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Guest4377
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 Posted - 03/05/2012 : 18:56:40
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Don Cherry recently went on a rant on Coach's Corner, and he made a big deal about the Leafs being the only NHL team without a single player from Ontario. (At least one born in Ontario.)
I checked out nhl.com, and there are 188 players listed as being born in Ontario That's a big number, but it's important to recognize that this list includes any player who has played even a single game in the NHL season.
Using this same website (and list), here are the numbers for Canada's remaining provinces:
Alberta: 72
Quebec: 56
B.C.: 50
Saskatchwan: 42
Manitoba: 32
Nova Scotia: 8
Newfoundland: 6
P.E.I.: 5
New Brunswick: 3
And so as not to exclude my American friends, 46 of U.S. born players are from the state of Minnesota! Very impressive!
So how do these numbers work on a per capita basis?
In Minnesota, it works out to 0.86 NHL players per 100,000 people. That's better than the province of Quebec!
B.C. fares better at 1.14 NHL players per 100m people, and Ontario appears to look pretty good at 1.46 NHL players per 100m. Manitoba excels in producing top notch hockey talent with 2.65 NHL players per 100m, but the no one (well, maybe P.E.I., but it's a small sampling) is close to producing NHL talent as the province of Saskatchewan! This has been the case for years, and maybe decades, going back to Gordie Howe!
And Saskatchewan does not even have an NHL team!
What is it with Saskatchewan where this province produces three times as many NHL players (per capita) than a hockey haven like Ontario?
I have some thoughts on this, but I've taken up enough space already, and I would really like to hear from others on this topic.
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Guest4377
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Posted - 03/05/2012 : 19:09:26
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| By the way, Saskatchewan's number is 4.07 NHL players per 100,000 people! |
Edited by - Beans15 on 03/05/2012 20:05:48 |
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fat_elvis_rocked
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
902 Posts |
Posted - 03/05/2012 : 21:18:07
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Thanks for the numbers guest, and you are preaching to the choir here! I've always figured that on a per capita basis, Saskatchewan did alright producing hockey talent.
The nice thing about the province's population being smallish comparitively, is that most of the upper tier players all knew and played against each other through the developmental years, keeping the hockey community that much closer, IMO.
Growing up and playing higher levels of minor hockey, I got to experience that a bit, getting to be first name basis acquaintances with future NHLers from all over the province, and I just think there was more of a blue-collar approach to hockey and it's passions here, everyone supported everyone, yet competed hard when needed against each other.
Every town had a rink, allowing every interested kid to get all the ice time they could handle, unlike bigger centers and provinces, and the coaching was usually quite good, regardless of community or city size.
That and it seemed like when I was a kid, the winter's were always cold, and the land always flat, perfect for shinny, and outdoor ice, maybe all that ice and cold was good for something after all.  |
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nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 03/05/2012 : 21:56:08
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quote:
Originally posted by fat_elvis_rocked
That and it seemed like when I was a kid, the winter's were always cold, and the land always flat, perfect for shinny, and outdoor ice, maybe all that ice and cold was good for something after all.
FER, you read my mind - flat land and long winters with nothing else to do  |
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Clatts
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
266 Posts |
Posted - 03/06/2012 : 09:20:00
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Now if we could just figure out how many trees Sask has per capita
"Most of the guys that wear them are Europeans and French Guys."
Don Cherry on Visors |
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fat_elvis_rocked
PickupHockey Pro
Canada
902 Posts |
Posted - 03/06/2012 : 12:12:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Clatts
Now if we could just figure out how many trees Sask has per capita
"Most of the guys that wear them are Europeans and French Guys."
Don Cherry on Visors
17
Not the trees per capita, but the times I read your post trying to figure out what it meant.
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Who Delivers the Hockey Talent?? 
