Which U.S. states have produced the most NHL players?

While American NBA players have originated from all across the country, most American NHL players come from one of a few states.

Although there’s little doubt that ice hockey is a Canadian sport with mostly Canadian players, the sport isn’t entirely an afterthought in the United States, with American players making significant contributions to the National Hockey League throughout the sport’s history.

After all, 25 of the league’s 32 teams are based in the U.S., with ice hockey holding particular significance in many cold-weather metropolitan areas, particularly in the Boston, Detroit and Twin Cities regions.

Hockey’s storied connection with the latter has led Minnesota to take on the nickname of “The state of hockey,” a moniker expressed at Minnesota Wild home games and lived through the large amount of Minnesota natives playing in the NHL.

After taking a look at the origins of American NBA players earlier this week, I figured it would be interesting to see where the NHL players of the past and present have come from – and it’s not quite as diverse as the NBA.

Now renowned as the most global league, the NBA has had an incredibly diverse player base in its history, spanning 49 U.S. states and a long list of countries, with every NBA MVP of this decade being born outside the United States.

While the NBA has seen star players from Greece, Cameroon, France, Serbia, Germany and Nigeria, the NHL’s international representation is mostly limited to six countries where ice hockey holds a high level of cultural significance: Canada, the United States, Czech Republic, Russia, Finland and Sweden.

Granted, notable players have emerged from other countries, including Slovakia, Switzerland, Germany and Austria – yet they still represent just a relative handful compared to the six countries that dominate the NHL’s player base.

Within the history of the NHL, the players still lean overwhelmingly Canadian – and Ontarian at that. Of the 5,531 Canadian-born players in NHL history, 2,424 have been born in Ontario, the country’s most popular province that includes Toronto and Ottawa. No other province has even sent 1,000 players to the NHL, with Quebec in second place with 883 players.

The birthplaces are similarly skewed in the U.S., as only four states have sent 100 or more players to the NHL. Twice as many states have never had a player born within their borders make it to the NHL.

Below is a look at the states that still stand with zero NHL players in league history:

1. Arkansas
2. Hawaii
3. Kansas
4. Kentucky
5. New Mexico
6. Tennessee
7. West Virginia
8. Wyoming

There have currently been 1,475 American-born players in the NHL, with 885 of them having been in born in one of the four states that have sent at least 100 players to the league.

Here’s a look at the 10 U.S. states that have produced the most NHL players, along with the most notable players to be born in each state, according to Hockey Reference.

Last updated March 8, 2026

1. Minnesota – 310 players

Notable players: Phil Housley, Blake Wheeler, Neal Broten, Zach Parise, Dave Christian, Matt Cullen, Reed Larson, Jamie Langenbrunner, Brock Nelson, Kyle Okposo

2. Massachusetts – 229 players

Notable players: Jeremy Roenick, Bill Guerin, Keith Tkachuk, Scott Young, Bobby Carpenter, Tony Amonte, John Carlson, Keith Yandle, Hal Gill, Tom Fitzgerald, Tom Barrasso

3. Michigan – 205 players

Notable players: Mike Modano, Brian Rolston, Doug Weight, Kevin Hatcher, David Legwand, Mark Howe, Kyle Connor, Dylan Larkin, Ryan Kesler, Alex DeBrincat, John Vanbiesbrouck, Ryan Miller, Connor Hellebuyck, Tim Thomas

4. New York – 145 players

Notable players: Patrick Kane, Joe Mullen, Mathieu Schneider, Dustin Brown, Brian Mullen, Nick Foligno, Brian Gionta, Kyle Palmieri, Craig Conroy, Erik Cole, Jimmy Howard, Guy Hebert

5. Illinois – 81 players

Notable players: Chris Chelios, Eddie Olcyzk, Tom Fergus, Tony Granato, Mike O’Connell, Joe Corvo, J.T. Compher, Christian Dvorak, Todd Krygier, Craig Anderson

6. California – 58 players

Notable players: Auston Matthews, Jason Robertson, Jason Zucker, Trevor Moore, Lee Norwood, Matthew Nieto, Brooks Orpik, Thatcher Demko, Dustin Wolf

7. Wisconsin – 44 players

Notable players: Joe Pavelski, Phil Kessel, Gary Suter, Ryan Suter, Nick Schmaltz, Craig Smith, Drew Stafford, Alex Galchenyuk, Cole Caufield, Craig Ludwig

8. Pennsylvania – 40 players

Notable players: Vincent Trocheck, Mike Richter, John Gibson, Brandon Saad, R.J. Umberger, Ryan Malone, Gerry O’Flaherty, Pete Babando, Logan Cooley, Bob Beers

9. Connecticut – 36 players

Notable players: Jonathan Quick, Craig Janney, Max Pacioretty, Chris Drury, Cam Atkinson, Nick Bonino, Ron Hainsey, Colin Wilson, Chris Clark, Spencer Knight

10. Ohio – 35 players

Notable players: J.T. Miller, Bryan Smolinski, Dave Ellett, Curt Fraser, Moe Mantha, Cecil Dillon, Jack Roslovic, Brian Holzinger, Alex Nedeljkovic, Sean Kuraly, Cole Sillinger