Former London Knights, local players take centre ice in NHL playoffs

Now that the NHL playoffs have started, London Knights fans can watch current and former members of the green and gold.

Twenty former Knights will suit up for the NHL playoffs this year while seven players from the London region will also see playoff action.

The list of former Knights includes Corey Perry, Matthew Tkachuk, Rick Nash, Sam Gagner, Patrick Kane, Nazem Kadri and Mitch Marner.

Perry will face off against Tkachuk and Wideman Thursday in Anaheim at 10:30 p.m.

Perry told AM980’s Mike Stubbs the playoffs are completely different from the regular season.

“It’s a different year, once the regular season ends you turn the page and anything can happen after that. You just want to make the playoff, have a chance and be one of the 16 teams that are vying for the Stanley Cup,” he said.

Of the 16 teams in the NHL playoffs, only Boston, Minnesota and St. Louis don’t have a player who is either a former London Knight or from the London region.

Paul Marner, father of Mitch Marner, told AM980 he always knew his son would reach the NHL.

“I truly believed that Mitch would live out his dream as an NHL player. I didn’t know it would be Toronto but I could see at an early age he was a gifted player at the sport,” he said.

The series with the most local talent on display will be the Pittsburgh-Columbus series, which started Wednesday night with the Penguins defeating the Blue Jackets 3-1. It includes five former Knights and one local player (Boone Jenner).

The current edition of the London Knights face off against the Erie Otters Thursday at Budweiser Gardens at 7 p.m., Erie leads the series 2-1. You can hear the game on AM980 starting at 6:30 p.m. with the pre-game.

Former London Knights in NHL playoffs:

1. Corey Perry (Anaheim)
2. Matthew Tkachuk (Calgary)
3. Dennis Wideman (Calgary)
4. Patrick Kane (Chicago)
5. Josh Anderson (Columbus)
6. Kyle Quincey (Columbus)
7. Sam Gagner (Columbus)
8. Scott Harrington (Columbus)
9. Patrick Maroon (Edmonton)
10. Michael McCarron (Montreal)
11. Austin Watson (Nashville)
12. Rick Nash (New York)
13. Dan Girardi (New York)
14. Marc Methot (Ottawa)
15. Chris Kelly (Ottawa)
16. Olli Maatta (Pittsburgh)
17. Chris Tierney (San Jose)
18. Nazem Kadri (Toronto)
19. Mitch Marner (Toronto)
20. John Carlson (Washington)

London area natives in NHL playoffs:

1. Brian Campbell (Chicago)
2. Boone Jenner (Columbus)
3. Nathan Beaulieu (Montreal)
4. Joe Thornton (San Jose)
5. Dylan DeMelo (San Jose)
6. Logan Couture (San Jose)
7. Curtis McElhinney (Toronto)