What Percentage of NHL Players Are American?

A recent study shows that the percentage of NHL players who are American has been steadily declining over the past decade.

NHL Player Statistics

As of the 2019-2020 season, the National Hockey League (NHL) is made up of 31 teams. These 31 teams are located in both the United States and Canada. However, the majority of the teams (24) are located in the United States. With that said, let’s take a look at the percentage of NHL players that are from the United States.

American-born NHL players

As of the 2019-2020 NHL season, there are a total of 731 NHL players. Of those 731 players, 301 are American-born. This means that 41.2% of NHL players were born in the United States.

The state with the most NHL players is Minnesota, with a total of 71 players. This is followed by Massachusetts with 45 players, and Michigan with 38 players.

NHL players by country

As of the 2019-20 NHL season, the percentage of NHL players by country was as follows:

-Canada: 50.9%
-United States: 26.1%
-Sweden: 6.5%
-Finland: 4.6%
-Czech Republic: 3.2%
-Russia: 2.8%
-Slovakia: 1.6%
-Other: 4.3%

The History of the NHL

The National Hockey League was founded in 1917, and originally consisted of five Canadian teams. In 1924, the first American team was added, and the league has since expanded to 31 teams, with 24 of those teams being based in the United States. Americans have made up a large percentage of the league since its inception, but that percentage has fluctuated over the years.

The origins of the NHL

The National Hockey League (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.

The National Hockey League was established in 1917 as the successor to the National Hockey Association (NHA). After a dispute between Eddie Livingstone, owner of the Toronto Blueshirts, and Frank Calder, president of the NHA regarding players’ salaries and Livingstone’s unilateral control over player trades, Calder organized an entirely new league with different teams: The Patterson Company Limited became owner of four NHA teams (Renfrew Creamery Kings, Quebec Athletics Club team, Cobalt Silver Kings and Haileybury Comets), joining two other teams that had also left the NHA (Toronto Arenas and Montreal Canadiens). The new NHL had just six franchises located in Canada and the United States. However, by 1926, two more American teams had joined (Boston Bruins and New York Americans), while two Canadian teams (Montreal Maroons and Ottawa Senators) had folded; by 1930 only three Canadian teams remained (Maple Leafs – now based in Toronto – Canadiens and Senators).

The first NHL season

The first NHL season took place in 1917-18, with four teams: the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and Quebec Bulldogs. The league expanded to seven teams for the 1924-25 season, and then to 10 teams for the 1926-27 season. By the end of the 1930s, the NHL had 16 teams.

In 1942, the Montreal Canadiens became the first team to win three Stanley Cups in a row. They were also the first team to win the Cup in back-to-back years (1955-56 and 1956-57).

The Original Six era began in 1942 and ended in 1967. The Original Six teams were: the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers.

The NHL doubled in size in 1967, when it added six more teams. These were: the Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars (now the Dallas Stars), Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues and California Seals (who moved to Cleveland after two seasons and then became today’s Arizona Coyotes).

From 1979 to 1980 USA hosted 14 Soviet players who defected during Exhibition Games against various NHL teams. After that many more players decided to leave USSR permanently following their dreams of playing professional hockey in North America.

The first Stanley Cup

In 1892, Sir Frederick Arthur Stanley, Governor General of Canada and patron of amateur hockey, donated a silver cup to be presented to “the champions of the Dominion of Canada”; the original rules specified that the Cup was to be handed over to any team that won three league championships in a row or five in total. The first team to win the Stanley Cup was the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association (AAA) in 1893.

The AAA was an amateur hockey league founded in 1887, which consisted of five teams: Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Victorias, McGill University, Crystal Palace (Montreal West End) and Rideau Hall. The Victorias were the first team to win the Stanley Cup, doing so in 1893. They went on to win again in 1894 and 1895. The Shamrocks won in 1896 and 1897. McGill University won in 1898. In 1899, a new challenge system was put into place, whereby any team could challenge the reigning champion for the Cup. The first team to take advantage of this new system was the Montreal Victorias, who successfully defended their title against the Winnipeg Victorias (no relation) in a two-game series.

The Future of the NHL

The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league composed of 30 member clubs: 23 in the United States and 7 in Canada. Of the 30 clubs, 16 make the playoffs. The Stanley Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded to the playoff champion at the end of each season.

The NHL today

The NHL today is a far different league than it was even a decade ago. The game is faster and more skilled than ever before, and the league has expanded its footprint across North America and into Europe. But one of the most striking changes in recent years has been the increase in the number of American players in the NHL.

From just over 20 percent of players in 2000, Americans now make up nearly 30 percent of the league. That number is only going to increase in the coming years, as more and more young American players are drafted and developed by NHL teams.

There are a number of factors behind this increase. One is simply that there are more Americans playing hockey than ever before. While the game remains popular in Canada, its growth in the United States over the past few decades has been impressive. According to USA Hockey, nearly 600,000 Americans played organized hockey in 2017, up from just over 300,000 in 1990.

But it’s not just that there are more American players to choose from; it’s also that they are increasingly skilled and capable of competing at the highest levels of the sport. This is due in part to improved facilities and coaching at lower levels of the game, but it’s also a result of the increasing popularity of hockey among young Americans. In short, NHL teams are finding more talented American players because there are more talented American players to choose from.

This trend is likely to continue in the coming years, as the pool of American talent continues to grow. As recently as 2010, there were only two American-born players selected in the first round of the NHL draft; by 2018, that number had risen to eight. And while Canadians still make up a majority of NHL players, that gap is slowly but surely closing. In a few years, it’s quite possible that Americans will be just as prominent in the NHL as their Canadian counterparts.

The NHL in the future

With the NHL becoming increasingly popular in the United States, it’s no surprise that the percentage of NHL players who are American has been on the rise in recent years.

As of the 2016-17 season, Americans made up almost 30% of the league’s player population. That number has been steadily increasing over the past decade, and is only expected to continue to rise in the coming years.

There are a number of reasons for this trend. First and foremost, the level of competition in American hockey has never been higher. In recent years, more and more top American players have been choosing to play in the NHL instead of staying in college or playing junior hockey.

Additionally, the NHL has been working hard to grow its presence in the United States. The league now has seven teams located in American cities, and that number is likely to increase in the future. With more Americans playing and following hockey than ever before, it’s only natural that a larger percentage of NHL players would be from the United States.

It’s still too early to say exactly what percentage of NHL players will be American a few years down the line, but it’s clear that Americans are becoming an increasingly important part of the league.