How Many Canadians Play In The NHL?
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How many Canadians play in the NHL? The answer may surprise you. Check out our blog post to find out.
The NHL is a professional ice hockey league
The NHL is a professional ice hockey league composed of 30 member clubs: 23 in the United States and 7 in Canada. Headquartered in New York City, the NHL is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada.
The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season.
At its inception, the NHL had four teams—all based in Canada: the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators, and Toronto Arenas—and has since expanded to become a truly global league with players from all over North America and Europe. In fact, while Canadian players still make up a large portion of the NHL (approximately 50%), there are also a significant number of American and European players as well.
Canada has 7 NHL teams
At present, there are 7 Canadian teams in the NHL: the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets. In addition, there are also 3 US-based teams with a large Canadian contingent on their rosters: the Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota Wild.
The NHL is widely considered to be the premier professional hockey league in the world, and Canadian players have always been highly sought after by NHL teams. As of the 2019-2020 season, approximately 50% of NHL players are Canadian.
As of the 2017-2018 season, there are 26 Canadian players in the NHL
According to the NHL, as of the 2017-2018 season, there are 26 Canadian players in the NHL. This is down from a peak of 58 players in 2005-2006, but still represents a significant presence of Canadian players in the league.
The majority of Canadian NHL players come from Ontario and Quebec, with 13 and 8 players respectively. There are also three players each from Alberta and British Columbia, and one player each from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.
The 26 Canadian NHL players represent a wide range of ages, with the youngest being 19-year-old defenseman Thomas Chabot of the Ottawa Senators and the oldest being 42-year-old goaltender Roberto Luongo of the Florida Panthers.
The majority of NHL players are from the United States
As of the 2019-2020 season, the majority of NHL players are from the United States (39%), followed by Canada (32%), Sweden (8%), Finland (5%), and Russia (4%).
