Eight active NHL players to know from the St. Louis area

ST. LOUIS – It’s hockey time! The National Hockey League opens the 2023–24 season with a small handful of games Tuesday.

The St. Louis Blues will begin their new season Thursday in Dallas before their home opener this weekend. Looking beyond the Blues, there’s some strong St. Louis representation in the NHL.

Several teams have at least one guy who hails from the St. Louis region. This year especially offers a nice mix of captains, youngsters and savvy veterans.

As teams prepare to hit the ice, make sure you know these eight NHL players with St. Louis roots.

Matthew Tkachuk

Team: Florida Panthers
Position: Left wing
Raised in: St. Louis County

Matthew Tkachuk and his younger brother Brady are the big-ticket names from the St. Louis area, though both moved from Arizona in 2001 after their father Keith was traded from the Coyotes to the Blues. At 25 years old, Matthew has established himself as one of the league’s top scorers, posting back-to-back 40-goal and 100-point campaigns.

Matthew rose to stardom during last season’s playoffs, scoring several overtime and series-deciding goals to lift the eight-seed Panthers to an unexpected Stanley Cup Final. It’s not just the scoring that makes Matthew valuable. He’s also a strong defensive forward tasked with key minutes on the penalty kill and known to deliver big hits. Matthew is an alternate captain for the Panthers and is preparing for his first of eight seasons in a high-dollar, long-term deal.

Brady Tkachuk

Team: Ottawa Senators
Position: Left wing
Raised in: St. Louis County

Nearly two years younger than Matthew, Brady has taken on quite some big leadership roles as the Senators work to crawl out of a lengthy rebuild. Brady has served as the team’s captain since the 2021-22 campaign, and he set career bests in goals (35) and points (83) last year. He has quite a similar build and skill set to his brother, though he is unarguably the better checker. He’s averaged at least 250 hits through his first five seasons. Brady could occasionally see some line shifts with longtime Blue and first-year Senator Vladimir Tarasenko this season.

Clayton Keller

Team: Arizona Coyotes
Position: Left Wing
Hometown: Chesterfield, Missouri

If there’s one guy the stadium-troubled Arizona Coyotes should build around for the long haul, it’s 25-year-old Clayton Keller. Along with setting career highs in goals (37), assists (49) and points (86) last season, Keller averaged around 20 minutes of ice time. He creates quite a number of scoring opportunities too, consistently averaging around three shots per game. Many hockey enthusiasts say his speed can also be a game-changer.

Pat Maroon

Team: Minnesota Wild
Position: Left Wing
Hometown: Oakville, Missouri

Who in St. Louis could ever forget Pat Maroon? He lives in Blues playoff glory as a hometown hero, the man behind the series-clinching overtime goal that advanced the Blues to the Western Conference Finals in 2019, en route to the franchise’s only Stanley Cup title. Maroon was traded to Minnesota in the offseason after several years with the Tampa Bay Lightning. His scoring is a bit diminished from previous years, but he’s still valuable for veteran leadership and grit that comes behind hundreds of hits.

Adam Lowry

Team: Winnipeg Jets
Position: Center
Hometown: St. Louis

Like the Tkachuks, Adam Lowry followed in the footsteps of his father into the NHL, former Blues forward Dave Lowry. Adam earned the captain’s honor for the Winnipeg Jets this season as the franchise works through a bit of a retooling phase. Lowry is better known for his defensive than offensive abilities as a forward. He did, however, set a career high in points last season (36) and is well revered among his Winnipeg peers.

Scott Mayfield

Team: New York Islanders
Position: Defenseman
Hometown: St. Louis

He’s not your everyday stat-stuffer, but a very reliable piece of an underdog Islanders squad. Mayfield had perfect attendance last season and posted his second season of 100-plus blocks and 100-plus hits. He is also the longest-tenured of any active St. Louis native on one squad, preparing for his 10th season in New York.

Trent Frederic

Team: Boston Bruins
Position: Center
Hometown: St. Louis

After years of work to carve out a consistent role with the Boston Bruins, this could finally be the year of a boom for Trent Frederic. The 25-year-old, like many fellow teammates, will be given more responsibilities after longtime captain Patrice Bergeron retired in the offseason. A recent feature from The Athletic called Frederic the Bruins’ “most critical player” of the 2023-24 years in terms of his size, shooting and speed he exhibits. Twenty goals and half a point per game, along with defensive improvements, are a realistic expectation.

Joseph Woll

Team: Toronto Maple Leafs
Position: Goaltender
Hometown: Dardenne Prairie, Missouri

Joseph Woll is the best definition of “next man up” among current St. Louis-area-raised players. He sprung into action after several injuries to Toronto goalies Ilya Samsonov and Matt Murray last season, even winning a second-round playoff game. Woll will start as Toronto’s backup behind Samsonov, but he’s capable of a starter’s workload and has one of the league’s best offenses to support him. Woll is 9-2-0 with a 2.38 goals against average and a .924 save percentage in limited opportunities since 2021.

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In addition to the previous eight mentioned, these are among others with St. Louis roots on NHL rosters and/or looking for opportunities this season.