Which countries produce the most NHL players in the world?
Ice hockey is a beautiful game that Canada takes seriously and the rest of the world usually not so much. Our thought is that the US got into ice hockey just so they can beat Canada in one more sport. Jokes aside, the fact is that NHL is the biggest and most popular ice hockey league in the world. Besides NHL that operates in Canada and the US., there are other ice hockey leagues around the world like Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and more.
NHL was founded on November 26, 1917, in, you guessed it, Montreal, Canada after NHA (National Hockey Association) was suspended. The idea was that NHL would be one of the leagues eligible for competing in Stanley Cup. At first, there were 4 clubs in the league, all from Canada, until other leagues started merging into NHL. Now NHL consists of 30 clubs, with 23 of them being from the US and 7 from Canada.
Since ice hockey is a national sport in Canada, it is only understandable that almost every person plays it. Something similar is with Brazil and soccer, a topic we discussed in 7 countries that produce the best soccer players in the world. From the early years, Canadian players were a majority in NHL. Now, things are changing. Americans have picked up the pace, and there are more players from Europe than ever. Because of that fact, our list of 7 countries that produce the most NHL players in the world could give you some surprises. To form the list, we used the source that shows the percentage of nationalities that play in NHL for this current season. So raise your hockey sticks, here we go.
7. Slovakia
Players from Slovakia made 3.1% of all NHL players in 2000, but after that, the number began to decline. The most famous Slovakian NHL players are Peter Šťastný, Marián Hossa and Peter Bondra.
Percentage: 1.1%
6. Finland
Percentage of NHL players coming from Finland is steady since 2000, and usually goes around 3%. The most famous Finnish NHL players are Pekka Rinne, Tuukka Rask and Sami Vatanen.
Percentage: 3.2%
5. The Czech Republic
Ice hockey is pretty popular in the Czech Republic, so its position on this list of 7 countries that produce the most NHL players in the world shouldn’t be surprising. They had 7.3% of all NHL players in 2000, but that number got cut almost in half in the last few seasons. The most famous Czech NHL players are: Jaromír Jágr, Patrik Eliáš and Milan Hejduk.
Percentage: 4.2%
4. Russia
Of course Russia had to be here, they have to play ice hockey. What else would they do with all that ice covering their land? Similar to the Czech Republic, Russia also had a great number of NHL players in 2000 that got rapidly smaller in the last years. The most famous Russian NHL players are: Sergei Fedorov, Alexander Mogilny and Alexei Kovalev.
Percentage: 4.5%
3. Sweden
Sweden represents one of the biggest forces in ice hockey which can be seen by the number of their players in NHL. In last two seasons, the number of Swedish players in NHL had a steady increase, reaching its maximum this season. The most famous Swedish NHL players are: Borje Salming, Peter Forsberg and Nicklas Lidstrom.
Percentage: 9.1%
2. The United States of America
You have to admit it, it’s strange not to see the US topping this list. Well, there is one country better than them in producing NHL players. The US always had the second largest percentage of NHL players. The most famous American NHL players are: Mike Modano, Chris Chelios and Brian Leetch.
Percentage: 24.2%
1. Canada
Of course, the masters of ice hockey are deservedly on the top of 7 countries that produce the most NHL players in the world. Hockey is something like a lifestyle in Canada, and everyone is excited when Canadian NHL clubs are playing. But there are some other countries that are aiming to the spot. This season is the first one in NHL history that Canadians are not a majority in NHL. What do you think, should Canada be worried? It is hard to pick out the best and most famous Canadian NHL stars, but some of the most recognizable are Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, Mario Lemieux and Maurice Richard.
Percentage: 49.7%
