While Canadians will forever refer to hockey as “Canada’s game,” likely for the rest of time, it seems to get more and more international every year. This is great for the game, and international competition just keeps thickening.
For good indication of how the pendulum has swung, look no further than the NHL scoring leaders. The top five goal scorers come from five different contries, making for a very worldly leaderboard.
Auston Matthews
Matthews leads the league in goals with 32 in 40 games played thus far. Coming from Scottsdale, Arizona, Matthews represents America in the Top 5.
Mikko Rantanen
If you were told that the 2nd leading scorer in the NHL were on the Colorado Avalanche, you wouldn’t be surprised. After all, they have Nathan MacKinnon.
It’s actually MacKinnon’s Finnish line mate that clocks in at #2 on the list, as Rantanen scored his 26th tally of the year against the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday. Rantanen continues to emerge as one of the premier goal scorers on a team that knows how to light the lamp.
Connor McDavid
No surprises here, Connor McDavid cracks the Top 3. McDavid represents Canada in the Top 5 with 23 goals. Brad Marchand and Tyler Toffoli are the only other Canadians to crack the Top 13.
Leon Draisaitl
Of all the countries represented, Germany would be the one seen the least as a hockey superpower. Regardless, one of the best NHL players comes from Germany, as Draisaitl holds it down with 22 goals so far.
Alex Ovechkin
It wouldn’t be a goal-scoring leader list without Alex Ovechkin involved. Ovi, who comes from Russia, continues to prove that regression is not something you should count on. He is tied with Draisaitl at 22 goals.
America is very well represented after that, as the aforementioned Top 13 contains four more Americans in Alex DeBrincat, Jake Guentzel, Max Pacioretty, and Kyle Connor.
Well Canadians may be a little uncomfortable with so few Canadians near the top, it’s good to see the world stage so well represented.
(H/T NHL PR)
