CANADIAN JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
CJHL Media Update
Release Date: Thursday, October 26, 2023
NHL teams well represented with CJHL alumni
TORONTO – Just over two weeks into the 2023-24 National Hockey League (NHL) campaign and you’ll find many of the competing clubs are well represented with a plethora of Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) alumni.
Among those that played in a minimum of five games in the CJHL, as part of their respective junior careers, there are currently 71 alumnus on NHL rosters.
There are also 12 others, who either played or coached in the CJHL, who are presently serving as head coaches in the NHL.
Among the list of players are a pair of former CJHL Most Valuable Players, in standout defencemen Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche and Buffalo Sabres rookie goaltender Devon Levi.
Makar starred for the Brooks Bandits (AJHL) while Levi excelled with the Carleton Place Canadians (CCHL).
The list of NHL bench bosses who spent time in the CJHL includes the head coaches of the past two Stanley Cup winners, Bruce Cassidy of the Vegas Golden Knights and Jared Bednar of the Avalanche.
You’ll find there is at least one alumnus from each of the nine member leagues that comprise the CJHL on the list.
The following are the CJHL alumni presently on NHL rosters, along with the clubs they were part of. Below that are the 12 NHL head coaches, who also have CJHL roots:
| CJHL ALUMNI ON NHL ROSTERS | |||||
| PLAYER | NAME | POS. | NHL TEAM | CJHL TEAM(S) | LEAGUE |
| Josh | Anderson | F | Montreal Canadiens | Burlington Cougars | OJHL |
| Drake | Batherson | F | Ottawa Senators | Valley Wildcats | MHL |
| Matt | Benning | D | San Jose Sharks | Spruce Grove Saints | AJHL |
| Jacob | Bernard-Docker | D | Ottawa Senators | Okotoks Oilers | AJHL |
| Robert | Bortuzzo | D | St. Louis Blues | Fort William North Stars | SIJHL |
| Josh | Brown | D | Arizona Coyotes | Whitby Fury | OJHL |
| Connor | Brown | F | Edmonton Oilers | St. Michael’s Buzzers | OJHL |
| Brent | Burns | D | Carolina Hurricanes | Couchiching Terriers | OJHL |
| Michael | Carcone | F | Arizona Coyotes | Stouffville Spirit | OJHL |
| Andrew | Cogliano | F | Colorado Avalanche | St. Michael’s Buzzers | OJHL |
| Nick | Cousins | F | Florida Panthers | Trenton Hercs | OJHL |
| Justin | Danforth | F | Columbus Blue Jackets | Cobourg Cougars | OJHL |
| Calvin | de Haan | D | Tampa Bay Lightning | Kemptville 73s | CCHL |
| Dylan | DeMelo | D | Winnipeg Jets | Mississauga Chargers | OJHL |
| Travis | Dermott | D | Arizona Coyotes | Newmarket Hurricanes | OJHL |
| Phil | Di Guiseppe | F | Vancouver Canucks | Villanova Knights | OJHL |
| Jake | Evans | F | Montreal Canadiens | St. Michael’s Buzzers | OJHL |
| Mario | Ferraro | D | San Jose Sharks | Toronto Patriots | OJHL |
| Mark | Friedman | D | Vancouver Canucks | North York Rangers | OJHL |
| Dennis | Gilbert | D | Calgary Flames | Buffalo Jr. Sabres | OJHL |
| Mark | Giordano | D | Toronto Maple Leafs | Brampton Capitals | OJHL |
| Claude | Giroux | F | Ottawa Senators | Cumberland Grads | CCHL |
| Brandon | Hagel | F | Tampa Bay Lightning | Whitecourt Wolverines | AJHL |
| Travis | Hamonic | D | Ottawa Senators | Winnipeg Saints | MJHL |
| Joel | Hanley | D | Dallas Stars | Newmarket Hurricanes | OJHL |
| Adin | Hill | G | Vegas Golden Knights | Calgary Canucks | AJHL |
| Dylan | Holloway | F | Edmonton Oilers | Okotoks Oilers | AJHL |
| Jack | Hughes | F | New Jersey Devils | Georgetown Raiders | OJHL |
| Ben | Hutton | D | Vegas Golden Knights | Kemptville 73s | CCHL |
| Nepean Raiders | CCHL | ||||
| Zach | Hyman | F | Edmonton Oilers | Hamilton Red Wings | OJHL |
| Ross | Johnston | LW | Anaheim Ducks | Summerside Western Capitals | MHL |
| Boris | Katchouk | F | Chicago Blackhawks | Soo Thunderbirds | NOJHL |
| Johnathan | Kovacevic | D | Montreal Canadiens | Hawkesbury Hawks | CCHL |
| Montreal Canadiens | Ottawa Jr. Senators | CCHL | |||
