Post by icing101 on Jun 30, 2004 0:04:08 GMT -5
European content in the NHL set a new record during the 2003-04 season, a year in which the NHL also set a record for the number of players appearing during one season.
There were an incredible 1,018 who played in at least one NHL game during the 2003-04 regular season, and a record 300 of those players were recruited from Europe. It is the first time that the number of Europeans playing in the NHL has reached the 300-man plateau.
By comparison, the 2002-03 season saw 984 players appear in the NHL, of which 293 were European. The percentage translates to a marginal decline of European content, from 29.9% in 2002-03 to 29.5% in 2003-04.
The Czech Republic again leads all European nations with 76 players, followed by Russia with 64 and Sweden with 53. Finland (37 players) and Slovakia (35) are the other major European producers of hockey talent. The remaining European players in the NHL came from Germany, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Austria, Switzerland, Belarus, Lithuania, Norway, Poland and France.
European development in NHL from 2000:
2000-01: 280 Europeans
2001-02: 293 Europeans
2002-03: 293 Europeans
2003-04: 300 Europeans
There were an incredible 1,018 who played in at least one NHL game during the 2003-04 regular season, and a record 300 of those players were recruited from Europe. It is the first time that the number of Europeans playing in the NHL has reached the 300-man plateau.
By comparison, the 2002-03 season saw 984 players appear in the NHL, of which 293 were European. The percentage translates to a marginal decline of European content, from 29.9% in 2002-03 to 29.5% in 2003-04.
The Czech Republic again leads all European nations with 76 players, followed by Russia with 64 and Sweden with 53. Finland (37 players) and Slovakia (35) are the other major European producers of hockey talent. The remaining European players in the NHL came from Germany, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Austria, Switzerland, Belarus, Lithuania, Norway, Poland and France.
European development in NHL from 2000:
2000-01: 280 Europeans
2001-02: 293 Europeans
2002-03: 293 Europeans
2003-04: 300 Europeans