gold star for USAHOF
2025 Hockey Eligibles

2025 Hockey Eligibles

Alexander Semin was a First Round Pick of the Washington Capitals in 2002, making the team a year later, but his NHL progress was delayed by having to serve two years in the Russian Army. Semin returned and was a productive wing for the Caps, producing three 70-Point seasons for the club, peaking with an 84-Point year in 2009/10, where he was seventh in Goals…
Andrej Sekara enjoyed a long career in the NHL, with the first half appearing as a Buffalo Sabre, but he had greater success with other teams after he left Western New York. The Defenceman was traded to Carolina in 2013, and he had his best season offensively with a personal best of 44 Points.  After a brief stay in Los Angeles, Sekara had back-to-back 30-plus Point…
Andrew Ladd had a nice career in the National Hockey League, where the Left Wing played for 16 years and played 1,001 Games. Ladd was taken fourth overall in the 2004 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes and later had six years where he scored over 45 Points.  He also played for Chicago, Atlanta, Winnipeg, the New York Islanders and Arizona and had a career…
Andy Greene never got drafted into the NHL, but he performed exceptionally well at the University of Miami in Ohio, which led to him being noticed as a Free Agent. He eventually landed a spot on the New Jersey Devils team. Greene initially made the main roster in his first year for a 23-game run, but he cemented his position on the team in the…
The Montreal Canadiens are one of the most iconic franchises in hockey and hold the record for the most Stanley Cup wins. Montreal, an Original Six team, has had many legendary goalies, but Carey Price holds the record for the most wins in a Habs uniform - 361 games. Price was the top goalie in the Western Hockey League and was highly rated in the…
Carl Hagelin, a native of Sweden, began his North American career at the University of Michigan, where he became the first Swede to don the Wolverines jersey. In 2007, the New York Rangers drafted him in the sixth round. Hagelin made his NHL debut in 2011 on Broadway. His rookie season was a testament to his talent and character, as he scored 28 points while…
Devan Dubnyk was a professional ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League (NHL). He started his NHL career in 2006 with the Edmonton Oilers, two years after being selected by them in the first round of the draft. Dubnyk had to wait until 2012 to become a regular starter, after which he was traded to Nashville, where he served as the backup to Pekka…
A 17-year veteran, Duncan Keith was a Second Round Pick in 2002 by the Chicago Blackhawks; the native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, would slowly become of the most complete blueliners in hockey.   Keith first made the Blackhawks in 2005, breaking out in the 2009-10 Season, where he not only won the Norris Trophy but anchored Chicago to their first Stanley Cup in decades.  A Norris winner again…
Dustin Brown played his entire professional career with the Los Angeles Kings, debuting for the squad in 2003 and playing in SoCal until 2022. A natural leader, the native of Ithaca, New York, was L.A.'s 12th Overall Pick in 2003, making the team quickly and was consistently one of the team's leaders in Hits, though he was not a stalwart in the Penalty Box.  Brown led by…
Denmark is not a hotbed of hockey, but that does not mean that the Scandinavian nation has not produced some quality players.  Arguably, the best of the group is Frans Nielsen. Nielsen was drafted by the Islanders in 2002 with their Third Round Pick, and he signed a few years later, becoming a fixture on Long Island in the 2008/09 Season.  A depth player, Nielsen excelled in…
Jake Muzzin had a nice 12-year career, split between the Los Angeles Kings and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Defenseman’s best years were in L.A., where he had three 40-point years and helped the Kings win the 2014 Stanley Cup. The Kings traded Muzzin to Toronto, where he stayed more on the defensive end. Internationally, he competed in two major tournaments and won Gold in…
British Columbia's Jason Garrison played college hockey at Minnesota-Duluth and performed well enough to gain a contract offer from the Florida Panthers in 2008.   Garrison would have a 33-Point year for the Panthers in 2011/12, his fourth and final campaign in South Beach, and he would equal that total two years later while playing for the Canucks.  The Defenceman later played for Tampa and had another…
Jason Spezza was the second overall pick in the 2001 Draft, chosen by the Ottawa Senators and selected behind Ilya Kovalchuk.  Braking out in 2005-06 with a 90 Point Season, Spezza followed that with 87 and 92 Point years, respectively, and was a top player on a contending team, though Ottawa continuously struggled in the playoffs.  An All-Star twice (2008 & 2012), Spezza requested a trade to…
Longevity.  Statistics.  Greatness. Joe Thornton was drafted as the number one overall pick by the Boston Bruins in 1997. His early years in the NHL were slow due to the Bruins Head Coach, Pat Burns, monitoring his ice time. However, by his third season, Thornton became a regular fixture and scored 60 points, which was the first of his 16 seasons in which he scored…
From Boston, Keith Yandle began his NHL career with the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes in 2006, the team he easily had his best seasons.   Yandle was a Coyote for eight years, peaking with a 59 Point year in 2010-11, where he was fifth in Norris voting, his highest finish.  The Defenseman never finished higher than that, but he was a three-time All-Star (two with Phoenix and one with…
From Toronto, P.K. Subban won two Gold Medals in World Junior Hockey action before he joined the team that drafted him in the second round in 2007, Montreal.  Subban was an All-Rookie in 2010-11, and two years later, in the strike-shortened 2012-13 campaign, he won the Norris Trophy on the strength of 38 Points in 42 Games.  With the Habs, Subban was a First Team All-Star not…
Getzlaf was a First Round Pick in 2003, and he would debut for the team two years later with a 39-Point rookie year.  A member of the 2007 Ducks team that won the Stanley Cup, Getzlaf's play blossomed the season after, where he began four years of 50-plus Assist seasons, and he would hit that threshold four additional times.   A Second-Team All-Star in 2014, the Center…
From Savonlinna, Finland, Tuukka Rask was drafted in the First Round (21st Overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs, but he never played there as he was traded to Boston for fellow Goalie Andrew Raycroft.  It was a deal that historically would favor the Bruins, the team in which Rask played his entire career. Rask was first called up in 2007 but was not the regular backup until…
Tyler Bozak went undrafted, but the Saskatchewan native proved himself at the University of Denver and was a highly sought-after free agent. He signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs and found his way onto the team as a deep-line center. Bozak played for Toronto for nine seasons, scoring over 40 Points, and was the league leader in Shooting Percentage in 2013-14. Bozak signed with the…
Standing at 6' 9" and born in the former Czechoslovakia, Zdeno Chara was a Third Round Pick in 1996 by the New York Islanders, but while he made the team a year later, he never figured into their long-term plans.  A trade to obtain the disgruntled Alexei Yashin sent Chara to Ottawa, and it would be evident in a few years that it was the Slovak…