Hitmen in the NHL
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ALEX
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DEFENCEMAN NHL Draft 2007 (Round 1, 15th overall) – Edmonton In five WHL seasons with the Hitmen from 2004-2009, Plante never missed the playoffs, playing 70 post-season games. |
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ANDREW
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LEFT WING NHL Draft 2004 (Round 1, 4th overall) – Carolina Tallied 30 goals, 45 assists and 119 penalty minutes for the Hitmen during the 2003-2004 WHL campaign before moving on to a lengthy NHL career. Helped lift the Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets franchise to their first playoff berth in 2015, scoring a career-high 62 points in 81 games. |
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BARRY |
GOALTENDER NHL Draft 2002 (Round 3, 73rd overall) – Los Angeles Dealt to the Hitmen during the 2003-2004 WHL season from the Spokane Chiefs, posting a record of 12-8-3 and a 2.24 goals-against-average in Calgary. Made his NHL debut in 2007 with the Kings. |
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BRAD |
CENTRE NHL Draft 1998 (Round 7, 191st overall) – Buffalo The Hitmen all-time leading scorer, Moran compiled 204 goals and 246 assists in 357 games over five WHL seasons, all in Calgary. Led the Hitmen to the franchise’s first championship in 1999 before a lengthy professional career in the NHL, AHL and SEL. |
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BRAD |
DEFENCEMAN NHL Draft 1998 (Round 1, 3rd overall) – San Jose Played 30 games for the Hitmen in 1999 before being dealt to the Regina Pats. Stuart’s NHL career has seen him play 1,050 games with six teams, scoring 80 goals and 225 assists. |
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BRANDON |
RIGHT WING NHL Draft: 2009 (Round 6, 179th overall) – Los Angeles Posted a pair of 100-point seasons with the Hitmen in 2009 (108) and 2010 (107) before making his professional debut in the AHL with the Manchester Monarchs. Made his NHL debut during the 2014-2015 season with the Maple Leafs, scoring two goals and two assists in 20 games. |
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BRANDON |
RIGHT WING NHL Draft: 2002 (Round 4, 102nd overall) – Nashville In five seasons with the Hitmen from 1999-2004, Segal tallied 206 points in 286 WHL games before making his NHL debut with the Lightning in 2009. |
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BRENT |
GOALTENDER With a WHL record of 74-32-7, Krahn is the only Hitmen goaltender to be selected in the first round of the NHL Draft. Spending the majority of his professional career in the AHL, Krahn found himself between the pipes for the Dallas Stars in 2009, making six saves in his only NHL game. |
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BRETT |
DEFENCEMAN NHL Draft: 2004 (Round 4, 109th overall) – Carolina Scored 40 points in 72 games while wrapping up his junior career with the Hitmen in 2006. Made his NHL debut during the 2008-2009 series with the Hurricanes and would go on to play 90 games in The Show, tallying two goals and 11 assists. |
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BRODIE |
LEFT WING NHL Draft: 2002 (Round 3, 66th overall) – New York Rangers Dupont’s most productive WHL season came in his final year in which he scored 37 goals and 33 assists for the Hitmen in 2007 before spending three seasons in the AHL with the Hartford Wolf Pack. Played his first and only NHL game to date in 2011 with the Rangers. |
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CARSON |
RIGHT WING NHL Draft: 2007 (Round 7, 200th overall) – Minnesota After posting a WHL career-high 72 points in 68 games with the Hitmen during the 2008-2009 campaign, McMillan immediately jumped into the pros with the AHL’s Houston Aeros. Through a series of call-ups to the NHL, he has tallied two goals and three assists in 16 NHL games, all with the Wild. |
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CHRIS |
GOALTENDER NHL Draft: 2012 (Round 3, 76th overall) – Ottawa After being acquired by the Hitmen from the Tri-City Americans in 2012, Driedger posted outstanding seasons of 24-12-3, 36-14-4 and 28-14-7 before moving up to the professional level. After spending time in the AHL and ECHL, Driedger made his NHL debut with the Senators on Mar. 26, 2015, stopping 10 shots in a relief appearance against the Rangers. |
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CHRIS |
RIGHT WING Played six games for the Hitmen in their 1996 WHL debut season and spent the remainder of his junior career in Calgary. After wrapping things up with the Hitmen in 2000, Nielsen jumped right into the NHL the next season, scoring four goals and five assists in 29 games for the Bluejackets in a professional career that saw him play 52 NHL games. |
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DARCY |
LEFT WING NHL Draft: 2000 (Round 6, 180th overall) – Atlanta Hometown: Kamsack, Saskatchewan NHL Teams: Atlanta Thrashers, Phoenix Coyotes, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers (2000-2013) Suited up as a Hitmen for three games in 1996 before moving on to the Saskatoon Blades. Wrapped up a lengthy NHL career with 20 goals and 21 assists in 542 games. |
