Looking at the rosters of each team in the NHL shows an interesting rainbow of nationalities spread throughout the league. Your email address will not be published. Percentage of Active NHL Players by Nationality Career Stats. NHL Totals by Nationality - 2021-2022 Regular Season Stats. In the NHL, 42% of players are from Canada. On the year, the Carolina Hurricanes have accumulated 203 goals . Its strongly believed that hockey originated in Nova Scotia, Canada. In addition to black and white players, other races and ethnicities represented in the NHL include players of Asian, Latino, and Middle Eastern descent. Josi has been excellent this year and Meier is currently averaging over a point per game. These countries are Slovenia (Anze Kopitar), Belarus (Yegor Sharangovich), Netherlands (Daniel Sprong), and Norway (Mats Zuccarello). Heres hoping for NHL participation in a best-on-best tournament soon. He did play in Switzerland instead of the Ontario Hockey League during the shortened 2020-21 season, for what its worth. In 2010, about 20.5% of the players on opening night rosters were Americans. The players that will be listed below are players that are citizens by birth (native-born). These categories of players do not fit into this classification. Of the 711 players on season-opening rosters, 294 of them, or 41.4%, are from Canada. He played the position of a left winger with the St. Louis Blues. A few years after the formation of the NHL in 1917, 44 (91.7%) of its players were Canadian. Craig Leipold became the majority owner of the Wild in 2008. Simply slipping into poorly fitting skates, Read More Best Ice Hockey Skates for Wide FeetContinue, The NHL entry draft is a moment NHL fans are passionate about as it allows NHL franchises to bring in, Read More The NHL Entry Draft: All You Need To KnowContinue, As a newbie or a pro skater, you must have once wondered, what are the best CCM Skates money can, Read More What Are The Best CCM Skates?Continue. Americans make up more than a quarter of all NHL players. When looking at each team in the NHL, the vast majority of every teams roster comes from a country in the Big Six. While the name Zibanejad has its origin in Farsi, New York Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad is also Swedish. What percentage of NHL players are from Canada? Other international NHL fans are probably following the NHL to see the hockey triumphs of their compatriots. Using the rosters for each team just after the 2022 NHL trade deadline, we broke down each NHL teams roster by nationality once again. There are 73 Swedish players scattered across the league, dwarfing the 46 Finnish and 42 Russian player counts. The only exceptions are Russians who were born in a non-Russian Soviet Socialist Republic under the Soviet Union (such as Anton Khudobin) or Siberia (such as Kirill Kaprizov). Unlike FIFA, players do not register with a country, so nationality is often disputed when . The Netherlands has Daniel Sprong, a right wing for the Anaheim Ducks, and Australia has Nathan Walker, a centre for the Washington Capitals. Ever since the Czechs won gold at the 1998 Winter Olympics, theyve been seen as a major world power. Jakub Voracek and David Pastrnak are perhaps the most recognizable Czech players in the league, but the best Czech player of all time has to the great Jaromir Jagr. In 2010, about 20.5% of the players on opening night rosters were Americans. Collapse. Slowing making themselves known behind Canada are the players from the United States. Percentage of NHL Players by Nationality 20192020 Stats. The very best of Russian hockey or Japanese baseball may make the transition to the United States for more money or fame, but a lot of borderline NHL or MLB talent may stay in their local league rather than trying to brave the world of the AHL or AAA baseball. Even though he was the third pick at the NHL entry draft, he played in the AHL until 2017 when he began his NHL career. Out of North American players, the Edmonton Oilers lead the league with 20 Canadians and the Winnipeg Jets lead with 15 Americans. Canadians Arguably, the best known active Finnish players in the NHL are Mikko Koivu (Minnesota Wild), Valtteri Filppula (Philadelphia Flyers), and Aleksander Barkov (Florida Panthers). Once again, most teams are composed primarily by North American players, though the separation between North America and the rest of the world is not nearly as large as it was for the Big Six. Nearly 43.1 per cent of all 771 current NHL players hail from Canada, followed by the United States at 26.7 per cent, Sweden at 10.5 per cent, Finland at 5.3 per cent, Russia at 4.4 per cent and the Czech Republic at 3.8 per cent. The St. Louis Blues currently have the most Canadian players (18) on their roster. Netherlands 1: While just 25, Daniel Sprong has bounced around quite a bit in his short career, now calling the Kraken home.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[336,280],'thehockeywriters_com-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_10',831,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-thehockeywriters_com-large-mobile-banner-2-0'); United Kingdom 1: St. Louis Blues forward Nathan Walker has a relatively fascinating background as the only (current) British-born NHLer, originally hailing from Wales. NHL History Explained, The NHL Entry Draft: All You Need To Know. A number of ice hockey leagues for players of African descent formed in Canada as early as the late-19th century. This is significantly lower than the start of the season where the average was 1.3 players and 5%. Rk Nationality Players GP G A P PIM PPG SHG GWG; 1 Canada: 42.7%: 43.7%: 41.6%: 42.9%: 42.4%: 50.3% Notable Russian Player: Two playoffs ago, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov led the league in playoff scoring en route to helping his team capture a second straight Stanley Cup. Use Ask Statista Research Service, NHL - number of Stanley Cups won by team 