal of his NHL career the same night. He continued to play every game during the regular season, extending that record to 1,064-straight appearances and became the first player representing the Maroon and Gold to hoist the Stanley Cup for the third time after winning it with the Pittsburgh Penguins in both 2016 and 2017.
The week before Kessel's record, Alex Goligoski stepped on the ice at the Xcel Energy Center for his 1,000th career NHL game Oct. 20, joining five former Gophers to achieve the milestone. A pair of rookie teammates were on the opposite end of that spectrum for the Wild as both Sammy Walker (Dec. 10) and Brock Faber (Apr. 10) played game No. 1 with their hometown team this year.
Blake Wheeler became the third former 'U' player to score at least 300 career goals when he found the back of the net in November playing for the Winnipeg Jets. The Plymouth, Minn., native added another milestone to his resume in February, recording his 600th career assist and was just the 10th American-born player in NHL history to hit the mark.
Minnesota has sent an NCAA-record 123 players to the NHL in team history, including 26 this season alone, which is more than any other collegiate program for both categories.
Gophers in the NHL (2022-23)
Nick Bjugstad | Edmonton Oilers & Arizona Coyotes (78 GP, 17 G, 12 A, 29 PT, +13) PLAYOFFS (12 GP, 3 G, 0 A, 3 PT)
Travis Boyd | Arizona Coyotes (82 GP, 15 G, 19 A, 34 PT, -32)
Brock Faber| Minnesota Wild (2 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PT, +2) PLAYOFFS (6 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PT)
Hudson Fasching | New York Islanders (49 GP, 10 G, 9 A, 19 PT, +10) PLAYOFFS (6 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PT)
Alex Goligoski | Minnesota Wild (46 GP, 2 G, 4 A, 6 PT, -9)
Erik Haula | New Jersey Devils (80 GP, 14 G, 27 A, 41 PT, +13) PLAYOFFS (12 GP, 4 G, 2 A, 6 PT)
Justin Holl | Toronto Maple Leafs (80 GP, 2 G, 16 A, 18 PT, +15) PLAYOFFS (8 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 PT)
Erik Johnson | Colorado Avalanche (63 GP, 0 G, 8 A, 8 PT, +8) PLAYOFFS (7 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 PT)
Phil Kessel | Vegas Golden Knights (82 GP, 14 G, 22 A, 36 PT, -7) PLAYOFFS (4 GP, 0 G, 2 A, 2 PT)
Matthew Knies| Toronto Maple Leafs (3 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 PT, +1) PLAYOFFS (7 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 PT)
Jackson LaCombe| Anaheim Ducks (2 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PT, -1)
Nick Leddy | St. Louis Blues (76 GP, 2 G, 21 A, 23 PT, +3)
Vinni Lettieri | Boston Bruins (1 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PT, -1)
Ryan Lindgren | New York Rangers (63 GP, 1 G, 17 A, 18 PT, +29) PLAYOFFS (7 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 PT)
Ben Meyers | Colorado Avalanche (39 GP, 4 G, 0 A, 4 PT, -6) PLAYOFFS (6 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PT)
Casey Mittelstadt | Buffalo Sabres (82 GP, 15 G, 44 A, 59 PT, -8)
Tommy Novak | Nashville Predators (51 GP, 17 G, 26 A, 43 PT, +5)
Kyle Okposo | Buffalo Sabres (75 GP, 11 G, 17 A, 28 PT, -7)
Rem Pitlick | Montreal Canadiens (46 GP, 6 G, 9 A, 15 PT, -15)
Sampo Ranta | Colorado Avalanche (6 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PT, 0)
Mike Reilly | Boston Bruins (10 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 PT, 0)
Nate Schmidt | Winnipeg Jets (71 GP, 7 G, 12 A, 19 PT, +15) PLAYOFFS (5 GP, 0 G, 2 A, 2 PT)
Nick Seeler | Philadelphia Flyers (77 GP, 4 G, 10 A, 14 PT, +1)
Brady Skjei | Carolina Hurricanes (81 GP, 18 G, 20 A, 38 PT, +7) PLAYOFFS (15 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 PT)
Sammy Walker| Minnesota Wild (9 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 PT, -1)
Blake Wheeler | Winnipeg Jets (72 GP, 16 G, 39 A, 55 PT, -3) PLAYOFFS (5 GP, 2 G, 4 A, 6 PT)
Fourteen of those players put on their team's sweater for more than 60 games this season, while four made their NHL debuts during the year, including three at the end of the Golden Gophers postseason run.
