For fans that don’t follow college and junior hockey as intently of our great staff at The Hockey Writers, when the NHL Draft rolls around and we start hearing names called, some of the first reactions are generally: is he related to so-and-so? Well, here I am to connect all of the dots for those that aren’t sure if so-and-so is related to a former NHLer as we give you the most notable additions to the NHL family after the 2018 NHL Draft.
NHL Bloodlines: 2017 Draft Edition
4th Overall, Round 1
Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators: His brother Matthew was drafted sixth overall at the 2016 NHL Draft and has been a pest extraordinaire for the Calgary Flames the past two seasons. Their father Keith scored 1,065 points and had 538 goals over 1,201 games during his NHL career, won the World Cup in 1996 with Team USA, and is a member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.
4th overall: Brady Tkachuk to the @Senators@BradyTkachuk71 recorded 8-23—31 in 40 games during his freshman year at @TerrierHockey to help the team claim the Hockey East championship. #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/997mPAyj89
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 23, 2018
8th Overall, Round 1
Adam Boqvist, Chicago Blackhawks: His brother Jesper was drafted 36th overall (2nd Round) by the New Jersey Devils in the 2017 NHL Draft.
32nd Overall, Round 2
Mattias Samuelsson, Buffalo Sabres: His father Kjell was a Stanley Cup champion in 1992 with Pittsburgh who appeared in 813 games with the Penguins, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, and Tampa Bay Lightning.
40th Overall, Round 2
Ryan McLeod, Edmonton Oilers: His brother Michael was drafted 12th overall at the 2016 NHL Draft by the New Jersey Devils. The two brothers were teammates the last two seasons with the Mississauga Steelheads where Michael was captain in 2017-18.
42nd Overall, Round 2
Jack Drury, Carolina Hurricanes: His father Ted played in 414 games with the Calgary Flames, Hartford Whalers, Ottawa Senators, Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, New York Islanders, and Columbus Blue Jackets. His uncle Chris was a Stanley Cup champion in 2001 with the Colorado Avalanche and won the 1999 Calder Trophy. He played 892 games with the Avalanche, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers; Chris is currently assistant GM with the Rangers.
47th Overall, Round 2
Kody Clark, Washington Capitals: His father Wendel was drafted first overall at the 1985 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs and recorded 564 points (330 goals) in 793 games with the Leafs, Quebec Nordiques, New York Islanders, Detroit Red Wings, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Chicago Blackhawks.
54th Overall, Round 2
Benoit-Olivier Groulx, Anaheim Ducks: His father Benoit is currently the head coach of the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL.
68th Overall, Round 3
Tyler Madden, Vancouver Canucks: His father John was a Stanley Cup Champion with the New Jersey Devils (2000, 2003) and Chicago Blackhawks (2010) and won the 2001 Selke Trophy. He played in 898 games with the Devils, Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild, and Florida Panthers. From 2013-2016 he was an assistant coach with the Panthers and currently he is the head coach of the Cleveland Monsters in the AHL.
93rd Overall, Round 3
Riley Sutter, Washington Capitals: His father Ron is one of six Sutter brothers who played in the NHL and had 535 points in 1,093 NHL games with the Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, Quebec Nordiques, New York Islanders, Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames.
103rd Overall, Round 4
Jacob Pivonka, New York Islanders: His father Michal was drafted by the Washington Capitals at the 1984 NHL Draft (59th overall) and played all 13 seasons with the Caps, amassing 599 points in 825 games.
Jacob Pivonka follows his father into the NHL. https://t.co/DPHTh0l0wK #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/fQWtv0Bx3P
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 23, 2018
171st Overall, Round 7
Nikolai Kovalenko, Colorado Avalanche: His father Andrei was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques at the 1990 NHL Draft (148th overall), and had 379 points in 620 games with the Nordiques, Montreal Canadiens, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, and Boston Bruins.
193rd Overall, Round 7
Josiah Slavin, Chicago Blackhawks: His brother Jaccob was drafted at the 2012 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes and has 84 points in 227 games for the team over the last three seasons.
Dan Rice is in his 9th year of reporting for THW & has covered NJ Devils home games for 15+ years at various websites. He began his journey working for legendary broadcaster/writer Stan Fischler from 2002-04 & completed an internship at the ECHL; he also has been writing features for the NWHL (nwhl.zone) website since 2016.
