Ben Hutton’s first full season as a pro was memorable one.
The former University of Maine second-team All-American defenseman not only made the Vancouver Canucks’ roster, he finished as their top-scoring defenseman. He also played for Canada’s gold medal-winning team in the World Championships in Russia.
The Prescott, Ontario, native is one of eight former Black Bears on a National Hockey League roster as the regular season gets underway this week.
Hutton and the Canucks face Calgary on Saturday.
Teddy Purcell, who was with Edmonton and Florida last season, signed a one-year, $1.6 million contract with the Los Angeles Kings during the offseason. The Kings met San Jose on Wednesday night.
Also on Wednesday night, the Chicago Blackhawks and former Black Bear goalie Scott Darling met St. Louis. Darling is backing up Corey Crawford.
On Thursday, winger Gustav Nyquist, goalie Jimmy Howard and the Detroit Red Wings start their season against another fellow former UMainer, goalie Ben Bishop and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Longtime starter Howard is expected to be the backup to Petr Mrazek.
Also on Thursday, center Brian Flynn and the Montreal Canadiens visit Buffalo and center-winger Devin Shore and the Dallas Stars entertain Anaheim.
Flynn sustained a neck injury during a preseason game with the Boston Bruins last week so his status for the opener is up in the air.
There also are several other former Black Bears involved in management.
Former UMaine goalie Garth Snow is the general manager, alternate governor and president of the New York Islanders. Former Black Bears defenseman Jack Capuano returns as his head coach with Bob Corkum serving as an assistant and Mike Dunham as the goaltending coach.
Another assistant is Greg Cronin, the former UMaine assistant coach and interim head coach.
The Islanders racked up 100 points and a 45-27-10 record last season and reached the second round of the NHL playoffs.
Ex-Black Bear winger John Tortorella is back as the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, who entertain Boston on Thursday. He replaced the fired Todd Richards after the Blue Jackets got off to an 0-7-0 start and guided Columbus to a 34-33-8 record last season.
Tortorella, who led Tampa Bay to the Stanley Cup championship in 2004, was the head coach of the United States team that went 0-3 in the World Cup of Hockey last month.
And former UM defenseman Dave Nonis, who had been the general manager of the Canucks and the Toronto Maple Leafs, is back with Anaheim as a consultant to GM Bob Murray.
Hutton posted 25 points last season and was tied for third for Vancouver with 24 assists. He averaged 19:52 of playing time per game.
Canucks winger Jannik Hansen told The Province “you don’t expect the guy coming out of nowhere to come in and run the back end and the power play. It usually takes time. But the way he plays gets you excited. All of a sudden you have a player on your team you didn’t count on who’s making a difference.”
The 23-year-old Hutton played in five games for Team Canada in the World Championships and had an assist.
“I’m excited to finally get going,” said Hutton. “The team looks strong and and I’ve got a good partner in Erik Gudbranson.”
Hutton feels he has improved over the course of the off-season.
“I’m stronger and faster this year,” said Hutton. “I want to contribute a little more offensively.”
He said playing in the World Championships was cool and it will help his development.
“He just loves hockey and it’s not fake,” Canucks alternate captain and 2015-2016 leading scorer Daniel Sedin told The Province. “That’s who he is. People talk about the second year being tough, and it’s easy to take the summer off after you’ve had a good rookie season. But he’s come back and he’s bigger and stronger. That’s impressive.”
The Canucks failed to make the playoffs a year ago, going 31-38-13.
“I think we’re going to catch a lot of teams off guard,” said Hutton.
Hutton’s former UMaine teammate Shore played in three games with Dallas a year ago and was having a terrific season with the Stars’ AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. The 22-year-old had 15 goals and 11 assists with Texas before being sidelined for the rest of the season by a shoulder injury that required surgery.
Nyquist had 17 & 26 in 82 games for Detroit last year after notching 55 & 47 in 139 games the previous two seasons combined. He has 76 goals & 82 assists in 261 career games and will be looking for a bounceback season.
Purcell posted 14 & 29 in 76 games between Edmonton and Florida. The 31-year-old Purcell has amassed 101 & 204 in 559 career games.
The 28-year-old Flynn, who has made a name for himself as a checker and penalty-killer, had 4 & 6 in 56 games during an injury-marred campaign. He missed two months due to a lower-body injury. He has played 224 NHL games with 21 goals and 30 assists.
The NHL is back. Can you get the puck by Ben Bishop? https://t.co/qOTJtnsLwR
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 12, 2016
Bishop, who played in one game for Team USA in the World Cup of Hockey, was one of three finalists for the Vezina Trophy awarded to the league’s top goaltender last season. He was 35-21-4 with a league-best 2.06 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage.
He was 8-2 with a 1.85 GAA and a .939 save percentage in the playoffs when an ankle injury shelved him for the duration. Bishop has played in 231 career games and has a 130-65-20 record with a 2.29 GAA and a .920 save percentage.
The 32-year-old Howard struggled to a 14-14-5 season, a 2.80 GAA and a .906 save percentage a year ago and lost his starting job to Mrazek. He will be looking to rebound. Howard has played 375 career games and has a 189-113-53 record with a 2.45 GAA and a .915 save percentage.
Darling was 12-8-3 with Chicago a year ago and had a 2.58 GAA and a .915 save percentage. For his career, he is 21-12-4, 2.36, .922.