The NHL Player Production Powerhouses: Toronto and Montreal Area Codes Lead the Way
A recent study has identified the cities that have contributed the most NHL players, with Toronto and Montreal leading the pack. The report, published by NumberBarn, highlighted the telephone area codes associated with these cities. Toronto's 416 area code has produced a total of 502 NHL players, while the 519 area code in Southwestern Ontario, linked to Toronto, has yielded 359 players. In total, 861 players from the Toronto Metro region have made it to the NHL, including notable names like Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, and Connor McDavid.
Saskatchewan's 306 area code slightly surpasses Montreal's 514 area code in terms of NHL player production. However, Montreal leads in the number of players who have won awards, with 30 players from the city having earned at least one award in their careers. Montreal also boasts the highest number of top 100 NHL players, with 13 players hailing from the region, compared to Saskatchewan's eight. Notable players from Saskatchewan include Gordie Howe.
Interestingly, no American area codes made it to the top 10 list of NHL player production. The 952 area code in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region is the only American code to crack the list, with 17 current NHL players. Players from this region include Anders Lee, Brock Boeser, and Erik Johnson. Toronto-area players lead in scoring, with the 416 area code producing the most goals in NHL history.
In terms of total points, the 416 region also leads with 63,568 points, followed by Southwestern Ontario with 53,721 points and Montreal with 42,721 points. Montreal has produced the most goalie wins of all time, with 4,575 wins. The Toronto area code comes in second in goalie wins, but the gap narrows when combining the numbers from Ontario and Quebec.
When combining the Montreal-Quebec and Toronto-Ontario regions, goalies from Montreal-Quebec have a total of 8,126 wins, while those from Toronto-Ontario have 7,629 wins. Despite the historical dominance of Toronto and Montreal in NHL player production, the landscape of hockey is evolving as more regions around the world develop players. Countries like China are establishing professional hockey leagues, which could lead to an increase in NHL players from diverse regions in the future.