How many Canadians are on the Panthers? Aaron Ekblad, Carter Verhaeghe highlight Canadian-born stars | Sporting News

The influence of Canadians can be felt all over the NHL. While there are plenty of countries that have players hailing from their regions, no country is as represented as Canada. 

There’s a reason why there are seven clubs in the NHL that are located in Canada. The country lives and breathes the sport of hockey. While a Canadian team has not won a Stanley Cup in over three decades, there have been plenty of natives from the Great White North to bring the trophy back to their homeland. 

As is the case every year, there is going to be at least one Canadian-born player lifting the Stanley Cup. That is just as applicable to the Eastern Conference champion Panthers as it is to the Western Conference champs from Edmonton. South Beach may be as far south of Canada as you can get in the continental United States, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some Canadians on the roster. 

So, just how many Canadian-born players are on Florida? The Sporting News has the answer. 

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How many Canadians are on the Panthers? 

The Canadian factor is most certainly felt all the way in South Beach. 

In total, there are currently 13 Canadian-born players listed on the Panthers’ roster, according to NHL.com. That includes nine forwards and four defensemen. 

It should be noted that rosters are expanded for the playoffs, allowing teams to call up “Black Aces,” or extras who can be ready if an injury occurs. If you include only players who played at least 10 games for the Panthers this season, two of those Canadians (Justin Sourdif and Mike Benning) would be excluded. 

There are eight Americans on the roster but only two see significant playing time (Matthew Tkachuk and Kyle Okposo). In addition, there are six Swedes, four Finns, three Russians, and one Latvian. 

Panthers by province

Ontario is by far the most prevalent province represented on the Florida roster. Out of the 13 Canadians listed, nine of them hail from Ontario.

Despite the significant number of those from the province, only two came from the same city. Evan Rodrigues and Carter Verhaeghe both have Toronto as their birthplace. 

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In addition to Ontario, there are natives of British Columbia and Alberta, as well.