New stat proves Canada isn't the hockey superpower they once were
The National Hockey League's diversity is incredible to see, when it comes to how many different countries its players come from.
Looking back to the 1960s and 1970s, the entire league was mostly made up with Canadian and American-born players, but flash forward to 2023 and there are players from all over the globe from France to the Netherlands to Slovenia.
Nathan Graviteh, who produces content for Sportsnet, recently put out a tweet which highlighted how diverse the National Hockey League is by comparing the top-ten point scorers from 1973, 1983, 1993, 2003, 2012 and 2023.
In 1973, the entire top-ten was comprised of Canadian players, led by Phil Esposito and followed by Bobby Clarke in second and Bobby Orr in third.
Now, in 2023, seven different nationalities make up the top-ten point scorers from the past season.
2022-23 top-ten point scorers
1) Connor McDavid - Canada
2) Leon Draisaitl - Germany
3) David Pastrnak - Czechia
4) Nikita Kucherov - Russia
5) Nathan MacKinnon - Canada
6) Jason Robertson - United States
7) Matthew Tkachuk - United States
8) Mikko Rantanen - Finland
9) Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Canada
10) Elias Pettersson - Sweden
It's great how diverse the NHL has become over the last few decades and it's going to be interesting to see how many new nationalities we'll see being represented in the coming years, but it also proves that Canada won't be a superpower in hockey for very much longer
Birthplaces, top ten NHL players in scoring:
1973 ----> 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
1983 ----> 🇨🇦 🇸🇰🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇸🇪
1993 ----> 🇨🇦🇺🇸🇨🇦🇨🇦🇫🇮🇨🇦🇷🇺🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
2003 ----> 🇸🇪🇸🇪🇨🇦🇨🇿🇨🇦🇸🇰🇨🇦🇨🇦🇩🇪🇸🇰
2012 ----> 🇷🇺🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇷🇺🇺🇸🇨🇦🇨🇦🇸🇪🇨🇿
2023 ----> 🇨🇦🇩🇪🇨🇿🇷🇺🇨🇦🇺🇸🇺🇸🇫🇮🇨🇦🇸🇪
What a difference 50 years makes.� Nathan "Grav" (@NathanGraviteh) August 18, 2023
| POLL | ||
Who do you think will lead the NHL in points next season? | ||
| Connor McDavid | 97 | 77 % |
| Leon Draisaitl | 9 | 7.1 % |
| David Pastrnak | 10 | 7.9 % |
| See Results | 10 | 7.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
