Owen Nolan (Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/30e62557-a262-4b69-b4eb-82a0c6789c13.jpeg] Owen Nolan (Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images) By Jack Sponagle, The Hockey News Intern The typical NHL player tends to hail from one of five or six countries. Canadians have long made up the majority of the talent in the league, with Americans, Russians, Swedes and Finns also filling out NHL teams’ rosters. Michael Traikos, former NHL coach Bruce Boudreau and Ryan Kennedy give their picks for who will win the Stanley Cup. But every so often we see players who were born in countries that rarely come up when discussing the birthplaces of NHL stars. Robyn Regehr, the Calgary Flames [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/calgary-flames] defenseman who played 1,089 NHL games, was born in Recife, in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco. Regehr’s parents were Mennonite missionaries, which also explains why his younger brother, Richie, who got into 20 NHL games, was born in Bandung, Indonesia. Both brothers represented Canada internationally, but neither were born in the world’s dominant hockey nation. With the 2025 IIHF World Championship on the horizon, here are 20 NHL players who were born in and sometimes even represented nations that don’t typically produce world-class hockey players. JORDAN SPENCE – MANLY, AUSTRALIA The Los Angeles Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings] defenseman was born to a Canadian father and Japanese mother in the Australian state of New South Wales. He lived in Osaka, Japan, until his family relocated to Prince Edward Island when he was 13. NATHAN WALKER – CARDIFF, WALES The St. Louis Blues [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/st-louis-blues] winger was born in Cardiff, but his family moved to Australia when he was just two years old. He was the first Australian to make it to the NHL when he broke in with Washington in 2017-18. YUTAKA FUKUFUJI – KUSHIRO, JAPAN He may have only played in four NHL games as a goaltender with the Los Angeles Kings in 2006-07, and he failed to register a win, but Fukufuji can hang his hat on being the first Japanese player to appear in an NHL game. RYAN O’MARRA – TOKYO, JAPAN O’Marra is the other NHLer who can claim the Land of the Rising Sun as his birthplace. Born in Tokyo to Irish-Canadian parents, O'Marra saw 33 NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers] and Anaheim Ducks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks] from 2009 to 2012. BORNA RENDULIC – ZAGREB, CROATIA The first Croatian-born and -trained player in the NHL, Rendulic is better known for his performances in Finnish and Russian leagues. The Zagreb-born Rendulic played 14 games with the Colorado Avalanche [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/colorado-avalanche] between 2014-15 and 2015-16, registering a goal and two points. He also got into a single game with the Vancouver Canucks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vancouver-canucks] in 2016-17. LUCA SBISA – OZIERI, ITALY Ozieri is a small municipality on the Italian island of Sardinia, and it’s reputed to have one of the oldest-known cultures in Italy. It is also the birthplace of Sbisa, who played in 549 NHL games for seven different NHL teams between 2008 and 2021. Sbisa represented Switzerland internationally. GRAEME TOWNSHEND – KINGSTON, JAMAICA Townshend called Jamaica’s capital of Kingston his home until his family moved to Toronto when he was three. Townshend played for the Bruins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins], Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders] and Senators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators]in the early 1990s. He was the first Jamaican-born player to make it to the NHL. ANDRE DEVEAUX – FREEPORT, BAHAMAS Deveaux played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Rangers in a 31-game NHL career from 2008 to 2012. He was born in Freeport, the second-largest city in the Bahamas. Deveaux played 13 years of pro hockey in the NHL, AHL [https://thehockeynews.com/ahl], ECHL [https://thehockeynews.com/echl], as well as in Russia, Sweden, Czechia, Slovakia and the United Kingdom. SEAN DAY – LEUVEN, BELGIUM A defenseman, Day became the fourth player to be granted exceptional status to play in the OHL [https://thehockeynews.com/ohl] a year early. Long before that, though, he was born in Belgium to Canadian parents, and the first time Day skated was at a mall in Singapore. Day played two games with the Tampa Bay Lightning [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/tampa-bay-lightning] in 2021-22. LEO KOMAROV – NARVA, ESTONIA Komarov was born to a Russian-Finnish family in the Estonian city of Narva. Komarov represented Finland internationally and played in the NHl for nine seasons for the Maple Leafs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs] and Islanders. He’s the first and, so far, only Estonian-born NHLer. WILLI PLETT – ASUNCION, PARAGUAY Plett was an intimidating winger who played 834 NHL games in the 1970s and 1980s, putting up 222 goals, 437 points and 2,570 penalty minutes. Plett’s family were Russian Mennonites who fled to South America during the Second World War. The 1977 Calder Trophy winner was born in Asuncion, Paraguay, before settling in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. MIKE GREENLAY – VITORIA, BRAZIL Robyn Regehr isn’t the only NHLer born in Brazil, as goalie Greenlay, who was born in Vitoria, played two games for the Oilers in 1989-90. LEVENTE SZUPER – BUDAPEST, HUNGARY Szuper also had a short NHL career – so short, in fact, that he never actually played in a game. The Budapest native served as a backup goalie for nine games with Calgary in 2002-03, becoming the first and, so far, only Hungarian player to dress in an NHL game. ALEXANDAR GEORGIEV – RUSE, BULGARIA San Jose Sharks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks] goalie Alexandar Georgiev is the first Bulgarian player in NHL history. Born in Ruse, the fifth-largest city in Bulgaria, the former Rangers and Avs netminder was raised in Russia. JIM PAEK AND RICHARD PARK – SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA The first of two pairs on this list, both Paek and Park were born in the South Korean capital of Seoul. Paek became the first Korean-born NHLer and the first player of Korean descent to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup after his contributions in the playoffs with the Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins] in 1991 and 1992. Park never won hockey’s most coveted prize, but he ended up playing 738 NHL games for the Penguins, Mighty Ducks, Flyers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers], Islanders, Wild [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild] and Canucks. DARIUS KASPARAITIS AND DAINIUS ZUBRUS – ELEKTRENAI, LITHUANIA The second shared birthplace is Elektrenai, Lithuania, which produced both Kasparaitis and Zubrus. Kasparaitis, a veteran of 863 NHL games in the 1990s and 2000s, was known for his aggressive and hard-hitting gameplay, which saw him accumulate 1,379 PIM in his career. Zubrus has the most NHL experience on this list, with 1,293 NHL games across his 19-year big-league tenure, primarily with the New Jersey Devils [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-jersey-devils], although his most productive seasons came with Washington [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals] in 2005-06 and 2006-07. CLAUDE VILGRAIN – PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI Vilgrain became the first Haitian to play in the NHL when he joined the Vancouver Canucks during the 1987-88 season. He played in 89 games in his NHL career. ARTHUR KALIYEV – TASHKENT, UZBEKISTAN Kaliyev became the first NHL player born in Uzbekistan when he made his debut in 2021 with Los Angeles. Now with the Rangers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers], Kaliyev moved to Staten Island, N.Y., when he was two, and later to Michigan when he was 13. Kaliyev represents the USA internationally. AKIM ALIU – OKENE, NIGERIA Aliu played seven NHL games with Calgary in 2011-12 and 2012-13. He was born in Nigeria and then raised in Ukraine until his family left due to the political climate caused by the fall of the Soviet Union. His family moved to Toronto when he was seven. OWEN NOLAN – BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND The Belfast-born Nolan was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1990 draft by the Quebec Nordiques. He played 1,200 NHL games, scoring 422 goals and 885 points. Nolan represented Canada internationally, winning a gold medal at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
