The new National Hockey League season begins with three games this evening.  Former Waterloo Black Hawks could be involved in all of them.

At this time last year, Sam Rinzel was on the blue line for the University of Minnesota, but he might be on the ice for the very first NHL puck drop of 2025/26 when the Chicago Blackhawks visit the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.  Later tonight, Tommy Novak and the Pittsburgh Penguins are at Madison Square Garden to visit the New York Rangers. It will only be Novak's third game in a uniform that doesn't feature the Nashville Predators' logo.  Then in the late game, former Waterloo teammates will be on opposite sides of the ice when the Colorado Avalanche visit the L.A. Kings.  Mikey Anderson was a 16-year-old Black Hawk in 2015/16, and he was still with Waterloo the following season when Jack Drury came to the Cedar Valley at the same age.
 
For Waterloo fans who take the "Once a Black Hawk, Always a Black Hawk" sentiment seriously, the start of a new NHL season is always exciting.  It's nearly the equivalent of having a Waterloo game every day, because there is almost always someone to cheer for.

Each of the eight former Hawks opening the season in the NHL take the ice in a different role.  Here is some of what to watch for tonight, this week, and throughout 2025/26.

Mike Anderson – Absolutely Positive
L.A. Kings vs. Colorado Avalanche, Tuesday (Oct. 7)

This will be Anderson's sixth full season in the NHL.  He has never finished a year with a negative plus/minus.  Since the beginning of the 2020/21 season, Anderson ranks in the top 50 among all NHL players for that stat category.  After delivering a +17 rating last season, the steady defenseman is now +69 during his NHL career.  Anderson helped the Kings to a second place finish in the Pacific Division last season.  Los Angeles finished just five points behind the Vegas Golden Knights.  Anderson played in 77 games, recording a career-high 24 points (six goals, 18 assists).

Brock Boeser – The Future is Now
Vancouver Canucks vs. Calgary Flames, Thursday (Oct. 9)

From at least the beginning of last season, speculation swirled around if and when Boeser would sign a new contract, where he might be traded if there was no new deal, and what would happen in free agency.  All the questions were finally resolved in July when the offensively gifted forward re-signed with the only NHL club he has ever played for.  The seven-year pact should keep him in Vancouver for his most productive years at hockey's highest level.  Boeser has played 554 regular season games for the Canucks.  The most impressive was in 2023/24 when he set career highs for games played (81), goals (40), and points (73).

Jack Drury – Moving Toward 200
Colorado Avalanche at L.A. Kings, Tuesday (Oct. 7)

If everything goes according to plan, Drury will make his 200th NHL appearance sometime in early November.  Thus far in his professional career, many of the 25-year-old's best attributes are things which teammates and coaches appreciate but which don't pop off the stat sheet.  For example, Drury won 56.6 percent of his faceoffs after being traded to Colorado from Carolina last January.  He is available as a penalty killer and has always been a willing shot-blocker.  Even despite a broken thumb last winter, Drury played in 72 games combined between the Hurricanes and Avalanche.

Vinnie Hinostroza – A Permanent Home
Minnesota Wild at St. Louis Blues, Thursday (Oct. 9)

Hinostroza's opportunities at the NHL level have been limited for most of the last three seasons.  He played in just 26 games for the Buffalo Sabres in 2022/23, then only 14 for the Pittsburgh Penguins the next year.  Hinostroza started last season in the American Hockey League with the Milwaukee Admirals and was having an all-star caliber year before a call-up to the Nashville Predators.  When Nashville tried to send him back to the AHL after 13 games, the Wild claimed him off waivers, and Hinostroza finished the campaign five goals and three assists in the last 25 games of the year.  The 31-year-old is with his seventh team but might have his biggest opportunity since the Arizona Coyotes traded for him early in his NHL career.

Brandon Montour – Olympian?
Seattle Kraken vs. Anaheim Ducks, Thursday (Oct. 9)

During the offseason, Montour was at the camp for Canada's Olympic team and is a contender to win a place on the roster.  His performance in Seattle during the first four months of the season could impact whether he plays in Cortina this February.  Last season, Montour set a career high with 18 goals (13 of them at even strength) during his first year for the Kraken.  It was also the fifth time in his career that Montour has appeared in 80 or more regular season games.  Near season's end, he skated in his 600th contest; he is on track to surpass Mark Eaton for the most NHL appearances by a former Waterloo defenseman (650).

Tommy Novak – A New Beginning in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers, Tuesday (Oct. 7)

Novak has scored at least 13 goals in each of the last three seasons.  All of them came while skating for the Nashville Predators.  It seemed he would have plenty of time to adjust to new surroundings with the Pittsburgh Penguins following a trade deadline deal last March.  Just two games after the swap, Novak was sidelined by a leg injury and missed the remainder of the season.  He gets a new start this fall, hoping to rebound toward the scoring success he had in 2022/23 (17 goals, 26 assists) and 2023/24 (18 goals, 27 assists).

Sam Rinzel – First Full Season
Chicago Blackhawks at Florida Panthers, Tuesday (Oct. 7)

Some of the most exciting moments in the Chicago Blackhawks' 2024/25 season came at the end of last year when several highly regarded prospects made their NHL debuts.  Rinzel was right in the midst of that group and may have given Chicago fans the most to talk about.  After wrapping up his college season with the Minnesota Gophers, Rinzel signed, then was in the Blackhawks' lineup in the blink of an eye.  He stacked up five assists in nine appearances, including one apiece in the last four games on the schedule.  If the late season is any indication, many of Rinzel's points this year are likely to come in power play situations.

Dylan Samberg – Out for the Opener
Winnipeg Jets at Dallas Stars, Thursday (Oct. 9)

Not only will Samberg miss Winnipeg's first game later this week, a broken wrist means the 26-year-old will not be on the ice until late next month at the earliest.  Samberg was hurt during an exhibition game against the Calgary Flames.  It's a setback for the Jets after he contributed a career best six goals and 20 points with a +34 plus/minus mark last season.  Samberg was also on the ice for more than 21 minutes per game.  During the offseason, the defenseman agreed to a three-year deal with the Jets, who drafted him in 2017 following his time in Waterloo.

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