While officially an ACC school for the past ten years, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish hockey program still competes in the Big Ten Conference as an associate member. Although the Fighting Irish are known more for their famed football program, their hockey team has been around since 1912.
Although the hockey team has never captured an NCAA banner, the Fighting Irish have made the championship game twice and have made four appearances in the Frozen Four. Despite not having the same team success as some of the traditional NCAA powerhouses, Notre Dame has still been able to produce a number of players who have gone on to have significant careers in the NHL.
For fans who are looking to add a little more excitement to the college hockey season some of the best sports betting apps allow you to place bets on the Fighting Irish games, whether it be the game winners or over/under on the total goals scored. While the team will undergo a coaching change with current head coach Jeff Jackson stepping down and Brock Sheahan taking over in 2025, Notre Dame has still managed to produce players like Landon Slaggert, Patrick Moynihan, and Danny Nelson who are among the next group of Fighting Irish favored to make the NHL.
Dave Poulin
One of the great offensive defensemen of the 1980s, whose career spanned into the mid-1990s, Dave Poulin spent four years with the Fighting Irish before taking his career overseas to play in Sweden. Undrafted into the NHL, it would be Rogle BK’s head coach Ted Sator, who also worked with the Philadelphia Flyers, who gave Poulin his break into the NHL.
During Poulin’s first full season in the City of Brotherly Love, he recorded 76 points in 73 games, (a rookie record that has since been broken). Poulin would spend the better part of eight years in Philadelphia, earning a Selke Award in 1987, before being traded to the Boston Bruins during the 1989-90 season. Despite making three appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals (two with the Flyers, and one with the Bruins) Poulin could not bring home the hardware. Following his retirement in 1995, Poulin would return to his alma mater, coaching the Fighting Irish for ten years.
Anders Lee
After a star-studded high school sports career in both hockey and football, Anders Lee spent three impressive seasons playing for the Fighting Irish. Yet despite being named to several All CCHA Teams (1st, 2nd, Rookie) Lee could not draw much attention from NHL scouts. Dropping all the way to the sixth round before the New York Islanders selected him with the 151st pick, Lee scored his first NHL goal on his first shot in his debut game just one day after signing his pro contract.
A two-way threat, Lee has become a team and fan favorite thanks to his ability to find the back of the net and also mix it up with the opposition when needed. As captain of the Islanders since 2018, Lee has certainly proven a lot of scouts wrong.
Ian Cole
Statistically, Ian Cole may not have the same individual success as his fellow Fighting Irish, but from a team standpoint, Cole has arguably the best resume of anyone who played for Notre Dame. Selected by the St. Louis Blues with the 18th pick in the 2007 NHL Draft, Cole would spend three seasons on campus appearing in three NCAA Tournaments and helping the team reach its first Frozen Four in 2008.
After some seasoning in the AHL with the Peoria Rivermen, Cole would make his NHL debut in 2010. Following five seasons in St. Louis, Cole would be traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team that he helped win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. Now on his eighth team, the 35-year-old 6’1”, 225lb defenseman still has the ability to play rock-solid defense, clearing both the net and the puck.
Kyle Palmieri
Kyle Palmieri’s journey from playing hockey as a youth in New Jersey to Notre Dame was a long and winding road. After playing high school at St. Peter’s Preparatory, Palmieri joined the USA Hockey National Team Development Program and would eventually be drafted by the OHL’s Guelph Storm. Rather than playing for the Storm, Palmieri remained with the NTDP, but was eventually released for disciplinary reasons. During his freshman season with the Fighting Irish, the Anaheim Ducks would draft him with the 26th pick in 2009.
For the next five seasons, Palmieri split time between the Ducks and the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL. A trade in 2015 led Palmieri to return home, suiting up for the New Jersey Devils for the next six years, where he would score 25+ goals on four occasions. In 2020, Palmieri found himself on the move again, this time across the Hudson River to his current team, the New York Islanders.
Mark Eaton
After two seasons of playing in the USHL with the Waterloo Black Hawks, defenseman Mark Eaton earned the CCHA Rookie of the Year Award during his first and only season with the Fighting Irish. Known primarily as a “stay at home” defender, Eaton’s 12 goals during his one college season have served as a career-high at any level.
As an undrafted rookie, Eaton signed a free-agent deal with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1988, spending most of his time with their AHL affiliate during his two years with the team. During Eaton’s thirteen-year NHL career in which he recorded 85 points in 650 regular season games, he would wear four different jerseys, including the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team that he helped to win the 2009 Stanley Cup.
