Northeastern Professional Athletes

Devon Levi's Northeastern career made him one of the most decorated goaltenders in Huskies history. His NHL path, however, has been anything but a straight line — and the latest chapter dropped him into one of the league's most scrutinized situations imaginable.

Acquired from the Buffalo Sabres and now suiting up for the Edmonton Oilers, Levi made his debut with his new club during the week of September 27 against the Vancouver Canucks. It wasn't a storybook entrance. The Oilers did pick up the win, moving Levi to 1-0 in an Edmonton sweater, but the performance behind the numbers was enough to raise eyebrows. Heavy Sports called it an "Oilers nightmare" — a description that captures the anxiety surrounding a crease that hasn't offered Edmonton much comfort heading into the new season.

How Levi Got Here

The Oilers didn't arrive at Levi by accident, but the path to him wasn't inevitable either. According to Yahoo Sports, GM Stan Bowman considered other options — including a goaltender from the Jets — before ultimately betting on Levi's upside to stabilize a roster built to contend for another Stanley Cup. It was a swing on ceiling over certainty.

The context matters: Tristan Jarry, acquired from Pittsburgh at significant cost, has struggled badly out of the gate. Heavy Sports reported that Jarry's rough start to the 2026-27 campaign sent the fanbase searching for alternatives almost immediately — and Levi's name began trending as the logical answer inside the organization. The Oilers announced his start against Vancouver before the game, a signal that the team was ready to move on from Jarry, at least temporarily.

High Stakes, Familiar Pressure

For Northeastern fans, Levi's talent has never been in question. The concern in Buffalo — and now the question in Edmonton — is whether that promise translates consistently at the NHL level.

Sportsnet analyst Jason Bukala raised the stakes plainly on The FAN Hockey Show: if Jarry can't right the ship and Levi can't seize the moment, the Oilers' front office may need to look outside the organization entirely. That's the tightrope Levi is walking — not just competing for starts, but potentially serving as the answer to a legitimately urgent problem for a championship-caliber team.

The Oilers aren't rebuilding. They're not being patient. McDavid and Draisaitl don't win Stanley Cups in theory — they need a goalie to get them there in practice. Levi just became the person most likely to be handed that job.

For a kid who played in front of Northeastern crowds at Matthews Arena not long ago, the margin for error in Edmonton couldn't be more different. The debut was messy. The opportunity, though, is real — and it's his to lose.

Two Huskies, One Camp, Zero Quiet Nights

Edmonton's preseason has a distinct Northeastern flavor right now, and the alumni office in Boston should be paying attention.

Devon Levi and Ryan Shea — both products of the Huskies program — are making convincing cases for themselves in Oilers camp, and the week of September 20–26 gave fans plenty to talk about.

Shea Runs with the First Unit

Ryan Shea, the defenseman who came up through Northeastern before carving a professional path, turned heads in Edmonton's preseason win over the Jets. Sportsnet's Mark Spector singled out Shea in his takeaways, noting the blueliner "looked like he could hang with the top unit" — the kind of quiet but unmistakable validation that can define a roster battle. In a camp full of incumbents and high-profile names, standing out as a newcomer against first-unit competition is no small thing. Shea's performance put the hockey world on notice that his spot on this team is very much in play.

Levi Opens Up on the Road That Built Him

Meanwhile, Levi — the Oilers' goaltending prospect who has long been regarded as one of the more cerebral netminders in the system — sat down with Sportsnet to reflect on his time in the AHL. The conversation was striking for its candor.

Levi didn't frame the minor-league years as a detour or a setback. He called them "the best three years" of his life. He said he grew not just as a goalie, but as a person — and that he "needed those lessons." That's the kind of self-awareness that scouts and coaches notice. A goaltender who can articulate what went wrong, what changed, and why he's better for it is a goaltender who tends to keep getting better.

The AHL can chew up prospects who arrive with big reputations and send them back smaller. Levi appears to be the other kind of story — one who absorbed the grind, reframed it, and came out the other side with both the tools and the temperament to stick in the NHL. With solid goaltending already on the Oilers' ledger this preseason, Levi looks every bit the part of an NHL-ready netminder.

The Broader Huskies Footprint

Northeastern's reach across the NHL this week wasn't limited to Edmonton. Cayden Primeau — now with the Carolina Hurricanes — turned in a sharp preseason performance, stopping all 20 shots he faced in a 3-2 shootout win over the Florida Panthers. Primeau's perfect night between the pipes was a reminder that the Huskies have quietly become a factory for NHL-caliber goaltending.

Over in Philadelphia, Hunter McDonald made news for the wrong reasons — though none of it was his fault. Washington's Andrew Cristall was ejected and later fined the CBA maximum of $2,250.86 after cross-checking McDonald in the face during a preseason game. McDonald had been involved in a check on Ryan Leonard before Cristall retaliated. The Flyers defenseman walked away from what was a dangerous play; the league made clear it noticed.

From goaltenders to defensemen, Northeastern alumni are scattered across the league and making an impact — but right now, all eyes belong on Edmonton, where two Huskies are quietly making the case that Northeastern night in the NHL is just getting started.