While the NHL season got started quietly over the weekend with a couple of games played in Czechia between the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks, Tuesday is the unofficial starting to the season.
THE COUNTDOWN IS OVER ⌛️ #NHLFaceOff
— NHL (@NHL) October 11, 2022
Don't miss Opening Night starting at 7:30p ET on @espn, @ESPNPlus, @TVASports, and @Sportsnet! pic.twitter.com/jXdzgW9lFu
The other 28 teams submitted final roster lists for the season's opening, as the majority of teams will begin play on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Among the players on the opening night rosters, there are 12 former Kelowna Rockets.
The Western Conference finalist from a season ago, the Edmonton Oilers, have two in Art Ross and Hart Trophy winner Leon Draisaitl, along with defenceman Tyson Barrie.
Their provincial rival Calgary Flames has Dillon Dube and Mickael Backlund. Backlund played 28 games for Kelowna in the 2008-09 season, along with Barrie while both Dube and Draisaitl played together in the 2014-15 season.
The Vancouver Canucks have current and former teammates together in Luke Schenn (2005-08) and Tyler Myers (2005-09). Myers is out the next two-to-four weeks with an injury, but is on the current roster.
The Nashville Predators feature Colton Sissons, who played for the Rockets from 2010-13.
Damon Severson is an assistant captain with the New Jersey Devils, who played for Kelowna parts of five seasons, starting in 2009.
Draisaitl isn't the only former Rocket who has an Art Ross to his name, as Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn won it back in 2014-15. The Victoria native played two years with the Rockets in 2007 and 2008, reaching 82 points in his final season.
Grizzled 36-year-old defenceman Alexander Edler will be playing in his 17th NHL season. Back in 2005-06, the native of Sweden played 62 games for the Rockets, where he had 53 points.
Winnipeg Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey had a 20-game cameo with Kelowna back in 2014-15 and will be entering his eighth straight year with the Jets.
The most recent Rockets player to make the jump to the big leagues is Cal Foote, who is coming off a Stanley Cup appearance with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season.
Shea Weber is technically still in the NHL, but is on the injured list for the Vegas Golden Knights. He was dealt last year from the Montreal Canadiens, after being out the whole year with foot and ankle injuries. He was spotted very recently in Kelowna, coaching up a Play On! street hockey team with his buddy Mike Smith.
Pavel Novak is also on the injured list, with the Minnesota Wild. The Czechia native explained in June that he would be stepping away from the game due to a cancer diagnosis, but just announced that he is cancer-free.
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