7 players with Maine ties featured on NHL playoff rosters

May 19—The state of Maine is well-represented in the National Hockey League playoffs this season.

Three players who grew up in Maine and four former University of Maine players are competing for the chance to raise the Stanley Cup.

Oliver Wahlstrom of Yarmouth, Brain Dumoulin of Biddeford and Garnet Hathaway, who grew up in Kennebunkport, all are key members of their respective teams.

Walstrom is a winger for the New York Islanders, Hathaway plays wing for the Washington Capitals and Dumoulin is a defenseman for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Hathaway played college hockey at Brown University while Dumoulin and Wahlstrom donned the colors of the Boston College Eagles.

The former Black Bears vying for the Cup are goalie Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins, winger Ryan Lomberg of the Florida Panthers, Edmonton Oilers center Devin Shore and Toronto defenseman Ben Hutton.

Swayman has had a memorable rookie year after being called up from Providence and is backing up Boston starter Tuukka Rask. Hutton was obtained by Toronto from Anaheim for a fifth-round pick in a trade-deadline deal.

Published reports have indicated that Hutton is sidelined indefinitely by a medical issue not related to COVID-19.

The 20-year-old Wahlstrom is the son of former UMaine winger Joakim Wahlstrom. He originally committed to UMaine when he was 13, but decommitted. He then agreed to attend Harvard, but backed out of that commitment and eventually played one season at Boston College.

The Islanders' first-round draft pick (11th overall), had an assist Sunday in the Islanders' 4-3 overtime win in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series with Pittsburgh. He posted 12 goals and nine assists in 44 regular-season games for the Islanders.

Wahlstrom spent a season at North Yarmouth Academy but wound up playing for the United States National Team Development Program's Under-17 and Under-18 teams.

The 29-year-old Dumoulin, who has two Stanley Cup rings with the Penguins, played two seasons at Biddeford High. He has skated in 388 NHL regular-season games, posting 15 goals and 81 assists. In playoff games, he has four goals and 20 assists.

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin smiles after scoring a goal during the first period of the team's NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils on Friday, April 9, 2021, in Newark, N.J. Credit: Bill Kostroun / AP

Dumoulin, who contributed four goals and 10 assists in 41 games this season, picked up an assist in the loss to the Islanders. He was a second-round draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Hathaway, who is 29, was born in Naples, Florida, but moved with his family to Kennebunkport when he was 6 months old. His NHL career includes 297 regular-season games with 31 goals and 43 assists.

On Monday, he registered his first playoff points in his 15th postseason game on Monday when he scored two goals in Washington's 4-3 overtime loss to Boston. The undrafted free agent spent four seasons with Calgary before joining the Caps.

Hathaway attended Phillips Academy Andover for four years before spending his next four years at Brown University.

The 22-year-old Swayman, one year removed from winning the Mike Richter Award given to the nation's top collegiate goalie and being a Hobey Baker Award Hat Trick finalist, helped lead the Bruins to a playoff berth. He posted a 7-3 record, a 1.50 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage.

The Bruins' fourth-round draft pick also had two shutouts while filling in for the injured Rask and Jaroslav Halak when he was on the COVID-19 protocols list.

The 26-year-old Shore and the Oilers open their best-of-seven series with Winnipeg on Wednesday. The Dallas Stars second-round draft pick tallied five goals and four assists in 38 games for Edmonton and has 44 goals and 71 assists in 326 NHL games for four teams during a six-year pro career.

Shore has two playoff games under his belt and will be looking for his first playoff point.

Lomberg, 26, was undrafted. He is playing his first season with the Panthers after appearing in 11 games over two seasons with Calgary and registering one assist.

He appeared in 34 games for the Panthers with two goals and two assists. Lomberg made his NHL playoff debut on Sunday in Florida's 5-4 loss to defending Stanley Cup champ Tampa Bay.

He played two seasons at UMaine before off-ice issues, including an altercation, resulted in a 1 1/2-year suspension and led to his departure.

The 28-year-old Hutton, a fifth-round draft pick of Vancouver, played in four games for Toronto and didn't tally any points. He had a goal and four assists in 34 games for Anaheim.

He has played 379 games for four NHL teams and has 16 goals and 75 assists. Hutton has yet to appear in an NHL playoff game.

Toronto opens a best-of-seven series on Thursday against archrival Montreal.