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The Euro conversion rate Posted: Monday January 06, 2003 5:01 PM
The NHL population now consists of more than 30 percent European content. More telling, though, may be the numbers within many of the high-profile offensive categories. Take goal scoring. Markus Naslund leads all shooters with 28 tallies, followed by Marian Hossa (25) and Marian Gaborik (23) -- Euros all. Todd Bertuzzi, Naslund's linemate in Vancouver, is next with 22 markers, followed by sophomore sensation Ilya Kovalchuk at 21. In all, 10 players have reached the 20-goal plateau as the season reaches the midpoint, and half of them are Europeans. When it comes to power-play goal scoring, six players have hit the score sheet at least 10 times with the man advantage. Of the six, the only North Americans are Bertuzzi and Andy Delmore. Delmore is the only defenseman in double digits, and in a staggering statistic that fairly screams "specialist," all 11 of his goals this season have come on the power play. Overall, what of the defensemen when it comes to scoring? Well, again, as is the case with the goal scorers, the top five point producers from the backline hail from overseas. Canadian Al MacInnis leads all rearguards with 35 points, but three of the next four are European -- Swede Nicklas Lidstrom and Russians Sergei Gonchar and Sergei Zubov -- with 31 points each. Through the first half of the season, the Europeans haven't only figured prominently in scoring, they've also been there when it mattered. In the game-winning goals category, Jeff O'Neill is the only North American in the top five, with Naslund (9) and Sergei Fedorov (7) leading the way. Tied with O'Neill with six game-winners are Alexander Mogilny and Jaromir Jagr . The stat that goes along with goal scoring, shots on goal, not coincidentally is led by three guys already mentioned -- Jagr, Gaborik and Fedorov. How about the youngsters -- what is the Euro conversion rate among rookies? Again, the overseas contingency has plenty of representation. In goal scoring, only Tyler Arnason (11) is in double digits among freshmen, but of the Calder-eligible players with at least seven goals, four of the eight are European, led by Buffalo's Ales Kotalik with eight. Overall rookie scoring bears out much the same, with modest numbers posted league-wide by the first timers. The Blackhawks' Arnason again leads with 22 points, but of the 12 players with a minimum of 13 points, eight of the them are Euros. Some interesting sidelights pertaining to the Europeans emerge when perusing the other league-leader categories. For instance, the top five goal-scorers in short-handed situations all hail from North America. And as a follow-up to the shots-on-goal list headed by Jagr, Gaborik and Fedorov, not one European appears among the top of the league when it comes to shooting percentage. It appears, then, that long gone are the days of the stereotypes that European players don't shoot the puck as much, instead waiting for the perfect or pretty play. In the end, that is what all of these European names prominently displayed across an array of pertinent scoring categories would seem to underscore. When it comes to scoring, the assimilation process of the last decade appears complete. There are no longer Europeans and North Americans, only NHLers. Darren Eliot, a former NHL goaltender, is a hockey analyst for CNNSI.com.
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