GRAND FORKS, N.D. – A total of twelve alums from the North Dakota hockey program will be competing for Lord Stanley's Cup beginning on May 15, when the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin. UND will have at least one former player on the ice or behind the bench in seven of the eight series to begin play.
Following a 56-game regular season, the top four teams in each division have advanced to the first round of the playoffs. The No. 1 and 4 seeds will battle as well as the No. 2 and 3 before the winners of each round will play each other in the second round.
After the second round of inter-divisional play has ended, the remaining teams of the North (Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Montreal) and East (Pittsburgh, Washington, Boston and New York Islanders) divisions will square off as well as the Central (Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay and Nashville) and West (Colorado, Vegas, Minnesota and St. Louis) will play in the newly-named semifinal round. The final teams standing will vie for the Stanley Cup.
Eighteen different UND products have hoisted Lord Stanley's Cup, most recently T.J. Oshie and Shane Gersich in 2018 with the Capitals. UND has had a player on a Stanley Cup-winning team in seven of the last 11 seasons.
UND ALUMS IN THE 2021 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS
North Division:
(2) Edmonton Oilers: Head Coach Dave Tippett
(3) Winnipeg Jets: Defensemen Derek Forbort and Tucker Poolman
East Division:
(2) Washington Capitals: Forward T.J. Oshie
(4) New York Islanders: Forwards
Brock Nelson and Travis Zajac
Central Division:
(2) Florida Panthers: Defenseman
Matt Kiersted
(4) Nashville Predators: Forward Rocco Grimaldi
West Division:
(1) Colorado Avalanche: Forward Tyson Jost
(3) Minnesota Wild: Forwards Zach Parise and Luke Johnson
(4) St. Louis Blues: Forward Austin Poganski
UND ALUMS ON STANLEY CUP-WINNING TEAMS
Year Player Team
1983-84 Gord Sherven Edmonton Oilers
1985-86 Craig Ludwig Montreal Canadiens
1989-90 Geoff Smith Edmonton Oilers
1990-91 Jay Caufield Pittsburgh Penguins
1991-92 Jay Caufield Pittsburgh Penguins
1995-96 Troy Murray Colorado Avalanche
1998-99 Ed Belfour Dallas Stars
1998-99 Tony Hrkac Dallas Stars
1998-99 Craig Ludwig Dallas Stars
1998-99 Rick Wilson (AC) Dallas Stars
1999-00 Brad Bombardir New Jersey Devils
2005-06 Mike Commodore Carolina Hurricanes
2009-10 Jonathan Toews Chicago Blackhawks
2011-12 Matt Greene Los Angeles Kings
2012-13 Jonathan Toews Chicago Blackhawks
2013-14 Matt Greene Los Angeles Kings
2014-15 Jonathan Toews Chicago Blackhawks
2016-17 Carter Rowney Pittsburgh Penguins
2017-18 Shane Gersich Washington Capitals
2017-18 T.J. Oshie Washington Capitals
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