PRINCETON, N.J. -- Eleven former Ivy League men’s ice hockey players made their way onto National Hockey League (NHL) opening night rosters entering the 2019-20 season.
Five of the Ivy League’s six participating institutions are represented—with Harvard pacing all Ivy League and ECAC Hockey programs with six former players on NHL clubs. Dartmouth, the lone program not represented in the NHL ranks, had a pair of decorated veterans announce their retirements prior to the start of the 2019-20 campaign in Stanley Cup champion
Ben Lovejoy (11 seasons) and
Lee Stempniak (14 seasons).
Fifth-year right wing
Garnet Hathaway represents Brown as a member of the Washington Capitals, after inking a four-year contract as a free agent on July 1. He has tallied 40 points—on 16 goals and 24 assists—in 175 NHL games, including career-highs in games played (76), points (19) and goals (11) in 2018-19.
Cornell is represented by the duo of
Riley Nash and
Joakim Ryan. Nash, a ninth-year center with the Columbus Blue Jackets, has registered 151 points via 56 goals and 95 assists in 477 NHL appearances. Nash, the elder stateman among the Ivies in the NHL, has competed in 64-or-more NHL games in each of the past six campaigns. Ryan, a third-year defenseman that signed a one-year free agent deal with the Los Angeles Kings on July 1, owns 19 points—on three goals and 16 assists—in 106 NHL games.
For the fourth-straight season, Harvard headlines the Ivy League contingent on NHL opening night rosters with six Crimson alumni breaking training camp with NHL clubs—
Ryan Donato,
Adam Fox,
Alexander Kerfoot,
Alex Killorn,
John Marino and
Jimmy Vesey.
Third-year Minnesota Wild center Donato has accumulated 34 points via 15 goals and 19 assists over his first 68 NHL appearances. Rookie defenseman Fox will be making his NHL debut with the New York Rangers after agreeing to terms with the team on May 2 following his 48-point junior season in Cambridge. Kerfoot, who enters his third NHL season as a center for the Toronto Maple Leafs following an offseason trade, owns 85 points—on 34 goals and 51 assists—in 157 NHL contests. Kerfoot posted a career-high 27 assists in 2018-19.
Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Killorn enters his eighth NHL season, having compiled 261 points via 105 goals and 156 assists in 517 NHL games. Each of his career totals paces all Ivies on NHL opening night rosters. Rookie defenseman Marino joins Fox in making his NHL debut with the Pittsburgh Penguins after forgoing his senior season at Harvard and signing with the team on August 8. 2016 Hobey Baker Award winner Vesey opens his fourth NHL season with the Buffalo Sabres following an offseason trade. The left wing has tallied 90 points—on 50 goals and 40 assists—in 240 appearances in his first three professional seasons. Vesey matched or set career-highs in games played (81), points (35), goals (17) and assists (18) in 2018-19.
Seventh-year defenseman
Taylor Fedun of the Dallas Stars is Princeton’s representative. He has appeared in 100 NHL games, notching 26 points on six goals and 20 assists. He matched or set career-highs in games played (54), points (11), goals (4) and assists (7) in 2018-19.
Fourth-year center
John Hayden opens with 2019-20 campaign with the Chicago Blackhawks. The Yale alumnus owns 22 points via eight goals and 14 assists in 113 NHL appearances. He set a personal high-water mark for games played (54) in 2018-19.
Eleven of 31 NHL clubs feature a former Ivy League men’s ice hockey player on opening night.
Twenty-two Ivies made NHL appearances during the 2018-19 regular season, including 15 on opening night rosters. Six of eight Ivies—Hathaway, Nash, Ryan, Kerfoot, Killorn and Fedun—who competed in the Stanley Cup playoffs last season return to NHL clubs to open the 2019-20 campaign. Three of those players—Hathaway, Ryan and Kerfoot—will don different NHL sweaters this season.
Ivy League men’s ice hockey teams open the 2019-20 regular season on Nov. 1.
Brown
Garnet Hathaway, Washington Capitals
Cornell
Riley Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets
Joakim Ryan, Los Angeles Kings
Harvard
Ryan Donato, Minnesota Wild
Adam Fox, New York Rangers
Alexander Kerfoot, Toronto Maple Leafs
Alex Killorn, Tampa Bay Lightning
John Marino, Pittsburgh Penguins
Jimmy Vesey, Buffalo Sabres
Princeton
Taylor Fedun, Dallas Stars
Yale
John Hayden, New Jersey Devils