UND Has Ten Former Players in NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin Wednesday in the NHL, and the University of North Dakota will be well represented.

There are 16 teams battling for Lord Stanley's Cup, which make for eight matchups in the first-round. Only two of those matchups won't include at least one former player from UND.

Such players include Jonathan Toews and Nick Schmaltz (Chicago Blackhawks), T.J. Oshie and Taylor Chorney (Washington Capitals), Carter Rowney (Pittsburgh Penguins), and Drew Stafford (Boston Bruins). The other four are involved in head-to-head matchups as the Zach Parise and the Minnesota Wild take on Jordan Schmaltz and the St. Louis Blues. The other matchup features Drake Caggiula and the Edmonton Oilers against Aaron Dell and the San Jose Sharks.

Several former UND players are etched on Lord Stanley's Cup with the most recent being Jonathan Toews (three Stanley Cup titles with the Blackhawks) and Matt Greene (twice with the Los Angeles Kings).

During the regular season, a school-record of 22 former players from UND took the ice in the NHL, which was far than any other NCHC program. Miami and Denver were the next closest with 13 and 12 players, respectively.

Here's the full list of all 22 players:

As the Stanley Cup Playoffs are set to get underway tomorrow, no matter who your team is, if you're a UND fan, there's a good chance you have someone to root for in the postseason.