{ "blocks": [ { "type": "image", "data": { "file": { "url": "https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAyODA1NjY2MjYyMjk1NjIw/picture2.jpg" }, "caption": "" } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Editor's Note: Seattle's home game Sunday against the Minnesota Wild seemed to make this the perfect time for a Kraken tie-in to a fascinating The Hockey News geographical breakdown." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "You might say defenseman Will Borgen has been a \"hit\" with the Seattle Kraken. Borgen is second on the Kraken in hits with 59, two behind team leader Eeli Tolvanen. Last season, he was one of just a dozen NHL players with more than 200 hits and 89 or more blocked shots. " } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Borgen is a member of another statistical leaderboard, according to a new THN story. The Moorhead, Minnesota native is among 44 NHL players (as of Dec. 4) who call \"The State of Hockey\" home." } }, { "type": "header", "data": { "text": "Minnesota Tops All States, Provinces Except One", "level": 2 } }, { "type": "image", "data": { "file": { "url": "https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAyNzgwMTczNzUyMzQ1NjEy/skaters-by-origin-2023.jpg" }, "caption": "" } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "The survey considers only those skaters born in North America, and excludes goalies." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "From Randy Boswell's THN story: \"The U.S.-Canada border state now routinely generates more NHLers than British Columbia, Saskatchewan or Manitoba — and even edges in front of Alberta and Quebec this season in the long-running competition to be the second-most productive breeding ground for NHL players after the perennially league-leading Ontario, according to NHL.com data." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": " \"As of Dec. 4, about 42.6 percent of all NHL skaters on the 32 rosters are from Canada (322 players), with close to half of those Canadians (45.7 percent) coming from Ontario alone. Slightly under 30 percent of all NHLers (29.6 percent; 224 players) are currently from the United States, and 27.7 percent (210 players) are European.\" " } }, { "type": "header", "data": { "text": "Where Kraken Skaters Come From", "level": 2 } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Eight skaters who have played at least one game for Seattle this season hail from Ontario. Seven come from Europe. Here's the roll call of North American Kraken skaters from outside Ontario:" } }, { "type": "list", "data": { "style": "unordered", "items": [ "Saskatchewan: Jordan Eberle, Jaden Schwartz", "Quebec: Yanni Gourde", "British Columbia: Justin Schultz", "Alberta: Ryker Evans", "Massachusetts: Matty Beniers", "Wisconsin: Max McCormick", "New York: Andrew Poturalski", "Maine: Brian Dumoulin", "Washington: Kailer Yamamoto", "Minnesota: Will Borgen" ] } }, { "type": "header", "data": { "text": "Borgen Hasn't Forgotten Moorhead, MN", "level": 2 } }, { "type": "image", "data": { "file": { "url": "https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAyNzgwNTYwMjk5NDAyMzA4/will-borgen-2.jpg" }, "caption": "Kraken defenseman Will Borgen, a native of Moorhead, MN." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": " Will Borgen's hometown of Moorhead, located inside Minnesota's western border, is a 45,000-person suburb of Fargo, just across the Red River in North Dakota. " } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "A three-season blueliner for Minnesota's St. Cloud State Huskies, Borgen was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 2015. He played 14 total games with the Sabres before Seattle plucked him in 2021's expansion draft." } }, { "type": "image", "data": { "file": { "url": "https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAyNzgwNjA1NjY0OTk0Mzcy/will-borgen-3.jpg" }, "caption": "Kraken defenseman Will Borgen (3) has been a hit in Seattle." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Borgen split last summer between Moorhead and St. Cloud. He attended a couple of weddings, and skated with current and former Husky players just prior to the start of training camp. \"It definitely helps you get back in shape,\" Borgen said in an interview with therinklive.com." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Borgen's mother and father returned the favor, traveling frequently to Seattle - and elsewhere - to see their son play for the Kraken." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "\"My parents came out quite a bit, my mom especially. She's recently retired. The guys on the team made jokes about how often she was around, and at away games.\"" } }, { "type": "image", "data": { "file": { "url": "https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjAxODg4OTY2MTU5NTc0MzA2/0-hockey-stick-offer.jpg" }, "caption": "" } } ] }

Seattle Kraken's Will Borgen Among Growing Legion of Minnesota-Born NHL Skaters

Only Ontario Has More North American Players On 2023-24 Rosters