B1G In The Chase For Lord Stanley's Cup

The NHL playoffs are now underway, so we here at OTE (actually, just me, these other guys mostly sit around eating Runzas) have compiled a list of all the active players who once suited up for B1G schools in case you'd like to generate rooting or hating interests for series you otherwise wouldn't care about. Which, by the way, even if you don't care for hockey, you should really try to catch a few playoff games. It's hard to match the tension, the level of play visibly increases, and there's no stupid effing shootouts, as God intended. It's like settling a basketball game with a dunk contest for- never mind, I digress.

If you just want to see B1G alumni hoist the Cup, the Wild, Rangers, Canadiens, and Red Wings all have at least 4 former B1G players active. In a few places, I've found conflict between guys listed on, say, ESPN's rosters and who the school websites say are active for playoff teams, so this list is sourced directly from the individual team websites. I also consulted the fine database Hockeydb.com, which can tell you the professional accomplishments of basically everyone who's ever played a shift of squirt pond hockey. If they got it wrong, I don't want to be right. Uhh...I guess that's all there is to say, this isn't a super-complicated idea.

Minnesota Golden Gophers

-D Keith Ballard, Minnesota Wild (injured)

-D Jordan Leopold, Minnesota Wild

-F Erik Haula, Minnesota Wild

-F Jordan Schroeder, Minnesota Wild

-F Thomas Vanek, Minnesota Wild

-F Paul Martin, Pittsburgh Penguins

-F Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets

-D Nick Leddy, New York Islanders

-F Kyle Okposo, New York Islanders

Michigan Wolverines

-C Andrew Copp, Winnipeg Jets

-D Jacob Trouba, Winnipeg Jets

-C Andrew Cogliano, Anaheim Ducks

-F Luke Glendening, Detroit Red Wings

-F Carl Hagelin, New York Rangers

-D Matt Hunwick, New York Rangers

-D Chris Summers, New York Rangers

-F Eric Nystrom, Nashville Predators

-F Max Pacioretty, Montreal Canadiens

-D Greg Pateryn, Montreal Canadiens

Michigan State Spartans

-D Jeff Petry, Montreal Canadiens

-D Mike Weaver, Montreal Canadiens

-F Drew Miller, Detroit Red Wings

-F Justin Abdelkader, Detroit Red Wings

-G Ryan Miller, Vancouver Canucks

-D Corey Potter, Calgary Flames

-D Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks

Wisconsin Badgers

-G Brian Elliott, St. Louis Blues

-D Ryan McDonagh, New York Rangers

-F Derek Stepan, New York Rangers

-D Ryan Suter, Minnesota Wild

-C Kyle Turris, Ottawa Senators

-D Tom Gilbert, Montreal Canadiens

-D Brendan Smith, Detroit Red Wings

-C Craig Smith, Nashville Predators

Ohio State Buckeyes

-C Ryan Kesler, Anaheim Ducks

And...yep. OSU's athletic website doesn't even mention the fact that Kesler is still competing for a Stanley Cup. There are a few other former Buckeyes in the league, but they're all playing for bad teams.

Penn State Nittany Lions

None yet- although they did just send their first-ever player to the NHL as Casey Bailey signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sorry about that, Casey, but work hard and maybe you can play for a decent team when your rookie contract's up.