Dartmouth Professional Athletes

Dartmouth NHL Roundup | Oct. 11–17, 2026

Two Dartmouth goaltenders found themselves in the spotlight this week — one battling through a tough loss in Winnipeg, the other getting an unexpected call to South Florida.

Stevenson Stands Tall in a Losing Effort

Clay Stevenson has quietly become one of the more interesting stories in the NHL's early weeks. With Connor Hellebuyck sidelined, Stevenson has been asked to carry the load in Winnipeg alongside Stuart Skinner — and he's been doing it well enough that the Jets rank seventh in the league with just 2.83 goals allowed per game through six games.

Saturday night's 3-2 loss to Carolina was a prime example of Stevenson doing his job while the result didn't follow. He stopped 34 of 37 shots for a .919 save percentage against a Hurricanes squad that has now reeled off seven straight wins. The decisive blow came from an unlikely source: former Jet Nikolaj Ehlers, who fired a third-period power-play wrist shot past Stevenson's glove at 6:43 to seal it. That's a tough way to lose — a familiar face, an opportunistic power play, and a team playing its best hockey of the season. None of that falls on the Dartmouth product.

The bigger picture is genuinely encouraging. Stevenson is holding down a starting role on a legitimate playoff contender without the safety net of the franchise's cornerstone goaltender. For a former Ivy League netminder, that's no small thing.

Black Gets the Call in Florida

While Stevenson was logging tough minutes in Winnipeg, Cooper Black was getting his own moment across the league. The Panthers recalled the goaltender from their AHL affiliate in Charlotte ahead of Tuesday's matchup against Columbus — a move triggered after Jacob Markstrom left Monday's game early with what coach Paul Maurice described as "tightening up."

Black was on the active roster for a 7-3 Florida blowout win over the Blue Jackets on Tuesday, giving him his second NHL recall of his professional career. He also dressed Thursday as the Panthers edged the Canucks 3-2. Whether he sees the ice in a meaningful way depends entirely on Markstrom's health, but just earning that call-up nod on a defending-caliber Panthers squad is a credentialing moment for the Big Green alum.

O'Connor Grinding in Vancouver

Drew O'Connor had a quieter week in Vancouver, picking up an assist in Sunday's loss to the Rangers but also posting a minus-2 mark in back-to-back outings against the Islanders and Panthers. The Canucks went 1-3 over the stretch, dropping that Panthers game 3-2 Thursday in a matchup that had Dartmouth alumni on both sides of the ice — O'Connor for Vancouver, Black on Florida's bench.

It was a rough week for Vancouver overall, and O'Connor's numbers reflect the team's struggles more than any individual breakdown. He's still finding his footing as the season gets underway.

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Three Dartmouth alumni. Three NHL rosters. Not bad for Hanover.

Clay Stevenson Makes the Jump

For a Dartmouth goaltender, the path to an NHL roster spot rarely runs through the waiver wire — but Clay Stevenson isn't following a conventional script.

The Jets claimed Stevenson off waivers from the Washington Capitals organization this week, and the move paid off immediately: Winnipeg named him to their Opening Night 23-man roster, locking him in as the backup netminder to start the 2026–27 season.

The timing of the claim was shaped by circumstances well beyond Stevenson's control. The Jets are navigating an uncertain situation with franchise cornerstone Connor Hellebuyck, and as that situation has dragged into the regular season, Winnipeg needed a credible option between the pipes — fast. Stevenson fit the bill.

What He Brings

The numbers from Stevenson's time in the AHL made the gamble an easy call. He posted a .921 save percentage and a 2.00 goals-against average during the 2025–26 season with the Hershey Bears, numbers that rank among the better goaltending performances in the minors and signaled a player ready to make the full-time NHL leap.

Winnipeg bypassed at least one more familiar option to take a shot on Stevenson, betting that his dominant minor-league production translates to the next level. It's a high-upside wager for a team that finds itself suddenly thin in goal at the worst possible time.

The Big Picture for the Big Green

Stevenson's roster spot is the kind of moment Dartmouth hockey — not exactly a traditional NHL pipeline — rarely gets to celebrate. He joins fellow Dartmouth alum Cooper Black (Panthers) and Drew O'Connor (Canucks) as active NHL players from Hanover, giving the program three representatives in the league simultaneously.

O'Connor has carved out a consistent role on the left wing in Vancouver, while Black remains in the Florida organization. But Stevenson's story carries a different charge: an undrafted goaltender, developed through the AHL grind, now standing one injury — or one Connor Hellebuyck resolution — away from a genuine NHL starting opportunity.

Opening Night rosters are earned, not given, and Stevenson is on one. For a program that produces more Rhodes Scholars than first-round picks, that's worth noting.