3 Former Milwaukee Admirals Players Meet in Stanley Cup Final

Three Milwaukee Admiral alumni, including a pair of former teammates, are still alive in the quest for the Stanley Cup as the San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins face-off  tonight for game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals

According to the Milwaukee Admiral's release, San Jose’s Nick Spaling and Pittsburgh’s Patric Hornqvist were teammates together on the Admirals 2008-09 club that won the AHL’s West Division Title with a 49-22-3-6 record.

Spaling spent parts of three seasons in Milwaukee from 2008-11, recording 20 goals and 34 assists for 54 points in 131 games. Nashville’s 2nd round pick in the 2007 NHL Draft, Spaling was traded to the Sharks mid-season and posted two goals and four assists in 23 regular season games. He has an assist while playing in all 18 of San Jose’s post-season games.

Hornqvist tallied 17 goals and adding 18 assists in 49 games for Milwaukee during the 08-09 campaign and then chipped in eight points in 11 playoff games. The Solluntuna, Sweden native played in all 82 games for the Penguins this season, finishing fourth on the club with 22 goals and fifth with 51 points.

In addition to Spaling and Hornqvist, San Jose Head Coach Peter DeBoer spent his entire playing career with the Admirals. In his first season at the helm of the Sharks ship, DeBoer has led the club to their first Stanley Cup Final in team history. He played for Milwaukee from 1988-91 when he collected 101 points on 48 goals and 53 assists in 151 games. During the 1990-91 season DeBoer finished third on the club with 61 points and was one of just two players to skate in all 82 games.

There have been 15 former Admirals who have won the Stanley Cup. Most recently it was Scott Darling and Kimmo Timonen with the Chicago Blackhawks last season.

The Admirals will begin the 2016-17 season on October 29th at 7 pm in the inaugural game at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena. The complete schedule will be released later this summer.