The History of European Hockey Stars in the NHL
12 Aug 2020 | eurohockey.com
The NHL is recognized around the world as the biggest ice hockey league. It is the ultimate aim for any player, where they can pit their skills against the best, attempt to attain the most reputed ice hockey accolades, and earn the biggest wage for their work.
Not
Just in America
Even though the
NHL is based in North America, it’s fair to say it is the land of opportunity
for players across the globe. In fact, based on research conducted by Betway, 31.6% of players are from outside the United
States and Canada.
However, the
league hasn’t always been so multicultural. Below is a quick breakdown that
spotlights the history of European hockey stars in the NHL.
The
first steps
The National
Hockey League came into existence in November 1917. To put it into perspective,
World War I was still going on. Well, the first international NHL player
arrived in January 1965. This was a little less than 20 years since World War
II had ended.
The streak of no
overseas players was snapped by Swedish left winger Ulf Sterner. Sterner didn’t exactly set the world alight in the
NHL – he played only four games for the New York Rangers, contributing no goals
or assists – but he laid the foundation for what was to come.
In the
subsequent 15 years following Sterner’s brief stint in the NHL, European
players had appeared in the draft, gained selection to the revered All-Star
Game, and won the biggest club prize in hockey: the Stanley Cup.
The
rise in numbers
Even though
European players had made their mark, the numbers were still limited across the
board. By the 1989/90 season, 25 years after Sterner’s appearance, there were
only 49 international players overall on the NHL rosters. Percentage-wise, this
was 12.25%.
Yet 1989 proved
to be the tipping point in Europe’s favor. Mats Sundin, the Swedish center, was
the first draft pick that year when selected by the Quebec Nordiques. Sundin
earned the distinction of being the first overseas player to achieve this
accomplishment.
This made
executives at other NHL teams sit up and take notice. Suddenly they were fully
exploring the abundance of talent located in Europe. Remember that percentage
of 12.25% for the 1989/90 season? In just ten years, it had jumped to 29.35%
for the 1999/00 season. Now 157 international players were making up the
numbers for the NHL’s rosters.
The amount of
foreign-born players has only continued to grow since. In 2019, there were 218
overseas stars picked for the league.
The
future is bright
Signs suggest
the growth in European talent gracing the NHL will continue. For a start, more
people than ever are playing hockey across the globe. In 2009, there were 1.4m
active players. That number has increased to 1.77m at present.
The globalization
of the sport is evidenced by the fact that even players from the United
Kingdom, Kazakhstan, and Bulgaria – countries with very little hockey pedigree
– are cropping up in the NHL. As these and other European nations continue to
develop, their relevancy will grow in ice hockey’s most important league.