When the former captain of the Notre Dame hockey team, Jake Evans, made his NHL debut with the Montreal Canadians last Thursday, the total number of former Irish players to play in the league this season hit an all-time record at 16 in a single season.
The list includes Evans (Montreal Canadians), Ander Bjork (Boston Bruins), Steven Fogarty (New York Rangers), Ian Cole (Colorado Avalanche), Thomas Di Pauli (Pittsburgh Penguins), Dennis Gilbert (Chicago Blackhawks), Vinnie Hinostroza (Arizona Coyotes), T.J. Tynan (Colorado Avalanche), Anders Lee (New York Islanders), Riley Sheahan (Edmonton Oilers), Stephen Johns (Dallas Stars) Kyle Palmieri (New Jersey Devils), Andrew Peeke (Columbus Blue Jackets), Bryan Rust (Pittsburgh Penguins) Cal Petersen (Los Angeles Kings) and Jordan Gross (Arizona Coyotes).