What Percentage of NHL Players Are Canadian?
The percentage of NHL players who are Canadian has been declining in recent years. In the 2015-16 season, Canadians made up 45.9% of the league.
Introduction
As of the start of the 2017-18 NHL season, approximately 50.8% of NHL players were Canadian. This is down from a high of 57.4% in the 2005-06 season, but still well above the 30.8% level reached as recently as 1993-94.
The NHL’s Beginnings
The National Hockey League (NHL) was established in 1917, after the demise of its predecessor league, the National Hockey Association (NHA). The NHL’s first president was Frank Calder, who helped to quickly establish the league by inviting seven former NHA teams to join: the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, Quebec Bulldogs, and Toronto Arenas.
The NHL originally consisted of these seven teams:
– Montreal Canadiens
– Montreal Wanderers
– Ottawa Senators
– Quebec Bulldogs
– Toronto Arenas
– Toronto St. Patricks (later renamed the Maple Leafs)
– Vancouver Millionaires
The Present Day NHL
The NHL today is made up of players from all over the world, with men from more than 20 countries represented in the league. However, Canadians still make up the majority of NHL players, accounting for nearly half of the league.
The Future of the NHL
With the NHL lockout coming to an end, many hockey fans are wondering what the future of the league will look like. One of the biggest questions is what percentage of NHL players will be Canadian.
Currently, about half of all NHL players are Canadian. However, that number is down from decades past when as many as 80 percent of players were from Canada. The decline is due to a number of factors, including the increasing popularity of hockey in other countries and the large number of foreign-born players in the league.
It is unclear what the future holds for the percentage of Canadian NHL players, but it is safe to say that it will continue to decline as the sport becomes more globalized.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the percentage of Canadian NHL players has steadily declined over the past decade, falling from over 50% in 2005 to less than 45% in 2015. However, Canada still produces the majority of NHL players, and the trend does not appear to be reversing anytime soon.