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DUSTIN |
DEFENCEMAN Totaled 66 points in 161 games patrolling the Hitmen blueline for three seasons from 2003-2006. After wrapping up his WHL career with the Brandon Wheat Kings, Kohn went on to a professional career in the AHL with the Bridgepoint Sound Tigers and in 2010, received a call-up to the big club where he played 22 games for the Isles in 2010, posting four assists. |
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FREDRIK SJOSTROM |
LEFT WING Joining Pavel Brendl as the only other Hitmen import to be selected in the first round of the NHL Draft, Sjostrom spent two seasons with Calgary from 2001-2003. The Swede would go on to play 489 NHL games, compiling 104 points with four teams before taking his talents to the Swedish Elite League. |
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JEFF |
DEFENCEMAN NHL Draft: 2004 (Round 1, 27th overall) – Los Angeles Now a NHL regular with 408 games under his belt, the Hitmen alumnus is responsible for delivering the knockout blow to the ‘Canes twice in the first round of the 2006 WHL Playoffs. |
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JERRED SMITHSON |
CENTRE NHL Draft: Undrafted A member of the Hitmen inaugural 1995-1996 squad, Smithson posted a career-high 39 points in 66 games in his fifth and final WHL campaign before playing 606 games in the NHL. |
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JOHNNY |
DEFENCEMAN
NHL Draft: 2002 (Round 2, 61st overall) – Colorado In 177 games with the Hitmen, Boychuk put up 20 goals, 58 assists and 204 penalty minutes before he was dealt to the Warriors midway through the 2002-2003 WHL campaign. Won the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011 before becoming a key cog in the Islanders defensive corps. |
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JORDAN |
LEFT WING NHL Draft: 1999 (Round 5, 152nd overall) – Colorado Hometown: Langley, British Columbia NHL Teams: Colorado Avalanche (2001-2002, 2003-2004) Finished his four-year career with the Hitmen by posting a 100-point season in 2001. Jumped right into the pros and played 22 games with the Avalanche posting a pair of assists. |
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JUSTIN FALK |
DEFENCEMAN NHL Draft: 2007 (Round 4, 110th overall) – Minnesota Played nine games for the Hitmen from 2004-2006 before moving on to the Spokane Chiefs. Has spent the bulk of his professional career in the Minnesota Wild system, skating in 147 games and posting 19 points. |
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JUSTIN |
GOALTENDER NHL Draft: 2004 (Round 3, 90th overall) – Toronto Acquired by the Hitmen from the Prince George Cougars prior to the 2004-2005 WHL campaign, Pogge posted a stellar record of 76-22-9 over two seasons in Calgary before turning pro. After nabbing the starter job of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies and keeping it from 2006-2009, he made his NHL debut during the 2008-2009 season, in which he had a record of 1-4-1 with the Maple Leafs. |
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KARL |
DEFENCEMAN NHL Draft: 2007 (Round 1, 5th overall) – Washington Now a staple of the Capitals’ defensive unit, Alzner tallied 19 goals and 98 assists in 260 games patrolling the blueline for the Hitmen from 2003-2008. After making his professional debut with the AHL’s Hershey Bears, Alzner went on to play 427 regular season and 45 playoff games for the Capitals. |
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KONSTANTIN |
RIGHT WING NHL Draft: 2003 (Round 2, 44th overall) – Los Angeles Pushkarev’s only WHL campaign was in 2004-2005, in which he scored 22 goals and 30 assists in 69 games for the Hitmen before making the jump to the AHL. Before taking his talents to Russia’s KHL, he spent time with the Manchester Monarchs and Iowa Stars, appearing in 17 NHL games for the Kings. |
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KRIS |
CENTRE NHL Draft: 1999 (Round 1, 7th overall) – Washington After playing eight games for the Hitmen during the 1996-1997 WHL campaign, Beech never missed the playoffs, contributing a goal and four assists in the 1999 post-season to lift the team to their first championship. From there, Beech split time in the AHL and NHL before heading to an extensive European career. |
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KRIS |
LEFT WING Acquired by the Hitmen from the Kootenay Ice during the 2008-2009 season, Foucault scored 25 goals and 23 assists in his final junior year in 2011 before joining the AHL’s Houston Aeros. In 2012, Focault played his first NHL game, taking 12 shifts against the Anaheim Ducks. |
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MARTIN |
GOALTENDER NHL Draft: Undrafted An undrafted NHL goaltender, Jones slowly worked his way up the Los Angeles Kings depth chart, as he clawed from the American Hockey League to backing up two-time Stanley Cup Champion keeper Jonathan Quick. After attending training camp with the Kings in 2008, Jones inked an entry-level deal with the team before being shipped back down to the Hitmen in the WHL, where he was a dominant force between the pipes. Following solid rookie and sophomore campaigns with the Hitmen, Jones established himself as one of the WHL’s elite netminders when he posted a brilliant record of 45-5-4 coupled with a 2.08 goals-against-average and seven shutouts. |
