When Owen Power was selected first overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2021 draft, it was the first time six years that Canadians were taken first overall in back-to-back drafts. The 7th and 8th most represented countries are Switzerland and Denmark, with 13 and 11 NHL players, respectively. However, six and a half years ago, it was roughly half, while in the 1980s it was over three-quarters.. Statista. David Schriner was born in Saratov in the Russian Empire but moved with his parent to Calgary, Alberta Canada when he was a month old. Percentage of NHL Players by Nationality 20222023 Stats. That's 269 hockey players, with 26 of them being goalies. But how do you choose which youth ice, Read More What Are The Best Youth Ice Hockey Skates In The Market?Continue, PO Box 275, Triq il-KbiraZurrieq ZRQ 1317MALTA, Percentage of NHL Players That Are Americans, List OF Countries And Their First NHL Players, Who Are The Original Six? In terms of percentages, the breakdown of NHL players by nationality during the 2017-18 season were as follows: Canada (45.9%), United States (26.6%), Sweden (9.8%), Finland (4.1%), Czech Republic (4.0%), Russia (3.8%), Switzerland (1.6%), Slovakia (1.4%), Denmark (0.8%), Germany (0.8%), Austria (0.3%), France (0.3%), Australia (0.1%), Latvia Canada and the United States have so many more players than any other country that they are represented by vastly different colors than Europe which is painted in various shades of blue. United States. The depth of Canadian hockey talent is so great that Canada without Quebec still has the most plentiful pool of hockey talent in the world. 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. Roman Josi, Nino Neiderreiter, Kevin Fiala, Pius Suter, and Timo Meier are all Swiss players. Playing with the Boston Bruins, he was also the first NHL player of African-descent. 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. The game is growing though, and its clear that countries like Switzerland, Germany, and Slovakia are steadily climbing up the international ice hockey charts. 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This is significantly lower than the start of the season where the average was 1.3 players and 5%. This season, of the 17 countries represented, five have just a single player in the league. Percentage of Active NHL Players by Nationality Career Stats. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. There were 259 Canadian forwards (53.7%), 123 defenders (48%) and 35 goalies (53%) and they made up 51.8% of the NHL. Canada still leads with the most players by country, but the U.S. isn't far behind, and there are now 17 active countri Both Sweden and Finland had over 10 players in the NHL, and countries like Germany, Austria, Italy, and Slovakia all had NHL representation. Included in this list of 21 players are nine Canadians, five Americans, three Russians, two Czechs, a Slovak, and a Swede. Well, only time can tell. The average NHL player salary is $2,554,463 USD for the 2020-21 season. Accessed March 04, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1279112/nhl-player-count-by-country/, Spotrac. Although most of the American players originate from states that have harsh winter climates some players originated from warm climate states(Auston Matthews was born in California but grew up in Arizona where he became a fan of the Coyotes, and at one point, one of the highest paid NHL players). The most famous Slovak in the NHL at the moment is 44-year-old Zdeno Chara. 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. Percentage of NHL Players by Nationality Career Stats. Notable Slovakian Player: With defenseman Zdeno Chara having retired, New Jersey Devils forward Tomas Tatar now holds the mantle as the active leading scorer among Slovakian players. Rk Nationality Players; 1: Canada: 42.7%: 2: United States: 27.9%: 3: Sweden: 9.7%: 4: Russia: 5.2%: Which state has most NHL players? The Black Hawks great passed away in 2018 as a Hockey Hall of Famer and arguably one of the greatest of all time, whatever the country. If youre going for Austrian through and through, then youve got Minnesota Wild forward Marco Rossi. Job Title White, 72.8% Black or African American, 8.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.5% Unknown, 6.8% . Canada and the United States make up the majority of players in the NHL (70%), but even within the Big Six, North Americans account for 74% of players. Hockey is globally known as Canadas game, and while that might still be true today, there are several countries that have closed the gap in the past decade or so. These are the top-ten players of Asian descent, by career points, goals, and assists, when counting only their production with a specific franchise. Notable Swiss Player: Despite playing in the shadow of ex-teammate and defensive partner Shea Weber for his first few seasons, Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi has come into his own as one of the leagues premier defensemen, winning