Nations in the NHL

American NHL players 1979–80

64 American players played in the NHL in 1979–80. Together they scored 1 188 points, the second most of any country, and USA finished third of 3 in the nations league. Mark Howe scored the most, 80 points.

NHL players

1 188

Points

3rd

Nations league

Goalie wins

1979–80Active season80/82 games

1978–79 1980–81

AMERICAN LEADERS

In the nations league

3rd

of 3 ranked nations

league points

Rate3rdTop trio3rdBlue line2ndGoalies2ndPer million3rd

USA accounts for 9.8% of the NHL's players and 7.7% of its points.

The full nations league

American goalies

Regular season. Most games first.

Goalie	GP	W-L-OTL	SV%	GAA	SO
Steve BakerNYR	27	9-8-0	.882	3.41	1
Jim CraigAFM	4	1-2-0	.841	3.79	0
Steve JanaszakMNS	1	0-0-0	.929	2.00	0
James Stewart JrBOS	1	0-1-0	.444	15.00	0

Every American player in the NHL, team by team

64 players across 20 teams.

HFDHartford Whalers10 players

Mark HoweINACTIVE

D · 74 GP · 24G 56A80P

Gordie RobertsINACTIVE

D · 80 GP · 8G 28A36P

Dave DebolINACTIVE

C · 48 GP · 12G 14A26P

Nick FotiuINACTIVE

LW · 74 GP · 10G 8A18P

Mike AntonovichINACTIVE

C · 5 GP · 0G 1A1P

Jeff BrubakerINACTIVE

LW · 3 GP · 0G 1A1P

MNSMinnesota North Stars10 players

Mike EavesINACTIVE

C · 56 GP · 18G 28A46P

Gary SargentINACTIVE

D · 52 GP · 13G 21A34P

Mike PolichINACTIVE

C · 78 GP · 10G 14A24P

Tom YounghansINACTIVE

RW · 79 GP · 10G 6A16P

Steve ChristoffINACTIVE

Steve JanaszakINACTIVE

G · 1 GP · 0 W · .9290W

NYRNew York Rangers5 players

Dean TalafousINACTIVE

C · 55 GP · 10G 20A30P

Warren MillerINACTIVE

RW · 55 GP · 7G 6A13P

G · 27 GP · 9 W · .8829W

BOSBoston Bruins4 players

Bob MillerINACTIVE

C · 80 GP · 16G 25A41P

Mike MilburyINACTIVE

D · 72 GP · 10G 13A23P

Thomas SonginINACTIVE

RW · 17 GP · 1G 3A4P

James Stewart JrINACTIVE

G · 1 GP · 0 W · .4440W

CLRColorado Rockies4 players

Mike ChristieINACTIVE

D · 74 GP · 1G 17A18P

Bobby SheehanINACTIVE

BUFBuffalo Sabres3 players

Richie DunnINACTIVE

D · 80 GP · 7G 31A38P

Rob McClanahanINACTIVE

C · 13 GP · 2G 5A7P

Mike RamseyINACTIVE

D · 13 GP · 1G 6A7P

DETDetroit Red Wings3 players

Reed LarsonINACTIVE

D · 80 GP · 22G 44A66P

Jim KornINACTIVE

D · 63 GP · 5G 13A18P

Dan BolducINACTIVE

RW · 44 GP · 6G 5A11P

PHIPhiladelphia Flyers3 players

Paul HolmgrenINACTIVE

RW · 74 GP · 30G 35A65P

Tom GorenceINACTIVE

RW · 51 GP · 8G 13A21P

Gary MorrisonINACTIVE

RW · 3 GP · 0G 2A2P

Show all 20 teams

STLSt. Louis Blues3 players

Jack BrownschidleINACTIVE

D · 77 GP · 12G 32A44P

Joe MichelettiINACTIVE

D · 54 GP · 2G 16A18P

Dick LambyINACTIVE

D · 12 GP · 0G 1A1P

WSHWashington Capitals3 players

Tom RoweINACTIVE

RW · 61 GP · 16G 21A37P

Al HangslebenINACTIVE

LW · 74 GP · 13G 22A35P

Peter ScamurraINACTIVE

D · 23 GP · 3G 5A8P

LAKLos Angeles Kings2 players

Steve JensenINACTIVE

LW · 76 GP · 21G 15A36P

Steve CarlsonINACTIVE

C · 52 GP · 9G 12A21P

NYINew York Islanders2 players

Dave LangevinINACTIVE

D · 76 GP · 3G 13A16P

Ken MorrowINACTIVE

D · 18 GP · 0G 3A3P

PITPittsburgh Penguins2 players

Russ AndersonINACTIVE

D · 76 GP · 5G 22A27P

Mark JohnsonINACTIVE

C · 17 GP · 3G 5A8P

QUEQuebec Nordiques2 players

Robbie FtorekINACTIVE

C · 52 GP · 18G 33A51P

Paul StewartINACTIVE

RW · 21 GP · 2G 0A2P

VANVancouver Canucks2 players

Curt FraserINACTIVE

LW · 78 GP · 17G 25A42P

Jere GillisINACTIVE

LW · 67 GP · 13G 17A30P

WINWinnipeg Jets2 players

Craig NorwichINACTIVE

D · 70 GP · 10G 35A45P

Dave ChristianINACTIVE

RW · 15 GP · 8G 10A18P

AFMAtlanta Flames1 player

Jim CraigINACTIVE

G · 4 GP · 1 W · .8411W

CHIChicago Blackhawks1 player

Mike O'connellINACTIVE

D · 78 GP · 8G 22A30P

EDMEdmonton Oilers1 player

Lee FogolinINACTIVE

D · 80 GP · 5G 10A15P

MTLMontréal Canadiens1 player

Chris NilanINACTIVE

RW · 15 GP · 0G 2A2P

Season by season

USA had 121 players in the NHL in 1990–91 and 301 in 2025–26. The peak was 2021–22, with 324. Under each bar is the nations league placing, in gold for the 4 seasons USA won.

In the NHL Draft

58 American players were picked in the 2026 NHL Draft, seven of them in the first round. Chase Reid went first, at number 7 to the Seattle Kraken.

Every pick in 2026 →The draft through the years →

American NHL players all time

Regular season, whole careers. The record seasons count completed seasons only.

Most points by American players

Most goalie wins

Best seasons by a American player

USA against Sweden

The nations league's five categories plus raw points and player count. The higher value takes the round.

USA

3rd in the league

3–4

Sweden

2nd in the league

Sweden wins 4–3 against USA.

0.46Points per game0.65

211Best trio239

0.42Defencemen's points per game0.47

.880Goalies' save percentage.876

0.2NHL players per million inhabitants1.9

1 188Total points853

64Players in the NHL20

USA against Sweden season by season

Pick a rival

Canada

Sweden

Continue reading

Top scorer

Mark Howe

USA's top scorer in 1979–80.

The team

Hartford Whalers

Where Mark Howe plays.

Nations in the NHL

Every nation in the NHL

How many players each country has in the NHL, with a page for each.

Nations league

NHL battle of the nations 1979–80

The countries compared per player rather than in raw totals.

Against Sweden

Sweden vs USA

Seven rounds, season by season.

The Swedes

Every Swede in the NHL

Team by team, with position and stats.