And then there were two. Following the Tampa Bay Lightning’s win over the New York Rangers in game six of the National Hockey League’s Eastern Conference final on Saturday, it guarantees that at least one former BC Hockey League player will lift Lord Stanley’s chalice this year, and for the first time in three years.
Forward Riley Nash (Salmon Arm Silverbacks) is on the roster of the Lightning, while the Colorado Avalanche, which swept Edmonton in the Western Conference, has forward Alex Newhook (Victoria Grizzlies), defender Devon Toews (Surrey Eagles), and blueliner Josh Manson (Salmon Arm Silverbacks) on its roster.
The Lightning didn’t have a BCHL alumnus on the roster for its Stanley Cup win last season or in 2020. In fact, 2019 was the last time a former BCHL player won the storied trophy when former Grizzlies star Tyler Bozak did with the St. Louis Blues.
If the Avalanche is successful in beating the Lightning and winning the Stanley Cup, it will be the first team with three BCHL alumni on its roster to claim the trophy in 37 years. The 1985 Edmonton Oilers team featured seven Hall of Famers including Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, and Grant Fuhr, and also three BCHL alumni in Glenn Anderson (Bellingham Blazers), Andy Moog (Penticton Knights), and Larry Melnyk (Abbotsford Flyers). The Oilers knocked off Philadelphia in four games that year to win their second straight Stanley Cup.
The quest for the Cup this year
Toews, who’s from Abbotsford, BC, has been a stud for the Avs thus far in the post-season, with five goals and eight assists in 14 games. In fact, Toews has upped his points-per-game in the playoffs to 0.93 from 0.86 in the regular season.
Manson is also performing well from the blueline for Colorado, contributing a pair of goals and four assists in 14 games. The Hinsdale, IL product has almost doubled his points-per-game ratio in the playoffs to 0.43 from 0.24 during the season, although he only played 22 games with the Avalanche after being acquired from Anaheim.
Newhook hasn’t been as big of a contributor for the Avs points-wise in the playoffs as Toews and Manson but did play all four games for Colorado in the sweep of the Oilers. The St. John’s NL native did post an assist in game one against Edmonton and game four against St. Louis after not appearing in any games in the first round against Nashville.
Of Tampa Bay’s 12 playoff games, Nash has only gotten into four of them but has a plus-minus rating of plus-one. He’s the type of player the Lightning will rely on if injury strikes during the final series against the Avalanche.
The Stanley Cup Final starts on Wednesday with game one at the Ball Arena in Denver as Colorado hosts Tampa Bay in the best-of-seven series to determine which team earns the privilege of laying claim to one of the most difficult trophies in professional sports to win.