1915-2022, Value of National Hockey League franchises 2021, Average home attendance in the NHL by team 2021/22. In terms of birth country though, Bulgaria (Alexandar Georgiev), Great Britain (Nathan Walker), and Uzbekistan (Arthur Kaliyev) join the list. Rk State Players; 1: . rosters at the start of this 2022-23 season, six and a half years ago, it was roughly half, first Soviet NHL player in Sergei Pryakhin, departures to the Kontinental Hockey League, Maple Leafs Roster Moves Mean Trade is Imminent, NHL Trade Bait List for the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline, Wild Check-In: Kaprizov, Hartman, Middleton & Defense, Sharks Mike Grier Leading Organization in the Right Direction, 5 Takeaways From Kraken Losses to the Bruins and Leafs, Sabres News & Rumors: Cozens, Hinostroza, Stillman & Houser, 4 Takeaways from Ducks Win Over Blackhawks, Golden Knights Offense Comes Out Flat in Barbashevs Debut, Canadiens News and Rumors: Edmundson, Deadline and More, 3 Takeaways From Kyle Dubas Post-Trade Presser, Lightning Add Grit to Lineup with Addition of Tanner Jeannot, Sharks Meier Trade Provides Framework for Future Deals, Kraken Embarking on Their Biggest Road Trip of The Season, Canucks News & Rumors: Kravtsov, Stillman, Kerfoot & More, Oilers Need to Follow the Lightnings Trade Deadline Strategy, Flames Trevor Lewis Could Prove Useful for Several Playoff Teams, Bruins & Red Wings Could Make Big Trade at 2023 Trade Deadline. We have previously established that Russian NHL coverage is focused on following Russian players. [10] Born in Vernon, British Columbia, Kwong was a Chinese Canadian of Cantonese descent. In the coming years, it is possible for a country like the US, which is a close second to Canada in player dominance, to eventually have the highest percentage of players in the league. Teams included in the chart below, and all subsequent charts breaking down nationality are as follows in order: Canada, United States, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Slovakia, Germany, Denmark, Latvia, France, Austria, Slovenia, Belarus, Netherlands, and Norway. Rk Nationality Players GP G A P PIM PPG SHG GWG; 1 Canada: 414: 15 167: 2451: 4153: 6604: 8550: 528: 72: 380: 2 United States: 263: 9951: 1586: 2656: 4242: 4492: 314: 49: 230: 3 . If youre going for Austrian through and through, then youve got Minnesota Wild forward Marco Rossi. Percentage of NHL Players by Nationality Career Stats. Broken down even further, most of the Big Six players hail from North America. Leading Belgian national team players at FIFA World Cup 2018, by market . The Washington Capitals lead the league with six players from non-Big Six countries. Statistics are current through the end of the 2021-22 NHL season and players currently playing in the National Hockey League are marked in boldface.. All players are listed by the current country of the players' birth location . It is certainly Canadas largest league in every sense. In terms of percentages, Russian players account for 5.4% of all the currently active players in the NHL now. This is followed by Massachusetts with 45 players, and Michigan with 38 players. Needless to say, its not just a Canadian game. 344 of the NHLs 784 players come from the country with the maple leaf flag. Theme: Newsup by Themeansar. Who owns the Minnesota Wild? France 1 (0.1%): Coincidentally, French forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare left the Colorado Avalanche after the 2020-21 season, moving to the then-Stanley Cup-champion Lightning. }, Make your own pro-style baseball card complete with statistics, bio data and trivia, Make your own pro-style football card complete with stats using Starr Cards, World record fastest badminton smashes with Tan Boon Heong and Mads Pieler Kolding, Make your own pro-style basketball card on the iPhone complete with stats, Rafael Nadal will pilot your smoking helicopter, sore wrist and all, No ifs, ands, or butts: Giving the derriere its due across each of the major team sports, Remembering AB de Villiers fastest ODI century in cricket history off 31 balls, Bend It Like Beckham: Why soccer balls curve one way and smooth balls curve backwards. You need to be a highly skilled hockey player, of course, but if you happen to be a highly skilled player from Zimbabwe, you can play in the NHL if you really want. Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; G/G = Goals per game; A/G = Assists per game. Canada, Russia, the United States are far larger. [11] In 1953, Fred Sasakamoose was the first Cree NHL player, and the first Canadian indigenous player in the NHL, debuting with the Chicago Black Hawks. Henrik Lundqvist, Gabriel Landerskog, Jonas Brodin, Elias Petterson, Erik Karlsson, Victor Hedman, Nicklas Backstrom are just some of the Swedes NHL fans may recognize by name. The last nation not included in the Other section for having less than 10 NHL players is Switzerland. How has the nationality spread of NHL players changed over time? Finlands best may not be as flashy as Swedens but it includes Aleksander Barkov and Mikko Rantanen. Figure 3 is a heat map that plots the origin countries of NHL players. In 2010, about 20.5% of the players on opening night rosters were Americans. At the beginning of the season, the New Jersey Devils has six players from outside the Big Six. For years in the NHL; during the era of the original six (read more about the original six NHL teams here) and decades after that, Canadian players ruled the ice hockey rink. Slovak goaltender Jaroslav Halak is still putting up good numbers as well and he may make one final run as Slovakias Olympic goaltender. NHL History ExplainedContinue, Hockey players often have difficulty finding the right ice hockey skates for wide feet. NHL; NHL DRAFT; AHL; KHL; SHL; LIIGA; NLA; DEL; OHL; QMJHL; WHL; . Percentage. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Find our most recent breakdown using opening day rosters from the 2021-22 season here!