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MATT |
LEFT WING NHL Draft: 2000 (Round 2, 43rd overall) Played just one WHL season in 1999-2000, scoring 20 points in 27 games for the Hitmen before entering the Capitals organization. Pettinger moved up and down from the Capital to their farm team, finishing his NHL career with 123 points in 422 games. |
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MICHAEL |
DEFENCEMAN In four seasons with the Hitmen, Stone amassed 181 points in 264 games. The 24-year-old defenceman drafted 69th overall in the 2008 NHL Draft hit his peak in his final year of junior, scoring 21 goals and 44 assists in 69 games en route to a WHL championship. After his time with the Hitmen, Stone jumped right up to the pro ranks, spending two seasons in the AHL with the San Antonio Rampage and Portland Pirates. Stone played his first full NHL season during the truncated 2012-2013 campaign, scoring nine points in 40 games. This season, Stone has a goal and a trio of assists in 16 games with the Coyotes. |
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OWEN |
RIGHT WING In a four-year WHL career with the Hitmen and Moose Jaw Warriors, Fussey tallied 82 goals and 61 assists in 210 games from 1999-2003. During the 2003-2004 NHL campaign, he played four games for the Capitals, posting an assist. |
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PAUL |
DEFENCEMAN NHL Draft: 2007 (Round 7, 205th overall) – Atlanta Prior to his professional career, Postma earned 161 points (44 goals, 117 assists) in 270 games during his junior hockey career with Swift Current and Calgary of the Western Hockey League from 2005-2009. Postma set franchise defenseman records with 23 goals and a plus-67 rating in 2008-09 with Calgary, and was nominated for the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy, given annually to the league’s top defenseman. |
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PAVEL |
RIGHT WING NHL Draft: 1999 (Round 1, 4th overall) – New York Rng In just three seasons with the Hitmen from 1998-2001, Brendl scored 320 points to put himself behind Brad Moran as the second all-time leading scorer in franchise history. Brendl went on to play 78 NHL games for three teams, scoring 11 goals and 11 assists. |
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RASTISLAV |
GOALTENDER Played one season for the Hitmen in 2000, posting a record of 13-2-1 and a 2.29 before appearing between the pipes in six NHL games in 2004. |
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RAY |
DEFENCEMAN NHL Draft: 1995 (Round 8, 184th overall) – Ottawa After spending two seasons with the Tri-City Americans, Schultz joined the Hitmen for their inaugural season in 1996 and racked up 423 penalty minutes in two seasons with Calgary. He went on to play 45 games in the NHL, all with the Islanders before wrapping up his career with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons. |
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RYAN |
DEFENCEMAN NHL Draft: Undrafted Played three games for the Hitmen in 1996 before his professional career that saw him play two games for the Flyers in 1999. |
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RYAN |
CENTRE NHL Draft: 2003 (Round 1, 19th overall) – Anaheim After a stellar 215-point WHL career, Getzlaf went on to tally 625 points in 651 games in the NHL, all with the Anaheim Ducks organization. The Hitmen never missed the playoffs with Getzlaf on the roster. The Ducks’ all-time playoff scoring leader, Getzlaf won the Stanley Cup with the team in 2007. |
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RYAN |
LEFT WING After posting three goals and 13 assists in 16 games for the Hitmen in 1996, Tobler went on to a lengthy professional career in the AHL, appearing in four NHL games in 2002 with the Lightning. |
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RYAN |
CENTRE NHL Draft: 2006 (Round 3, 66th overall) The only Hitmen in franchise history to play for the Monteal Canadiens, White is an active NHLer with 175 games under his belt. As a Hitmen, he scored 91 goals and 146 assists in 275 games from 2004-2008. |
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STEPHEN |
RIGHT WING NHL Draft: 1998 (Round 2, 32nd overall) Wrapped up his junior career with the Hitmen in 2000, scoring eight points in 23 games while racking up 100 penalty minutes. Split his professional career between the NHL and AHL, playing 130 games for the Capitals, posting 234 penalty minutes. |
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TJ |
LEFT WING NHL Draft: 2007 (Round 2, 55th overall) – Colorado In his only season with the Hitmen, Galiardi scored 70 points in 72 games. Remains an active NHLer and has played 321 games with the Avalanchem Sharks, Flames and Jets. |
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VICTOR |
CENTRE NHL Draft: 2011 (Round 2, 42nd overall) – Carolina Rask played his first full professional season in 2014 with the Hurricanes AHL-affiliate Charlotte Checkers, scoring 16 goals and 23 assists in 76 games. He would later make his NHL debut that season, finishing the year in The Show. |