Plenty Of Former WHLers On NHL Rosters To Kick Off The 2026-27 Season

With the 2026-27 NHL season officially underway, teams across the league have released their opening night rosters. Unsurprisingly, plenty of WHL alumni are scattered throughout the league, with this year's total reaching 128 players. Here are all 128 players, according to the WHL. 

Anaheim Ducks:

Roger McQueen (Brandon Wheat Kings)

Boston Bruins:

Morgan Geekie (Tri-City Americans), Tanner Jeannot (Moose Jaw Warriors), Mark Kastelic (Calgary Hitmen), Fraser Minten (Saskatoon Blades)

Buffalo Sabres:

Zach Benson (Winnipeg ICE), Tyson Kozak (Portland Winterhawks), Peyton Krebs (Winnipeg ICE), Beck Malenstyn (Swift Current Broncos), Olen Zellweger (Kamloops Blazers)

Calgary Flames:

Mikael Backlund (Kelowna Rockets), Samuel Honzek (Vancouver Giants), Brayden Pachal (Prince Albert Raiders), Dustin Wolf (Everett Silvertips), Connor Zary (Kamloops Blazers)

Carolina Hurricanes: 

Seth Jarvis (Portland Winterhawks), Jordan Martinook (Vancouver Giants), Logan Stankoven (Kamloops Blazers)

Chicago Blackhawks: 

Connor Bedard (Regina Pats), Bowen Byram (Vancouver Giants), Kevin Korchinski (Seattle Thunderbirds)

Colorado Avalanche: 

Noah Juulsen (Everett Silvertips), Parker Kelly (Prince Albert Raiders), Brett Kulak (Vancouver Giants), Trent Miner (Vancouver Giants)

Columbus Blue Jackets: 

Jake Christiansen (Everett Silvertips), Denton Mateychuk (Moose Jaw Warriors), Ivan Provorov (Brandon Wheat Kings), Damon Severson (Kelowna Rockets), Cole Sillinger (Medicine Hat Tigers)

Dallas Stars: 

Jamie Benn (Kelowna Rockets), Jaxon Fuder (Edmonton Oil Kings), Tyler Myers (Kelowna Rockets), Sam Steel (Regina Pats)

Detroit Red Wings: 

Carter Bear (Everett Silvertips), Nate Danielson (Portland Winterhawks), Emmitt Finnie (Kamloops Blazers), Keegan Kolesar (Seattle Thunderbirds), Michael Rasmussen (Tri-City Americans)

Edmonton Oilers: 

Colton Dach (Seattle Thunderbirds), Leon Draisaitl (Kelowna Rockets), Tristan Jarry (Edmonton Oil Kings), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Red Deer Rebels), Matt Savoie (Moose Jaw Warriors), James Stefan (Portland Winterhawks)

Florida Panthers: 

Radko Gudas (Everett Silvertips), Seth Jones (Portland Winterhawks), Sam Reinhart (Kootenay ICE), Akira Schmid (Lethbridge Hurricanes)

L.A. Kings: 

Joel Edmundson (Kamloops Blazers), Darcy Kuemper (Red Deer Rebels), Jakub Dvorak (Swift Current Broncos)

Minnesota Wild: 

Daemon Hunt (Moose Jaw Warriors), Calvin Pickard (Seattle Thunderbirds), Jared Spurgeon (Spokane Chiefs)

Montréal Canadiens:

Kirby Dach (Saskatoon Blades), Kaiden Guhle (Edmonton Oil Kings), Bryce Pickford (Medicine Hat Tigers)

Nashville Predators: 

Reid Schaefer (Seattle Thunderbirds)

New Jersey Devils: 

Brenden Dillon (Seattle Thunderbirds), Cody Glass (Portland Winterhawks)

New York Islanders: 

Mathew Barzal (Seattle Thunderbirds), Ryan Pulock (Brandon Wheat Kings), Brayden Schenn (Saskatoon Blades)

New York Rangers: 

Oliver Bjorkstrand (Portland Winterhawks), Vincent Iorio (Brandon Wheat Kings), Matt Rempe (Seattle Thunderbirds), Matthew Robertson (Edmonton Oil Kings), Braden Schneider (Brandon Wheat Kings)

Ottawa Senators: 

Dylan Cozens (Lethbridge Hurricanes), Ridly Greig (Brandon Wheat Kings), Carter Yakemchuk (Calgary Hitmen)

Philadelphia Flyers: 

Travis Sanheim (Calgary Hitmen)

Pittsburgh Penguins: 

Connor Dewar (Everett Silvertips), Ben Kindel (Calgary Hitmen), Kaedan Korczak (Kelowna Rockets), Oliver Okuliar (Lethbridge Hurricanes)

San Jose Sharks: 

Nolan Allan (Seattle Thunderbirds), Luca Cagnoni (Portland Winterhawks), Brett Leason (Prince Albert Raiders), Zack Ostapchuk (Vancouver Giants)

Seattle Kraken: 

Berkly Catton (Spokane Chiefs), Jordan Eberle (Regina Pats), Ryker Evans (Regina Pats), Cale Fleury (Kootenay ICE), Josh Mahura (Regina Pats), Chandler Stephenson (Regina Pats)

St. Louis Blues:

Brandon Carlo (Tri-City Americans), Dillon Dube (Kelowna Rockets), Joel Hofer (Portland Winterhawks), Jake Neighbours (Edmonton Oil Kings), Adam Jecho (Edmonton Oil Kings)

Tampa Bay Lightning: 

Conor Geekie (Swift Current Broncos), Gage Goncalves (Everett Silvertips), Brandon Hagel (Red Deer Rebels), Jansen Harkins (Prince George Cougars), Brayden Point (Moose Jaw Warriors)

Toronto Maple Leafs: 

Gavin McKenna (Medicine Hat Tigers), Morgan Rielly (Moose Jaw Warriors), Colton Sissons (Kelowna Rockets)

Utah Mammoth: 

Sebastian Cossa (Edmonton Oil Kings), Dylan Guenther (Edmonton Oil Kings), Kailer Yamamoto (Spokane Chiefs)

Vancouver Canucks: 

Arshdeep Bains (Red Deer Rebels), Jake DeBrusk (Red Deer Rebels), Brendan Gallagher (Vancouver Giants), Luke Schenn (Kelowna Rockets)

Vegas Golden Knights: 

Dylan Coghlan (Tri-City Americans), Carter Hart (Everett Silvertips), Ben Hemmerling (Everett Silvertips), Adin Hill (Portland Winterhawks), Brett Howden (Moose Jaw Warriors), Brayden McNabb (Kootenay ICE), Mark Stone (Brandon Wheat Kings), Shea Theodore (Seattle Thunderbirds), Kai Uchacz (Red Deer Rebels), Parker Wotherspoon (Tri-City Americans)

Washington Capitals: 

Dylan McIlrath (Moose Jaw Warriors), Aliaksei Protas (Prince Albert Raiders), Justin Sourdif (Vancouver Giants), Logan Thompson (Brandon Wheat Kings)

Winnipeg Jets: 

Tyrel Bauer (Seattle Thunderbirds), Haydn Fleury (Red Deer Rebels), Brad Lambert (Seattle Thunderbirds), Adam Lowry (Swift Current Broncos), Josh Morrissey (Kelowna Rockets), Nino Neiderreiter (Portland Winterhawks), Stuart Skinner (Swift Current Broncos)

Make sure you bookmark THN's WHL site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

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