Fansided · Aug 15, 2019
The Canadian influence is shrinking
The NHL is a melting pot of nationalities and so are the New York Rangers. This season, the Canadian influence on the roster could be its smallest in team history.
Canada has always been the primary source of NHL players, but that is changing every year. For all teams, including the New York Rangers, the number has been dropping every year with the influx of European skaters and the explosion of American hockey players.
Consider that of the 29 players on the New York Rangers team that lost the 1972 Stanley Cup Finals, 27 were from Canada. Even though Ab Demarco Jr. was born in Cleveland and Walt Tkaczuk was born in Germany, both players grew up in Canada.