Hoyt Stanley, 21, played at Cornell in the NCAA after being selected by the Ottawa Senators in the fourth round of the 2023 NHL draft out of the Grizzlies.
Matthew Wood from Nanaimo and Hoyt Stanley from West Vancouver came to the Victoria Grizzlies together as promising 16-year-old rookies. This week, they are among 22 B.C. Hockey League alumni on opening-night NHL rosters, including a leading four from the Grizzlies, and two from the Nanaimo Clippers.
While Wood and Alex Newhook were NHL first-round draft picks out of the Grizzlies, and Jamie Benn is an established veteran figure as Olympic champion and captain of the Dallas Stars, the biggest surprise is rookie defenceman Stanley with the Ottawa Senators.
“Hoyt has always had that belief in himself and always put himself in that category when he played on B.C. representative teams with Wood and [Chicago Blackhawks captain] Connor Bedard,” said former Grizzlies GM and head coach Craig Didmon, who guided the BCHL careers of Stanley, Wood and Newhook.
“Newhook [with the Montreal Canadiens] and Wood [with the Nashville Predators] are NHL second-line centres, and now Stanley looks to join them in the NHL, but it’s been a longer road for him coming back from concussion when he was with us. But you could see that raw talent even back then.”
The six-foot-three Stanley, 21, who played at Cornell in the NCAA after being selected by the Sens in the fourth round of the 2023 NHL draft out of the Grizzlies, touched on that as he addressed a media scrum in the Ottawa dressing room following the announcement that he had made the Senators’ 23-man roster.
“A lot of people wouldn’t have guessed I would be at this point. But you want to have self-belief and believe you can compete with the best players. I want to make the most of the opportunity and show what I can do,” he said.
“I watched [Senators captain] Thomas Chabot play in the World Juniors and with Ottawa, and it’s kind of surreal being around players like that. I seem to rise to the occasion and play better with better players. That’s the way my game has been made up since I was younger. I believe a lot in myself and the work I have put in. I am grateful to be here but have not necessarily surprised myself.”
The Clippers, meanwhile, have alumni forward Tim Washe on the Anaheim Ducks and alumni blueliner Max Crozier on the Tampa Bay Lightning opening-night rosters as the Nanaimo BCHL club continued its history of producing NHLers such as Ryan O’Byrne, David LeNeveu, Jason Garrison, Byron Bitz, Colin Greening, Mark Rycroft and Matt Irwin.
The Clippers’ list stretches back to the 1970s when the club was the farm team of the WHL Victoria Cougars and produced eventual Cougars and NHLers Mel Bridgman, Al Hill, Barry Pederson, Greg Adams, Torrie Robertson, Paul Cyr and Gary Lupul.
Meanwhile, Calgary Flames defenceman Brayden Pachal, better known for his time with the Prince Albert Raiders, is the lone former Victoria Royals player among the 128 Western Hockey League alumni on NHL opening night rosters. The WHL list includes Nanaimo-product and Las Vegas Golden Knights blueliner Dylan Coghlan out of the Tri-City Americans.
Three opening-night NHL head coaches — Jim Hiller of Port Alberni with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Spencer Carbery of Victoria with the Washington Capitals and Rod Brind’Amour of Campbell River with the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes — are from the Island.