| Devon | Levi | G | Buffalo Sabres | Carleton Place Canadians | CCHL |
| Ryan | Lomberg | F | Florida Panthers | Upper Canada Patriots | OJHL |
| Cale | Makar | D | Colorado Avalanche | Brooks Bandits | AJHL |
| Mason | Marchment | F | Dallas Stars | Cobourg Cougars | OJHL |
| Mitchell | Marner | F | Toronto Maple Leafs | St. Michael’s Buzzers | OJHL |
| Jordan | Martinook | F | Carolina Hurricanes | Drayton Valley Thunder | AJHL |
| Jack | McBain | F | Arizona Coyotes | Toronto Jr. Canadiens | OJHL |
| Mason | McTavish | C | Anaheim Ducks | Pembroke Lumber Kings | CCHL |
| Colin | Miller | D | New Jersey Devils | Soo Thunderbirds | NOJHL |
| Ian | Mitchell | D | Boston Bruins | Spruce Grove Saints | AJHL |
| Ryan | O’Reilly | F | Nashville Predators | Toronto Jr. Canadiens | OJHL |
| Brayden | Pachal | D | Vegas Golden Knights | Estevan Bruins | SJHL |
| Colton | Parayko | D | St. Louis Blues | Fort McMurray Oil Barons | AJHL |
| Nick | Paul | F | Tampa Bay Lightning | Mississauga Chargers | OJHL |
| Cole | Perfetti | F | Winnipeg Jets | Whitby Fury | OJHL |
| David | Perron | F | Detroit Red Wings | Panthères de St-Jérôme | LHJAAAQ |
| Jack | Quinn | F | Buffalo Sabres | Kanata Lasers | CCHL |
| Darren | Raddysh | D | Tampa Bay Lightning | Georgetown Raiders | OJHL |
| Evan | Rodrigues | F | Florida Panthers | Georgetown Raiders | OJHL |
| Travis | Sanheim | D | Philadelphia Flyers | Winkler Flyers | MJHL |
| Jaden | Schwartz | F | Seattle Kraken | Notre Dame Hounds | SJHL |
| Devin | Shore | F | Seattle Kraken | Whitby Fury | OJHL |
| Cole | Smith | F | Nashville Predators | Steinbach Pistons | MJHL |
| Brendan | Smith | D | New Jersey Devils | St. Michael’s Buzzers | OJHL |
| Reilly | Smith | F | Pittsburgh Penguins | St. Michael’s Buzzers | OJHL |
| Carson | Soucy | D | Vancouver Canucks | Spruce Grove Saints | AJHL |
| Jordan | Spence | F | Los Angeles Kings | Summerside Western Capitals | MHL |
| Cam | Talbot | G | Los Angeles Kings | Hamilton Red Wings | OJHL |
| Chris | Tanev | D | Calgary Flames | Markham Waxers | OJHL |
| Stouffville Spirit | OJHL | ||||
| Durham Fury | OJHL | ||||
| Brandon | Tanev | F | Seattle Kraken | Markham Waxers | OJHL |
| John | Tavares | F | Toronto Maple Leafs | Milton Icehawks | OJHL |
| Logan | Thompson | G | Vegas Golden Knights | Grande Prairie Storm | AJHL |
| Owen | Tippett | F | Philadelphia Flyers | Toronto Jr. Canadiens | OJHL |
| Matt | Tomkins | G | Tampa Bay Lightning | Sherwood Park Crusaders | AJHL |
| Sean | Walker | D | Philadelphia Flyers | Newmarket Hurricanes | OJHL |
| Jake | Walman | D | Detroit Red Wings | Toronto Jr. Canadiens | OJHL |
| MacKenzie | Weegar | D | Calgary Flames | Nepean Raiders | CCHL |
| Zach | Whitecloud | D | Vegas Golden Knights | Virden Oil Capitals | MJHL |
| CJHL ALUMNI – NHL HEAD COACHES | ||||
| HEAD COACH | NAME | NHL TEAM | CJHL TEAM(S) | LEAGUE |
| Jared | Bednar | Colorado Avalanche | Humboldt Broncos | SJHL |
| Rod | Brind’Amour | Carolina Hurricanes | Notre Dame Hounds | SJHL |
| Andrew | Brunette | Nashville Predators | Rayside-Balfour Canadians | NOJHL |
| Bruce | Cassidy | Vegas Golden Knights | Hawkesbury Hawks | CCHL |
| Dave | Hakstol | Seattle Kraken | Red Deer Rustlers | AJHL |
| Sheldon | Keefe | Toronto Maple Leafs | Pembroke Lumber Kings | CCHL |
| Lane | Lambert | New York Islanders | Swift Current Broncos | SJHL |
| Todd | McLellan | Los Angeles Kings | North Battleford North Stars | SJHL |
| Jim | Montgomery | Boston Bruins | Pembroke Lumber Kings | CCHL |
| Lindy | Ruff | New Jersey Devils | Taber Golden Suns | AJHL |
| Martin | St-Louis | Montreal Canadiens | Nationals de Joliette | LHJAAAQ |
| Hawkesbury Hawks | CCHL | |||
| Jay | Woodcroft | Edmonton Oilers | Markham Waxers | OJHL |
Photo credit: NHL.com / Getty Images
CJHL CONTACTS
Andy Harkness
President
Canadian Junior Hockey League
aharkness@cjhlhockey.com (Email)
Tom Annelin
Director of Communications
Canadian Junior Hockey League
annelin@cjhlhockey.com (Email)
cjhlhockey.com (W)
@cjhlhockey (T)