Waterloo Black Hawks alumni have played for 28 of the National Hockey League's 32 teams, and Shane Bowers could help to bring the list closer to 100 percent this fall following a trade announced Monday.

The former Hawks forward was dealt to the New Jersey Devils from the Boston Bruins.  The swap sent defenseman Reilly Walsh to New England.  No former Waterloo skater has previously appeared during a regular season game for New Jersey.  The Columbus Blue Jackets, Vegas Golden Knights, and Seattle Kraken are the only other current NHL teams with that distinction.
 
Bowers made his NHL debut for the Colorado Avalanche last autumn.  However, celebration turned to setback before the first intermission on November 10th.  Bowers was injured during an early shift and did not return to action for more than a month, by which time he had been reassigned to the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League.  In late February, he was traded to the Boston organization.

During two seasons in Waterloo, Bowers was among the United States Hockey League's best young players.  At 16 during most of the 2015/16 campaign, he notched 15 goals and 18 assists in 56 games.  A year later, Bowers pushed his production to 51 points (22 goals, 29 assists) in 60 games.  During his time with the Black Hawks, Bowers' career plus/minus checked in at +20, and he scored seven game-winning goals.

Following his second season with Waterloo, Bowers became just the third Black Hawk – and now one of four in club history – to be chosen during the opening round of the NHL Draft.  The Ottawa Senators picked him 28th overall.

During the next two seasons, Bowers made an impact at Boston University.  He was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team as a freshman in 2017/18 after tallying 32 points (17 goals, 15 assists) in 40 games.  Bowers logged another 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) as a sophomore.  He missed part of the campaign while representing Canada during the IIHF World Junior Championships.

At the professional level, Bowers has skated in 174 AHL regular season games, producing 31 goals and 35 assists.  That includes eight goals and 13 assists this winter, split between Colorado and the Providence Bruins.

In addition to never having a former Black Hawk on their game night lineup card, New Jersey has only previously drafted one former Waterloo player: goaltender Scott Swanjord back in 1994.  The 2023 NHL Draft is later this week in Nashville.