Today, we honor the 25 past and present NHL players celebrating birthdays on April 16. Although only 14 players born on this day skated in over 100 games in the league, three active players are on the list, including Kyle Okposo, Nikita Zadorov, and Dustin Wolf. Here’s a look at some notable players sharing birthdays on this day.
Kyle Okposo (1988)
Okposo was the New York Islanders’ first-round pick (seventh overall) in the 2006 Entry Draft. He played nine seasons on Long Island, serving in the team’s leadership group as an alternate captain in his final seven seasons. In 529 games, he tallied 139 goals with 230 assists for 369 points, which ranks 18th all-time in team history.
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Once the Islanders opted to restructure their lineup, Okposo signed with the Buffalo Sabres as a free agent in July 2016, becoming an alternate captain in 2017 and earning a promotion to team captain in 2022. Despite switching teams at 28, he continued to be productive, finishing his tenure with the Sabres with 245 points in 516 games, which breaks down to 103 goals and 142 helpers.
At the 2023-24 NHL Trade Deadline, Buffalo dealt Okposo to the Florida Panthers, who had already clinched a playoff berth. For the first time since 2015-16, he’ll skate in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where he has 15 points in 26 games.
Nikita Zadorov (1995)
Zadorov is another first-round pick (16th overall) celebrating his birthday today. Initially drafted by the Sabres at the 2013 Entry Draft, he only played 67 games with the franchise before a June 2015 trade to the Colorado Avalanche brought Ryan O’Reilly to upstate New York.
Related: Today in Hockey History: April 16
While skating with the Avalanche for five seasons, Zadorov’s longest stint with any club, he tallied 59 points in 289 games while racking 328 penalty minutes. After another trade, he played with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2020-21 before signing with the Calgary Flames as a free agent in 2022.
With the Flames, Zadorov became an essential part of the team’s defensive corps., known for playing the body and laying down some physical hits. As Calgary entered into a rebuilding phase at the start of 2023-24, they flipped him to the Vancouver Canucks, where he helped the team clinch the Pacific Division title. In 640 games, he has 146 points and 697 penalty minutes.
Dustin Wolf (2001)
Wolf is the Flames’ future star goalie and a former back-to-back American Hockey League Goalie of the Year winner. At just 23, he’s getting a taste of NHL action for the first time and should be the number-one netminder in Calgary once the team trades away Jacob Markstrom.
As a seventh-round pick (214th overall) in the 2019 Entry Draft, Wolf continues to defy the odds, standing at 6-foot-0 but only weighing 166 pounds, to become a starting goalie in the league. Although he only has 17 NHL games under his belt by his 23rd birthday, he’s found success at every level, including compiling a 97-31-9 record in the minors, with a .926 save percentage and 2.28 goals-against average.
It won’t happen next year or in the final year of the Saddledome, but Wolf has the skill set to become the first goalie since Miikka Kiprusoff in 2005-06 to win the coveted Vezina Trophy.
Inactive Players Celebrating Birthdays (Age)
Editors note: bold names are Stanley Cup winners
- Joffre Desilets – 1915 – 1994
- Don Gallinger – 1925 – 2000
- Galen Head – 1947 (78)
- Mike Zuke – 1954 (70)
- Jon Fontas – 1955 (69)
- Mike Crombeen – 1957 (67)
- Dean Defazio – 1963 (61)
- Garry Galley – 1963 (61)
- Chris Lindberg – 1967 (57)
- Harry York – 1974 (50)
- Mattias Timander – 1974 (50)
- Eric Bertrand – 1975 (49)
- Boyd Devereaux – 1978 (46)
- Peter Regin – 1986 (38)
- Jeremy Morin – 1991 (33)
- Joni Ortio – 1991 (33)
- Joseph Labate – 1993 (31)
- Markus Granlund – 1993 (31)
- Gemel Smith – 1994 (30)
- Remi Elie – 1995 (29)
- John Quenneville – 1996 (28)
- Connor Bunnaman – 1998 (26)