from Andrew Podnieks of IIHF.com,

Of the 993 players to have skated in at least one NHL game this past 2015/16 regular season, 87 of them (8.8 per cent) were Swedish-born or trained, a record level of participation by any one European nation in NHL history.

In all, there were 263 Europeans in the NHL this season, more than any other since 2005/06 when there were also 263. The all-time record remains the pre-lockout year of 2003/04 when exactly 300 Europeans played in North America’s top league.

Canada still led all nations and accounted for almost half of all players. The Olympic and World Championship gold medallists placed 490 players in the league this past season, but the 49.2 per cent is Canada’s lowest total in NHL history. The United States had 241 players or 24.3 per cent.

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