While the college hockey season is over, and the NHL season is completed for half of the 32 teams, there are 16 teams still competing for the Stanley Cup. This year there were 15 players from the University of Denver and four from Colorado College that competed in the NHL.
DU:
Michael Benning – A rookie defenseman for Florida, Benning played in 18 games this year and tallied six points.
Tristan Broz – Broz played in just one game for Pittsburgh in his rookie season.
Zeev Buium – Buium is unique in that his NHL debut came in the playoffs, the first Minnesota player ever to do so, competing in four postseason games for the Wild in 2024-25. After playing 31 regular season games for Minnesota this year he played in 45 for Vancouver.
Jack Devine – Devine played six games for Florida as a rookie this year.
Jared Wright – The rookie right winger for Los Angeles played in 23 games and Wright has also played in both playoff games against the Colorado Avalanche so far.
Carter Mazur – In his second season with Detroit, Mazur saw action in eight game this year.
Devin Cooley – The only former DU goalie in the League currently, Cooley played in 31 games for Calgary this year. He entered the NHL in 2023-24, playing six games for San Jose and did not play in the NHL last year.
Bobby Brink – After playing three and a half years in Philadelphia, Brink joined Minnesota last month and has already played in both playoff games for the Wild. He finished the regular season with 30 points and three game winning goals.
Trevor Moore – He eclipsed the 100-goal mark in his career, which has spanned eight years in the NHL. In his seventh season with Los Angeles, Moore is now competing in the playoffs against the Avalanche.
Logan O’Connor – A local favorite as he is in his eighth season with the Colorado Avalanche. O’Connor is playing in his sixth postseason and had the game winning goal for the Avs in the first game in this year’s playoffs.
Dakota Mermis – A nine-year veteran, Mermis is playing for his fifth team as he is a defenseman in Toronto.
Troy Terry – A Denver native, Terry has played all nine seasons in the NHL with Anaheim. He is one of 38 players to record 54+ points in each of the last five years. This season he is getting his first ever taste of playoff hockey, and is tied for the team in lead in points (two goals, two assists) in the first two Ducks playoff games.
Danton Heinen – In his 10th NHL season with his fifth team, Heinen now plays for Columbus after being traded in late 2025 by Pittsburgh. This season he scored his 100th career goal, becoming the 11th former Pioneer to do so, and had his 150th career assist.
Scott Mayfield – Mayfield just completed his 12th season with the Islanders. His 15 points as a defenseman surpassed his total from the previous two years combined.
Jason Zucker – He ended this season with 832 career games and 468, moving into fifth place among all former Pioneer players in the NHL in both of those categories. Zucker is in his 15th season in the League with five different teams, and is competing in the playoffs for 10th time with four different franchises.
CC:
Jaden Schwartz – In his 15th year in the NHL, Schwartz has spent 10 with St. Louis and now five with Seattle. He has 233 career goals, while all other CC alumni in the NHL have combined for 401 goals.
Jaccob Slavin – A Denver native, Slavin is an 11-year veteran, all with Carolina, and is competing in the playoffs for his eighth consecutive season. This past season he played in a career low 39 games but he is one of just three defensemen in the NHL who have not have not had a season with a negative +/- while playing in at least 39 games.
Noah Laba – The rookie played 74 games for the Rangers and was the most productive of the four rookies on the team with nine goals and 24 points.
Josiah Slavin – Born in Erie and the younger brother of Jaccob, Slavin returned briefly to the NHL this season. He had played 15 games with Chicago in 2021-22, and then did not see any ice time in the League until playing in a pair of games for Carolina this season.
