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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It’s taken a year for us to get right back to where we were in 2024: a long-haul Stanley Cup Final between the sunbelt champion Florida Panthers and the team that pushed them to the limit last year, Canada’s Edmonton Oilers. 

Round 3 wasn’t as gruelling for the winners as last season, with both sides advancing in five games instead of six. But with no more than seven games remaining before we wrap the 2024-25 NHL campaign, here’s a look at six players whose narratives changed in Round 3 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, for better or for worse.

Winners

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, LW, Edmonton Oilers

The top-scoring players from the conference finals were a trio of Edmonton Oilers who each recorded nine points in five games against the Dallas Stars. 

Naturally, two of the names were Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. But it’s impressive to see that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has kept pace. He currently sits fourth in playoff scoring with 18 points in 16 games, on track to beat his 22 points in 25 games from 2024. 

Now 32, Nugent-Hopkins is frequently overshadowed by the Oilers’ superstars. Fourteen years in, the last holdover from the 'Decade of Darkness' is playing an impactful role as he gets his second crack at a Cup.

Seth Jones, D, Florida Panthers

With 14 points in 17 games and boundless enthusiasm for the spotlight, Brad Marchand has been the most conspicuous new addition as the Panthers try to repeat.

Meanwhile, Seth Jones has been content to fly under the radar. But after the Panthers said goodbye to defensemen Brandon Montour and Oliver Ekman-Larsson last summer, Jones has been their ice-time leader with 24:59 a game in the playoffs — and is bringing out the best in his partner Niko Mikkola. 

After nearly four years in purgatory in Chicago, Jones is showing no sign of wilting in his first playoff experience beyond the second round. Once considered a potential Norris Trophy candidate, Jones is the latest trade acquisition to tap into his best self after arriving in South Florida.

Troy Stecher, D, Edmonton Oilers

Has a journeyman defenseman ever received such a glow-up this late in the playoffs? Swapped in for Ty Emberson late in Round 2, Stecher made the most of every minute of his ice time for the next six games. He provided a calming presence for partner Darnell Nurse as Edmonton outscored its opponents 3-0 at 5-on-5 when he was on the ice. 

Playing with heart and determination that makes up for what he lacks in stature, Stecher gave his all when called upon, then ceded his spot graciously when Mattias Ekholm suited up for Game 5 against Dallas.

“I want him healthy and I want him to help us win,” Stecher said. “He's a better player than I am. That's just the reality of the world.”

That type of team-first attitude goes a long way when building a champion.

Losers

Jake Oettinger, G, Dallas Stars

A third-straight conference final loss would inevitably have made tongues wag about whether the Stars’ starting goaltender has the mettle to take his team to a title. But Peter DeBoer’s dramatic decision to yank Jake Oettinger just 7:09 into a potential elimination game poured gasoline onto that spark.

Oettinger announced himself as a big-game goalie in the 2022 playoffs, posting a 1.81 goals-against average and .954 save percentage in the Stars’ first-round loss to the Calgary Flames. 

But now that DeBoer has brought it up, it’s hard not to un-see the fact that Oettinger hasn’t played to that same standard in his three subsequent runs. Though he’s second only to Sergei Bobrovsky in games played (56) and wins (29) over the last three years, Oettinger’s .905 save percentage and 2.69 GAA over the same timeframe come in below not just Bobrovsky but also goalies like Igor Shesterkin, Adin Hill, Frederik Andersen, Jeremy Swayman, Logan Thompson and others.

Next season, Oettinger starts an eight-year contract extension that carries a cap hit of $8.25 million. And he has no trade protection in Year 1, before a full no-movement clause kicks in. 

With cap space at a premium in Dallas, is Oettinger’s long-term future with the team that drafted him suddenly in doubt? 

Taylor Hall, LW, Carolina Hurricanes

It’s not all bad. Taylor Hall’s January trade from the Blackhawks to the Carolina Hurricanes earned him a spot in the conference final for the first time in his 15-year career. 

His 18 points in 31 regular-season games with Carolina also earned the 33-year-old a new three-year contract with a no-move clause. That could give him a shot at more playoff runs in future seasons. 

But after collecting six points in 10 games through the Hurricanes’ first two playoff rounds and earning first-star honors in Game 4 against Washington, Hall struggled against the mighty Panthers. 

He wasn’t just pointless. Hall wasn’t on the ice for a single 5-on-5 Canes goal in the series, while the Panthers scored six times at 5-on-5 with Hall on the ice. It was a disappointing finish to what was looking like a successful change of scenery for the 2018 Hart Trophy winner.

Mikko Rantanen, RW, Dallas Stars

If only the Stars could have played the Colorado Avalanche in every series.

After almost single-handedly eliminating his old team with 12 points in Round 1, Mikko Rantanen suffered an unfortunate case of diminishing returns as the playoffs progressed. He collected seven points in Round 2 against the Winnipeg Jets, all in the first four games. Against the Oilers, he settled for just three points, all assists, and he was on the ice for just two goals at 5-on-5, compared to five against.

Rantanen bowed out of the playoffs with 22 points in 18 games. That’s on par with his career post-season scoring rate, but after seizing savior status early on in the Lone Star State, he couldn’t make a difference against the Oilers when Dallas desperately needed goals.

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