MADISON, Wis. – On Feb. 22, 2024, when the Dallas Stars took on the Ottawa Senators, Badger alumni Joe Pavelski recorded his 20th goal of the season, marking the 14th time he's achieved this feat in 18 NHL seasons.
Pavelski is now one of four NCAA players in NHL history to record 14 or more 20-goal seasons. Brett Hull (UMD) has the most with 17 20-goal seasons, followed by Keith Tkachuk (BU) and Joe Nieuwendyk (Cornell) with 15 20-goal seasons each. Pavelski is also the fourth U.S.-born player to reach the 20-goal mark 14 times in his career and the second player in Dallas Stars history over the age of 39 to to record a 20-goal season.
The forward is currently fourth on the Stars' roster with 20 goals and 48 points.
Pavelski plays on the Stars with two other Badger alums – defenseman Ryan Suter, who recently reached the major milestone of playing in his 1,400th NHL game, and forward Craig Smith. Suter (2g, 12a) and Smith (7g, 4a) have 14 and 11 points, respectively.
In other news, Alex Turcotte, a forward on the Los Angeles Kings, recently achieved a big milestone, scoring his first-career NHL goal against the Nashville Predators on Jan. 31. Turcotte's goal came in his 14th-career NHL game and second of the 2023-24 season. In that same game, he also tallied his first NHL assist on teammate Trevor Lewis' goal. The forward picked up another assist on Feb. 20, when the Kings took on the Columbus Blue Jackets for a total of three points in nine games played this season.
Cole Caufield has been on a hot streak with the Montreal Canadiens lately, tallying three goals and six assists in his last 10 games played. The forward ranks second on the Canadiens' roster with 19 goals and 45 points in 57 games played.
Luke Kunin and Ty Emberson, the San Jose Sharks' pair of Badgers, have also been putting up numbers with a combined 19 points. Kunin, a forward, has eight goals and 10 points through 50 games played, while Emberson, a defenseman, has one goal and nine points in 27 games played in his rookie season.
Trent Frederic of the Boston Bruins currently has 33 points through 58 games played, with his 16 goals ranking him fourth on the roster.
On Feb. 17, Brendan Smith, a defenseman for the New Jersey Devils, skated in his fifth-career outdoor game as the Devils took on the Philadelphia Flyers as part of the 2024 NHL Stadium Series. Smith recorded a goal and an assist in the Devils' 6-3 victory in front of 70,000 fans at MetLife Stadium. He currently has two goals and eight points in 39 games played.
Four former Badger defensemen, K'Andre Miller (New York Rangers), Jake McCabe (Toronto Maple Leafs), Justin Schultz (Seattle Kraken) and Ryan McDonagh (Nashville Predators), have all been having successful seasons on the blue line. Miller has seven goals and 21 points through 55 games played, McCabe has six goals and 20 points in 50 games and Schultz has five goals and 18 points through 46 games. McDonagh, who has two goals and 18 points in 50 games played this season, recently achieved the milestone of recording 300 NHL assists.
After being activated from long-term injured reserve, Dylan Holloway played his first game back in the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 20. Before his injury, Holloway had one goal in 14 games played. The forward returned to the league hungry, tallying two points (1g, 1a) in his first three games back. He currently has three goals and four points in 25 games played this season.
Wisconsin alumni have also been making waves at the professional level in the AHL and ECHL.
Defenseman
Corson Ceulemans and forward Roman Ahcan are teammates on the Cleveland Monsters, the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Ceulemans has three goals and 10 points in 34 games played while Ahcan has six goals and 11 points in 29 games.
Former UW captain
Dominick Mersch currently plays for the Jacksonville Iceman in the ECHL. Mersch has five goals and 15 points in 39 games played. In November 2023, he made his AHL debut while on a loan to the Rochester Americans, tallying one assist in two games played along with his brother Michael.
In 49 games played for the ECHL's Newfoundland Growlers,
Brock Caufield has picked up nine goals and 25 points.
