Canada was the country with the highest number of active NHL players as of July 2023. Specifically, the country had 1,026 players who were active in the National Hockey League when the study was conducted. The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America, featuring seven franchises from Canada and 25 from the United States.
How popular is ice hockey in Canada?
Ice hockey is the official winter sport for the North American country, signifying its popularity. In 2022, there were just over half a million registered ice hockey players in Canada and the country boasted close to eight thousand ice hockey rinks to accommodate the sport. Meanwhile, looking at the popularity of the NHL in Canada, over 1.2 million individuals tuned in to watch the NHL’s annual playoff tournament in 2022 on Canada’s Sportsnet National+ channel.
How valuable are NHL franchises?
The New York Rangers were the most valuable NHL franchise in 2022, with an estimated valuation of 2.2 billion U.S. dollars that year. The Rangers were twice as valuable as the average NHL franchise valuation, which amounted to just over one billion U.S. dollars in 2022. Nevertheless, the NHL’s average franchise value was notably lower when considering the average franchise values of other major sports leagues in North America.