Kessel played in the 990th-consecutive game of his career Oct. 25 setting the Iron Man record for most games played without missing a contest, while also scoring the 400th goal of his NHL career the same night. He continued to play every game during the regular season, extending that record to 1,064-straight appearances and became the first player representing the Maroon and Gold to hoist the Stanley Cup for the third time after winning it with the Pittsburgh Penguins in both 2016 and 2017.
The week before Kessel's record, Alex Goligoski stepped on the ice at the Xcel Energy Center for his 1,000th career NHL game Oct. 20, joining five former Gophers to achieve the milestone. A pair of rookie teammates were on the opposite end of that spectrum for the Wild as both Sammy Walker (Dec. 10) and Brock Faber (Apr. 10) played game No. 1 with their hometown team this year.
Blake Wheeler became the third former 'U' player to score at least 300 career goals when he found the back of the net in November playing for the Winnipeg Jets. The Plymouth, Minn., native added another milestone to his resume in February, recording his 600th career assist and was just the 10th American-born player in NHL history to hit the mark.
Minnesota has sent an NCAA-record 123 players to the NHL in team history, including 26 this season alone, which is more than any other collegiate program for both categories.
Gophers in the NHL (2022-23)
Nick Bjugstad | Edmonton Oilers & Arizona Coyotes (78 GP, 17 G, 12 A, 29 PT, +13) PLAYOFFS (12 GP, 3 G, 0 A, 3 PT)
Travis Boyd | Arizona Coyotes (82 GP, 15 G, 19 A, 34 PT, -32)
Brock Faber| Minnesota Wild (2 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PT, +2) PLAYOFFS (6 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PT)
Hudson Fasching | New York Islanders (49 GP, 10 G, 9 A, 19 PT, +10) PLAYOFFS (6 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PT)
Alex Goligoski | Minnesota Wild (46 GP, 2 G, 4 A, 6 PT, -9)
Erik Haula | New Jersey Devils (80 GP, 14 G, 27 A, 41 PT, +13) PLAYOFFS (12 GP, 4 G, 2 A, 6 PT)
Justin Holl | Toronto Maple Leafs (80 GP, 2 G, 16 A, 18 PT, +15) PLAYOFFS (8 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 PT)
Erik Johnson | Colorado Avalanche (63 GP, 0 G, 8 A, 8 PT, +8) PLAYOFFS (7 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 PT)
Phil Kessel | Vegas Golden Knights (82 GP, 14 G, 22 A, 36 PT, -7) PLAYOFFS (4 GP, 0 G, 2 A, 2 PT)
Matthew Knies| Toronto Maple Leafs (3 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 PT, +1) PLAYOFFS (7 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 PT)
Jackson LaCombe| Anaheim Ducks (2 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PT, -1)
Nick Leddy | St. Louis Blues (76 GP, 2 G, 21 A, 23 PT, +3)
Vinni Lettieri | Boston Bruins (1 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PT, -1)
Ryan Lindgren | New York Rangers (63 GP, 1 G, 17 A, 18 PT, +29) PLAYOFFS (7 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 PT)
Ben Meyers | Colorado Avalanche (39 GP, 4 G, 0 A, 4 PT, -6) PLAYOFFS (6 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PT)
Casey Mittelstadt | Buffalo Sabres (82 GP, 15 G, 44 A, 59 PT, -8)
Tommy Novak | Nashville Predators (51 GP, 17 G, 26 A, 43 PT, +5)
Kyle Okposo | Buffalo Sabres (75 GP, 11 G, 17 A, 28 PT, -7)
Rem Pitlick | Montreal Canadiens (46 GP, 6 G, 9 A, 15 PT, -15)
Sampo Ranta | Colorado Avalanche (6 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PT, 0)
Mike Reilly | Boston Bruins (10 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 PT, 0)
Nate Schmidt | Winnipeg Jets (71 GP, 7 G, 12 A, 19 PT, +15) PLAYOFFS (5 GP, 0 G, 2 A, 2 PT)
Nick Seeler | Philadelphia Flyers (77 GP, 4 G, 10 A, 14 PT, +1)
Brady Skjei | Carolina Hurricanes (81 GP, 18 G, 20 A, 38 PT, +7) PLAYOFFS (15 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 PT)
Sammy Walker| Minnesota Wild (9 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 PT, -1)
Blake Wheeler | Winnipeg Jets (72 GP, 16 G, 39 A, 55 PT, -3) PLAYOFFS (5 GP, 2 G, 4 A, 6 PT)
Highlights: Gophers 4, Michigan 2
Thursday, February 26
Highlights: Gophers 2, Notre Dame 3
Saturday, February 14
Highlights: Gophers 2, Notre Dame 2
Friday, February 13
Gopher Round Table: Men's Hockey
Thursday, February 12