Okposo's Cup Win Highlights 26 Gophers in the NHL

MINNEAPOLIS - A total of 26 former University of Minnesota men's hockey players competed during the 2023-24 National Hockey League season with Kyle Okposo from the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers highlighting the list.

Okposo skated in the 1,000th game of his NHL career Nov. 15 as a member of the Buffalo Sabres before being traded to Florida late in the campaign. The St. Paul, Minn., native went on to hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time in his 17-year tenure and marks the third-straight season where a former Gopher has won the prestigious trophy, following Erik Johnson (Colorado Avalanche-2022) and Phil Kessel (Vegas Golden Knights-2023).

At season's end, there were 16 former Minnesota skaters that played at least 60 games in the NHL, while 10 took the ice during the playoffs. Two Gophers made their professional debuts this year as Logan Cooley was on the opening night roster for the Arizona Coyotes and Ryan Johnson was called up to the Buffalo Sabres for his first game Nov. 4. Minnesota now has sent an NCAA-record 125 players to the NHL in program history.

Three rookies appeared in at least 80 games for their respective clubs as Cooley and the Minnesota Wild's Brock Faber played all 82 regular season games, while Matthew Knies skated in 80 for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Veteran defensemen Nick Leddy and Brady Skjei made 82 and 80 appearances for the St. Louis Blues and Carolina Hurricanes, respectively.

For Leddy, it also was a historic season as he joined Okposo in reaching the 1,000-game milestone in 2023-24 when he became the eighth former Gopher to hit the mark on Mar. 23.

Gophers in the NHL (2023-24)
Nick Bjugstad | Arizona Coyotes (76 GP, 22 G, 23 A, 45 PT, +11)
Travis Boyd | Arizona Coyotes (16 GP, 2 G, 6 A, 8 PT, +3)
Logan Cooley | Arizona Coyotes (82 GP, 20 G, 24 A, 44 PT, -13)
Brock Faber| Minnesota Wild (82 GP, 8 G, 39 A, 47 PT, +1)
Hudson Fasching | New York Islanders (45 GP, 4 G, 10 A, 14 PT, -7) PLAYOFFS (4 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PT)
Alex Goligoski | Minnesota Wild (36 GP, 0 G, 10 A, 10 PT, -8)
Erik Haula | New Jersey Devils (76 GP, 16 G, 19 A, 35 PT, -1)
Justin Holl | Detroit Red Wings (38 GP, 0 G, 5 A, 5 PT, +8)
Erik Johnson | Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers (67 GP, 5 G, 1 A, 6 PT, -14)
Ryan Johnson | Buffalo Sabres (41 GP, 0 G, 7 A, 7 PT, +3)
Matthew Knies| Toronto Maple Leafs (80 GP, 15 G, 20 A, 35 PT, +9) PLAYOFFS (7 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 PT)
Jackson LaCombe| Anaheim Ducks (71 GP, 2 G, 15 A, 17 PT, -24)
Nick Leddy | St. Louis Blues (82 GP, 3 G, 25 A, 28 PT, +14)
Vinni Lettieri | Minnesota Wild (46 GP, 5 G, 4 A, 9 PT, -7)
Ryan Lindgren | New York Rangers (76 GP, 3 G, 14 A, 17 PT, +22) PLAYOFFS (16 GP, 0 G, 3 A, 3 PT)
Ben Meyers | Colorado Avalanche and Anaheim Ducks (23 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 PT, -4)
Casey Mittelstadt | Buffalo Sabres and Colorado Avalanche (80 GP, 18 G, 39 A, 57 PT, +10) PLAYOFFS (11 GP, 3 G, 6 A, 9 PT)
Tommy Novak | Nashville Predators (71 GP, 18 G, 27 A, 45 PT, -3) PLAYOFFS (6 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PT)
Kyle Okposo | Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers (67 GP, 12 G, 10 A, 22 PT, +1) PLAYOFFS (17 GP, 0 G, 2 A, 2 PT)
Rem Pitlick | Chicago Blackhawks (9 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PT, -7)
Mike Reilly | Florida Panthers and New York Islanders (61 GP, 6 G, 18 A, 24 PT, -1) PLAYOFFS (5 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 PT)
Nate Schmidt | Winnipeg Jets (63 GP, 2 G, 12 A, 14 PT, +10) PLAYOFFS (3 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 PT)
Nick Seeler | Philadelphia Flyers (71 GP, 1 G, 12 A, 13 PT, +9)
Brady Skjei | Carolina Hurricanes (80 GP, 13 G, 34 A, 47 PT, +15) PLAYOFFS (11 GP, 1 G, 8 A, 9 PT)
Sammy Walker| Minnesota Wild (4 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PT, -3)
Blake Wheeler | New York Rangers (54 GP, 9 G, 12 A, 21 PT, +2) PLAYOFFS (1 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PT)

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Players Mentioned

Logan Cooley

Brock Faber

Ryan Johnson

Matthew Knies

Jackson LaCombe