The Hockeycentric Top 10: Against All Odds

There are over 750 NHL regulars in the league today, hailing from over 25 different nations around the world.

With so much diversity across the NHL, it is safe to say that each and every player followed a different path to get to the big league.

Some were born in tropical countries where hockey isn’t even played. Others honed their skills in the far north. Some weren’t disadvantaged by geography at all, but rather by political boundaries.

We take you through the top 10 players that had the odds stacked against them to make the NHL, but still made a career out of professional hockey.

10. Cristobal Huet – Huet is the first goaltender and only the second player out of France to play in the NHL. He has played for France at two Olympics and four World Championships. His NHL totals are as follows: a record of 108-76-11 with 20 shutouts, a SV % of .917 and a GAA of 2.45.

9. Olaf Kolzig – The first South African born player to play in the NHL, Kolzig grew up in Germany and has played for them a number of times internationally. Kolzig’s 303 wins put him 22nd all time among NHL goaltenders. He announced his retirement two months ago at the age of 39.

8. Nik Antropov – This 6-foot-6 Kazakhstanian forward was drafted 10th overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. Kazakhstan is not known for its hockey players, nor is the rest of Central Asia. Antropov has played 10 NHL seasons and has been the captain of the Kazakhstanian National Team since 1999. There is no doubt that he is the greatest player to ever come out of Asia, but those who love watching him play should stick to Atlanta games this season, as Kazakhstan did not qualify for the 2010 Olympics.

7. Anze Kopitar – The only Slovenian-born NHL player, Kopitar has not only made the NHL against the odds, he has excelled. In 2006-07 he finished 3rd in rookie scoring behind Evgeni Malkin and Paul Stastny. He currently among the league leaders in NHL scoring this season, in the mix with some elite names. In 4 seasons he has played 263 games and has scored 237 points.

6. Mariusz Czerkawski – The Polish Prince played 11 seasons in the NHL, and is the only significant player to come out of Poland. Playing for the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, he scored a total of 435 points in 745 NHL games. His most productive season was in 1999-2000, when he scored a remarkable 35 goals and 70 points with the New York Islanders, which was good enough for 26th in league scoring.

5. Scott Gomez – While certainly not the only NHL player to hail from Alaska, Gomez is the first Latino player to ever play in the NHL. He was born in Anchorage, Alaska, a long way from where his Mexican-American father and Colombian-American mother are from. Gomez was an early success in the NHL, winning the Calder Trophy and the Stanley Cup during his rookie season in 1999-2000. Canadiens fans now patiently anticipate his retirement.

4. Andre Deveaux – While not officially an NHL regular, Deveaux is the only Bahamian to have played an NHL game. Born in Freeport, Bahamas, he has spent most of his career in the AHL, starting with the Springfield Falcons in 2004-05. He has played a total of 21 games in the NHL with 1 assist and a total of 75 PIM.

3. Borje Salming – Recognized as the first European to have major success in the NHL, it is safe to say that the majority of the players on this list wouldn’t be playing in the NHL if it weren’t for Salming. Before Borje was around, the consensus was that European players weren’t tough enough to play in the NHL. While Don Cherry will secretly hold that assertion until the day he dies, Salming had a tremendous career with 787 points and 1344 PIM in 1148 games played.

2. Manon Rheaume – The first and only woman to play any type of NHL game, Rheaume played parts of two exhibition games for the Tampa Bay Lightning prior to the 1992-93 and 1993-94 regular seasons. She is also the first girl to play in the International Pee Wee Hockey Tournament, an event that young prospects such as Wayne Gretzky and Eric Lindros excelled at, and the first woman to play in a Major Junior game.

1. Willie O’Ree – The “Jackie Robinson of hockey”, O’Ree was the first player of African descent to play in the NHL. As if that wasn’t tough enough to accomplish, Willie was 95% blind in his right eye after being hit with a puck there two years earlier. He managed to keep his injury a secret, and was called up to the Boston Bruins in 1958, playing a total of 2 games. He came back in 1961 for 43 games with the Bruins, recording 4 goals and 14 points. While not much of a success in the NHL, O’Ree later won two scoring titles in the WHL, and continued to play in the minors until the age of 43.

Check out our archive section for more dandy top-10’s

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