Out of curiosity, I looked into the Greater Toronto Hockey League, and the players that have made it from Toronto’s minor hockey system and to the National Hockey League.
After the rant earlier this year by Don Cherry regarding the absence of any GTHL players on the Maple Leafs, I thought it’d be interesting to see how many GTHL players are actually in the NHL. Joining the Leafs in being GTHL-less are the Blue Jackets, Wild, Jets, and Lightning.
It’s quite remarkable that, of all the minor hockey leagues in all of North America, the GTHL has a player on 25 of the 30 NHL rosters.
Some fast facts about the GTHL alumni:
- There are 54 former GTHL players currently belonging to NHL teams
- Chicago Blackhawks forwards Bryan Bickell and Dave Bolland played together with the Toronto Red Wings, and are now teammates at the pro level.
- Tyler Seguin — the second overall pick of 2010’s NHL entry draft — played alongside 2010-11 NHL Calder Trophy Winner (Rookie of the Year) Jeff Skinner on the Toronto Young Nationals.
- The Chicago Blackhawks have the most players from the GTHL on their roster (6)
- There are GTHL alumni in every division in the NHL
- The Pacific and Atlantic division teams each have at least one GTHL alumni
- Winnipeg and Tampa Bay not having GTHL alumni make the South East Division the division with the least teams featuring GTHL alumni
Alumni per NHL team:
- 6: Chicago Blackhawks
- 4: Calgary Flames, Anaheim Ducks, New York Islanders
- 3: San Jose Sharks, Florida Panthers, Boston Bruins
- 2: Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens
- 1: Nashville Predators, Edmonton Oilers, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Phoenix Coyotes, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators
Jared P.D. Clinton 