The NHL has expanded over the years across North America. The latest expansion team of course is the 7-1-0 Vegas Golden Knights, who became the league’s 31st franchise.
The league hasn’t expanded oversees or outside Canada and the United States, but the game has certainly grown in terms of players growing up in non-traditional hockey markets and making the jump over to North America to pursue the game.
Just this season, Nathan Walker became the first Australian-born hockey player to play in the NHL when he suited up at left wing for the Washington Capitals on October 7th against the Montreal Canadiens. The Aussie made more history by scoring in his first ever game, a feat that is likely to be held for a while considering that Australians aren’t common in the NHL.
The NHL has information dating back to 1950 on the history of where its players were born.
Thanks to Cole Anderson, who goes by @CrowdSourceSports on Twitter, we have a cool gif that shows all the cities of where hockey players were born on a world map that illustrates the global growth of the sport.
So, which player was born in the most eastern location possible? Look no further than Japanase goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji, who appeared in four games for the Los Angeles Kings in the 2006-07 season.
What about the most southern? That would be former Capitals ‘tender Olaf Kolzig, who was born in Johannesburg, South Africa before moving to Germany.
A handful of players from Anchorage, Alaska represent the most western born, including Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky.
Anderson is a data scientist, and does cool analytical work on his website. The former goaltender played in the British Columbia Hockey League with the Trail Smoke Eaters and continued his hockey career collegiately at Amherst College.
In terms of expanding the game oversees, the KHL has the Kunlan Red Star playing in Bejing, China. The Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings completed the 2017 NHL China Games in an effort to grow the game in an untraditional hockey market.
(h/t Cole Anderson)
