How Many NHL Players are Canadian?

How many NHL players are Canadian? It’s a question that has been asked for years, and with good reason.

Canadians have a long and storied history with the game of hockey, dating back to its origins as a game played by indigenous peoples. Today, hockey is one of the most popular sports in the country, and Canadians have produced some of the greatest players to ever hit the ice.

So, how many NHL players are Canadian?

As of

Introduction

NHL hockey is one of the most popular sports in Canada. Many Canadians grow up playing the sport and dreaming of one day playing in the NHL. But how many Canadians actually make it to the NHL?

According to NHL.com, as of the start of the 2019-20 season, 50.8% of NHL players were Canadian. This means that out of the 731 total NHL players, 371 were Canadian. The next closest nationality was American, with 23.9% of NHL players coming from the United States.

The NHL’s Canadian Content

The NHL’s Canadian teams

All seven Canadian teams are in the playoffs this year! That’s the first time that’s happened since the 2006-2007 season, when Ottawa, Buffalo, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, and Montreal all made it to the post-season. Toronto was the only team from Canada to miss the playoffs that year.

This year, things are looking good for Canadian hockey fans. All seven teams made it to the playoffs, and three of them – Winnipeg, Nashville, and Calgary – have a chance to make it to the conference finals.

So how many NHL players are Canadian? As of right now, there are 213 Canadians playing in the NHL. That’s just over half of the league’s total number of players!

Here’s a breakdown of how many Canadians are playing on each team:
Anaheim Ducks: 6
Arizona Coyotes: 4
Boston Bruins: 12
Buffalo Sabres: 11
Calgary Flames: 11
Carolina Hurricanes: 5
Chicago Blackhawks: 10
Colorado Avalanche: 9
Columbus Blue Jackets: 7
Dallas Stars: 7
Detroit Red Wings: 11
Edmonton Oilers: 14
Florida Panthers: 6
Los Angeles Kings: 8 Minnesota Wild: 10 Montreal Canadiens : 18 Nashville Predators : 9 New Jersey Devils : 4 New York Islanders : 5 New York Rangers : 8 Ottawa Senators : 16 Philadelphia Flyers : 11 Pittsburgh Penguins : 8 St. Louis Blues : 9 San Jose Sharks : 7 Tampa Bay Lightning : 8 Toronto Maple Leafs : 16 Vancouver Canucks : 9 Vegas Golden Knights : 5 Washington Capitals : 7 Winnipeg Jets : 13

The NHL’s Canadian players

Since the National Hockey League was founded in 1917, Canadians have been playing a large role in the league. In fact, Canada is currently the country with the most NHL players, with over 700 players coming from Canadian soil.

Interestingly, the number of Canadian NHL players has been steadily increasing in recent years. In 2013-14, there were 549 Canadian NHL players, which increased to 568 in 2014-15 and 572 in 2015-16. This trend looks set to continue, as there are currently over 600 Canadian NHL players.

With such a large number of Canadian NHL players, it’s no surprise that Canada has also produced the most Stanley Cup winners. In fact, 25% of all Stanley Cup winners have been from Canada.

So if you’re a fan of the NHL, it’s likely that you’ll be cheering on a few Canadian players!

The NHL’s American Content

The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league. It is made up of 30 teams: 23 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is the premier professional ice hockey league in the world and is widely considered to be the top hockey league in the world. However, the majority of the league’s players are American.

The NHL’s American teams

With seven Canadian teams and 24 American teams, the NHL is decidedly skewed towards the latter. In recent years, however, the number of Canadian players in the league has been on the rise, with nearly 30% of all NHL players now coming from north of the border.

So which NHL teams have the most American content? Surprisingly, it’s not the United States-based teams who top the list. In fact, only two of them crack the top 10. Here are the 10 NHL teams with the most American players:

Anaheim Ducks – 45.5%
Arizona Coyotes – 44.8%
Boston Bruins – 43.9%
Buffalo Sabres – 42.9%
Calgary Flames – 41.4%
Carolina Hurricanes – 39.7%
Colorado Avalanche – 39.3%
Columbus Blue Jackets – 38.8%
Dallas Stars – 38.1%
Detroit Red Wings – 37.8%

The NHL’s American players

As the National Hockey League continues to expand its footprint across the United States, the question arises – how many NHL players are American?

The answer, according to a 2018 report from the NHL Players Association, is that just over 27% of NHL players hail from the United States. That’s down from a peak of 30% in 2011, but still a significant increase from the early 2000s, when Americans made up just over 20% of the league.

The report also found that American players are concentrated in a few states – Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania – which account for nearly half of all NHL players born in the United States. California, Florida and Illinois are also home to a significant number of American NHL players.

So while the NHL may not be as “Canadian” as it once was, there is still a significant contingent of American players making their mark on the league.

Conclusion

NHL player nationality has been tracked since the league’s inception in 1917. In the early years of the league, most players were Canadian. Over time, the number of American and European players has increased, while the number of Canadian players has declined.

As of the 2017-18 season, 50.8% of NHL players are Canadian, 22.1% are American, 14.9% are Russian, 7.6% are Swedish, and 4.6% are from other European countries.