By Jack Sponagle, The Hockey News intern
Sometimes,
small places can produce big names in the world of hockey. Despite these players coming from remote areas and small communities, their success in the world of hockey proves that it doesn’t matter where you come from. You can always set your sights on the NHL, because in the end, everyone was just a
kid from somewhere at one point.
Al
MacInnis: Inverness, N.S.
Known for his
weapon of a slapshot, MacInnis played 23 NHL seasons with Calgary and St. Louis
on his way to a Hall of Fame career. MacInnis was born in Inverness, N.S., with
a population of 1,300, but was raised in Port Hood, a nearby fishing village with a
population of 900. He was the seventh-born of eight children.
Brent,
Brian, Darryl, Duane, Rich and Ron Sutter: Viking, Alta.
All six
brothers of the legendary Sutter family come from this small Alberta town of
about 970 people. At least one Sutter brother played in the NHL every season
from 1976-77 through 2000-01. And all six of them played in the NHL at the same
time from 1982-83 through 1986-87.
The town of Viking was settled by
Scandinavian settlers, explaining its name. Viking can also lay claim to Carson
Soucy, the current New York Rangers blueliner.
Nicklas Lidstrom: Krylbo, SWE
Undoubtedly,
one of the best defensemen to ever play the game, Lidstrom hails from Krylbo, a
small market town of 2,500 people. Lidstrom’s seven Norris Trophies are tied
for second all-time with Doug Harvey, behind only Bobby Orr (eight).
Travis
Sanheim: Elkhorn, Man.
Sanheim was
born to grain-farming parents in Elkhorn, a small village in Manitoba near the
Saskatchewan border of around 450 residents. More than 19,000 spectators fit
into the Flyers’ home rink, the Wells Fargo Center, meaning that you could fit
about 43 times the population of Elkhorn into the stadium.
Carey Price: Anahim Lake, B.C.
Born in
Vancouver, the 15-year NHL veteran was raised in Anahim Lake, a small town in
central B.C. with a population of around 360. The closest organized hockey for
Price to play as a child was five hours away, meaning a 10-hour round trip.
Eventually, his father bought a personal plane to fly the two of them back and
forth for practices and games.
Pheonix Copley: North Pole, Ala.
Copley has 77
NHL games under his belt for the Los Angeles Kings, Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues. Copley’s
hometown of North Pole boasts a population of around 2,700. What makes the town
stand out is its year-round Christmas celebration. Here are some of the
town’s actual street names: Kris Kringle Drive, St. Nicholas Drive and Santa
Claus Lane. No, we’re not kidding.
Jake Sanderson: Whitefish, Mont.
One of two
Montana-born NHL players, Sanderson hails from Whitefish (approximate population of 7,200). Son
of former NHLer Geoff Sanderson, who himself is from Hay River, N.W.T. (approximate population of 3,400), Sanderson and his family moved to Calgary when he
was 12.
Erik Karlsson: Landsbro, SWE
The 15th
overall pick in 2008, Karlsson has seen action in 1,084 games. If Karlsson
plays for another four or five seasons, he could have more games played than
Landsbro (approximate population of 400) has residents.
Mikko Rantanen: Nousiainen, FIN
Nousiainen is
a town in the southwestern area of Finland that has 4,600 residents. Rantanen
left Nousiainen for Colorado when he was drafted by the Avalanche 10th overall in
2015.
James Reimer: Morweena, Man.
Since
arriving in the NHL in 2010-11, the 37-year-old journeyman netminder has played
for Toronto, San Jose, Florida, Carolina, Detroit, Anaheim and Buffalo – but
his roots are in Morweena, Man. Morweena has a population of around 150. In his
NHL career, Reimer has both won (225) and lost (187) more games than there are
people in Morweena.
Jonas Hiller: Felben-Wellhausen, SUI
A veteran of
404 NHL games, Hiller was born in Felben-Wellhausen, a town that was made by
the merger of two villages called – wait for it – Felben and Wellhausen in
1983. It had a population of around 2,900 as of December 2018.
Jordin Tootoo: Churchill, Man.
The first
Inuk player in NHL history, Tootoo played in 723 NHL games with Nashville,
Detroit, New Jersey and Chicago. Tootoo’s hometown, Churchill (approximate population of 900), is known as the
polar bear capital of the world, so much so that it is illegal to lock the
doors of your car in the event that someone needs to get inside to get away
from a polar bear. While he was born in Churchill, Tootoo and his family moved
to Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, when he was young, and that’s where he first learned
to play hockey.
Garnet
Hathaway: Kennebunkport, Maine
Originally
born in Naples, Fla., Hathaway was raised in Kennebunkport from the time he was
six months old. Kennebunkport is a small resort town near the New Hampshire
border with a population of 3,700, and it’s famously home to the Bush (George H.W. and George W.) family’s summer compound.
Hannu
Jarvenpaa: Ii, FIN
Jarvenpaa
played in 114 NHL games for the Winnipeg Jets in the late 1980s. What makes him
stand out is his hometown’s two-letter name. Spelt with just two I’s, Ii
is the shortest location name in Finland. Jarvenpaa, a member of the Finnish
Hockey Hall of Fame, calls those two letters home. Ii had a population of 9,900
as of December 2023.
John
LeClair: St. Albans, Vt.
LeClair was
born in a small town not far from the Vermont/Quebec border. St. Albans, with
around 7,000 residents, did not have any organized hockey when LeClair was
growing up. LeClair and his friends had to play in an old railroad shed.
Andrei
Kuzmenko: Yakutsk, RUS
With a
population of over 280,000 people, Yakutsk isn’t exactly a small town. What
makes it stand out is that Yakutsk is the coldest major city in the world. It
has an average daily temperature of minus-8 degrees Celsius, and in the winter
temperatures can range between minus-20 at its highest and a record low of
minus-64. So you can see why the Kings winger seems so at home on the ice.
Morgan
and Conor Geekie: Strathclair, Man.
Boston center
Morgan Geekie and Tampa Bay center Conor Geekie both grew up in Strathclair,
Man. In 2016, the population barely exceeded 700. The two brothers played many
sports growing up in Strathclair, and in fact, they often signed up for every sport
offered just to ensure there would be enough players to field a team.
Ryane
Clowe: Fermeuse, Nfld.
Clowe had a
491-game career that was plagued with concussion issues that were so severe
they even ended his coaching career. Clowe had returned to Newfoundland to
coach the Newfoundland Growlers, a now-defunct ECHL team based in St. John’s,
about 50 miles from Fermeuse (approximate population of 300).
Elias
Pettersson: Ange, SWE
Pettersson –
the Vancouver Canucks center, not the Vancouver Canucks defenseman – was born
in Sundsvall, Swe., but raised in Ange. Ange is a town of nearly 3,000.
Pettersson played youth hockey in Ange, but had to play his junior hockey in
Timra, about 60 miles away, due to the lack of opportunities in Ange. Ange is
also the hometown of Samuel Pahlsson, a 798-game veteran in the NHL and Stanley
Cup champion with Anaheim.
Bryan
Trottier: Val Marie, Sask.
Val Marie is
a village of roughly 130 people that’s nestled between Swift Current and the
Montana border. Val Marie is where the Islanders legend and Hall of Famer grew
up, alongside his brother Rocky, who played in 38 NHL games. Trottier scored
more playoff points (182) than there are residents in Val Marie.
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