Advertisement

Who are the leading scorers for each nation in the NHL?

greg wyshynski
Who are the leading scorers for each nation in the NHL?

When Mats Zuccarello entered the NHL in 2010, he was nicknamed the Norwegian Hobbit Wizard thanks to his resemblance to Elijah Wood and his diminutive stature.

“He’s an interesting cat, isn’t he?” then-coach John Tortorella told the NY Times. “He made some plays I didn’t think he could make. You see his creativity, you see his skill.”

Indeed, a wizard. But as of Wednesday night, it might be time for another nickname: King of Norway.

Zuccarello played in his 208th NHL game in the Rangers' 3-1 win over the Washington Capitals, becoming the all-time leader for games played for Norwegian-born players. He passed Espen Knutsen, the former Columbus Blue Jacket.

But on top of that, Zuccarello is also the offensive leader for all Norwegian-born players in the NHL: in goals (42), assists (91) and points (133).

That got us thinking about the other prominent nationalities in the NHL, and the leaders in those categories.

Who are the other “across the board” offensive leaders in this glorious melting pot of hockey talent we call the NHL?

Here’s a look. Thanks to the fabulous Quant Sports for the numbers:

Country

Games Played

Goals

Assists

Points

Canada

Gordie Howe, 1,767

Wayne Gretzky, 894

Wayne Gretzky, 1,963

Wayne Gretzky, 2,857

USA

Chris Chelios, 1,651

Brett Hull, 741

Phil Housley, 894

Brett Hull, 1,391

Russia

Alex Kovalev, 1,316

Sergei Fedorov, 483

Sergei Fedorov, 696

Sergei Fedorov, 1,179

Sweden

Nicklas Lidstrom, 1,564

Mats Sundin, 564

Nicklas Lidstrom, 878

Mats Sundin, 1,349

Finland

Teemu Selanne, 1,451

Teemu Selanne, 684

Jarri Kurri, 797

Teemu Selanne, 1,457

Czech Republic

Jaromir Jagr, 1,534

Jaromir Jagr, 717

Jaromir Jagr, 1,070

Jaromir Jagr, 1,787

Slovakia

Zdeno Chara, 1,179

Peter Bondra, 503

Peter Stastny, 789

Peter Stastny, 1,239

Latvia

Sandis Ozolinsh, 875

Sandis Ozolinsh, 167

Sandis Ozolinsh, 397

Sandis Ozolinsh, 564

Switzerland

Mark Streit, 641

Mark Streit, 84

Mark Streit, 291

Mark Streit, 375

Austria

Thomas Vanek, 729

Thomas Vanek, 293

Thomas Vanek, 305

Thomas Vanek, 598

Germany

Walt Tkaczuk, 945

Marco Sturm, 242

Walt Tkaczuk, 451

Walt Tkaczuk, 678

Belarus

Ruslan Salei, 917

Mikhail Grabovski, 116

Ruslan Salei, 159

Mikhail Grabovski, 271

Denmark

Frans Nielsen, 516

Frans Nilsen, 97

Frans Nielsen, 196

Frans Nielsen 293

England

Ken Hodge, 881

Ken Hodge, 328

Ken Hodge, 472

Ken Hodge, 800

A few notes …

* Brett Hull is listed as an American, so we’ll allow it. Take out that Canadian sleeper agent from the mix, and Mike Modano is the USA goal leader with 561 and point leaders at 1,374.

* Mariusz Czerkawski (Poland) and Anze Kopitar (Slovenia) are across-the-board leaders for their nations as well.

* Marian Hossa had 482 career goals, and is second for Slovaks.

* Henrik Sedin is the next highest active point producer from Sweden with 902; Sundin and Daniel Alfredsson (444) are the only two Swedes to crack 400 goals.

* Jaromir Jagr and Patrik Elias are the only Czechs to crack 400 goals. You have to go all the way down to Martin Havlat at 241 to find the highest active scorer, with Radim Vrbata (240) right behind him.

* Next highest scorer from Denmark? Jannik Hansen with 74 goals.

* Fun fact: Jonas Hiller is the second-highest in games played for Swiss players at 355.

* And to end on a somber note: RIP Ruslan Salei...