the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 2020. If he is able to put up that save percentage, the Capitals could finally be the contender they have been touted as. Show publisher information Finlands population totals to roughly 5.5 million people. Updated hourly, with analysis, commentary and features from hundreds writers worldwide, our articles are read over 5 million times every month. Yet another Colorado Avalanche player, forward Mikko Rantanen, who was born in Nousiainen, Finland, leads his NHL countrymen with 62 points. After Finland is the Czech Republic, which provides the NHL with 40 players (4.2% of all players). Copyright 2023 HockeySkillsTraining.com, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window). What is the breakdown of nationalities in the NHL? Russian players unjustifiably get a bad reputation for being enigmatic, but the skills of those that make it to the NHL cannot be denied. The United States United States citizens constitute 28.1% of the NHL's total roster. 24.8 percent of NHL players were born in the United States. Canada and the United States make up the majority of players in the NHL (70%), but even within the Big Six, North Americans account for 74% of players. Once known as a league riddled with racism and exclusiveness, the NHL . High performing Russian and Japanese players have moved to the NHL and MLB to give those leagues some of their greatest stars. Slowing making themselves known behind Canada are the players from the United States. By Dom Luszczyszyn. Of the 711 players on season-opening rosters, 294 of them, or 41.4%, are from Canada. Some of the most popular active Russian players in the NHL are Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals), Vladimir Tarasenko (St. Louis Blues), and Ilya Kovalchuk (Los Angeles Kings). There have been 24 winter Olympic games that have had mens ice hockey, and these five nations have won 65 out of 72 total medals or 90% of medals awarded. Rk Nationality Players GP G A P PIM PPG SHG GWG; 1 Canada: 413: 17 711: 2680: 4558: 7238: 8501: 531: 74: 427: 2 United States: 253: 11 003: 1722: 2914: 4636: . Looking at the rosters of each team in the NHL shows an interesting rainbow of nationalities spread throughout the league. Unlike FIFA, players do not register with a country, so nationality is often disputed when . Although other ice hockey leagues saw integration in the early 20th century (including the Quebec Senior Hockey League), the NHL did not see its first non-white player until March 13, 1948, when Larry Kwong broke the NHL's colour barrier playing with the New York Rangers. . Slovenia is represented by Anze Kopitar, a center for the Los Angeles Kings. Alexis Lafreniere was the first Canadian to go first overall in the NHL draft in five seasons. Albert Pudas was technically the first Finnish-born NHLer. Canada still leads with the most players by country, but the U.S. isnt far behind, and there are now 17 active countries with players in the NHL. From here on, Europe takes the reins for providing the NHL with its players. With so many international players in the mix, what is the national breakdown of the NHL? Of the 711 players on season-opening rosters, 294 of them, or 41.4%, are from Canada. [1][2][3][4][5] The distribution of ethnic groups has been gradually changing since the inception of the NHL. Theme: Newsup by Themeansar. 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 . The leagues international appeal comes in large part from the international makeup of each NHL teams roster. In 202122, there are even more players from different countries, and a few new nationalities we havent seen in quite some time. The number of Finns in the NHL is impressive considering how small Finalds population is relative to the other countries on the list. Leon Draisaitl, one of six NHL players from Germany. Two of those previous four picks were Europeans, something that just didnt used to happen very often. As you know, the foundation of this article will be looking into the classification of NHL players nationalities, by country of origin and percentage of international players in different years. It may be called the National Hockey League, but it sure feels more like it could be an international one. display: none !important; A family friend and former NHL assistant GM has often lectured me and another Ten Thousand Sports writer about the odd regional nature of sports. Notable Czech Player: Columbus Blue Jackets forward Jakub Voracek is now the active points leader among Czech players (Jaromir Jagr is first all-time as if there was any doubt). [6] The league consists of a variety of players from varying nationalities and diverse backgrounds. Norway 1: Minnesota Wild forward Mats Zuccarello remains one of the leagues premier little big men, having put together a career-best 2021-22 season, during which he scored 79 points in 70 games. The National Hockey League (NHL) is the number 1 Professional Ice, Read More Who Are The Original Six?