The puck drops on the 2023-24 NHL season in less than a month, meaning players are coming back to their teams’ cities after the offseason and gearing up to get going. People involved in Massachusetts sports betting probably are still reeling after the quick playoff exit of a Boston Bruins team that had a record-breaking season.
Several players use the summer as an opportunity to go back to wherever they call home after spending the bulk of the season away from home. Many of the U.S.-born players are from states that have cold winter weather, so getting home in the summer months is a perfect break. BetMassachusetts.com – your source for Massachusetts sports betting promos - decided to see which of these states has developed the most NHL players.
We used Hockey-Reference.com to compile a list of the most NHLers born per state. There are 1,381 American-born players who have played in the NHL thus far and we found the 10 states that have produced the most.
Most NHL Players By State
Silver Medal for Massachusetts
To no surprise, cold-weather states have produced the most NHL players and it’s not particularly close with Minnesota, Massachusetts, Michigan and New York combining for almost 60% of all American-born NHL players. Minnesota leads the way with 300, followed by Massachusetts with 217 total players.
With the cold weather and storied history of the Bruins, an Original Six franchise, the high Massachusetts ranking on the list makes complete sense. Confidence in the Bruins, by the way, has ebbed in the betting markets. BetMGM Massachusetts, for example, rates the Bruins as the seventh-best pick to win the Cup at +1400. Carolina and Colrado lead the way at +900.
Jeremy Roenick headlines the list of Massachusetts-born players that also includes active stars Jack Eichel, Chris Kreider and John Carlson. These current NHL stars looked up to players like Roenick, Keith Tkachuk and Tony Amonte and they hope to inspire a new generation of players in the way that they were inspired by their childhood heroes.
Boston is also home to two of the most storied college hockey programs in the country with Boston College and Boston University annually ranking among the country’s best. With so much great college hockey in the state, kids have more than just NHL players to emulate.
The only state to produce more NHL talent than Boston was Minnesota, aptly nicknamed ‘The State of Hockey.’ Minnesota’s proximity to Canada has drawn several comparisons to the country. A main one is Minnesota’s ability to develop exceptional hockey players. With the Minnesota Wild providing pro hockey in the state, the amount of players produced in Minnesota should continue to grow and grow, adding to a list that includes Phil Housley, Blake Wheeler and Zach Parise.
Cold-weather climates continue to dominate the hockey landscape in the NHL when it comes to producing talent, but the NHL’s expansion to southern markets and the recent success of teams based in warmer climates makes it a given that states such as California, Arizona and Florida will begin to add more players to this list in the coming years. A growing talent base means great things for the state of USA Hockey and Massachusetts will continue to be one state that leads the way.
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