Blackhawks Are the Most American Team in the NHL

The Chicago Blackhawks are projected to be the most American team in the NHL next season, and while it's close, some teams who will have nearly as many American players on their team might see some actually start in the AHL, unlike the Blackhawks.

Chicago is expected to have 11 American players on their roster to start next season. This group of players include Ryan Donato, Frank Nazar, Nick Foligno, Oliver Moore, Sam Lafferty, Landon Slaggert, Alex Vlasic, Sam Rinzel, Wyatt Kaiser, Connor Murphy, and Spencer Knight.

The Bruins firmly have 10 Americans, but while I do think players like Patrick Brown, Alex Steeves, and Riley Tufte will play a few games each in the NHL next season, they very likely won't make the team out of training camp. The Sabres firmly have nine with no chance of another American in their system adding to that. The Red Wings should have at least nine, but Justin Holl could get bought out and players like Auston Watson, Carter Mazur, and Dominik Shine are not show-ins for a roster spot. I would give one to Nate Danielson or Amadeus Lombardi before any of them.

Rangers sit at nine Americans with a very slight chance of starting with 10 if Brendan Brisson makes the team. The Maple Leafs also have nine firmly in place, but there is no room for players like Vinni Lettieri or Travis Boyd to start the season in the NHL. In the case of the Canucks, they have eight who absolutely will be on the team, but depending on where Max Sasson starts, that could be up to nine with no chance of having more Americans.

At the other end, the Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Seattle Kraken, and Tampa Bay Lightning are only projected to have three Americans on their roster each. While having more Americans on the team doesn't directly indicate success or not, the Oilers, Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights (4 Americans), Dallas Stars (4 Americans), and Florida Panthers (4 Americans) give us a pretty good indication that most Americans don't drive their teams.

The Blackhawks won't be filled with as many Americans in the near future with players like Foligno, Murphy, and Lafferty gone sooner than later, but a number of their young players who are part of the future are American and will have to help carry the team.