2022 YIR: Jewish Players No Longer Exception on NHL Rosters
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2022 YIR: Jewish Players No Longer Exception on NHL Rosters

David provides an update to his popular article on the proliferation of Jewish players currently playing for NHL teams.

By David Ostrowsky December 21, 2022, 12:26 pm Edit
After playing intermittently for the Philadelphia Flyers for a couple seasons, Mark Friedman joined Jason Zucker in Pittsburgh last February and now hopes to become a consistent contributor for a team eyeing a Stanley Cup championship.
After playing intermittently for the Philadelphia Flyers for a couple seasons, Mark Friedman joined Jason Zucker in Pittsburgh last February and now hopes to become a consistent contributor for a team eyeing a Stanley Cup championship.

Last January, the Atlanta Jewish Times ran a story entitled “Jewish Players No Longer Exception on NHL Rosters.” Undoubtedly, in the 2021-22 season, Jewish skaters no longer represented a distinct minority in the NHL as many teams’ rosters included members of the Jewish community, none more prominently than that of the Pittsburgh Penguins, who had two such players: left-winger Jason Zucker and defenseman Mark Friedman. Pittsburgh’s situation was virtually unprecedented in league history, and it was emblematic of the fact that, in all likelihood, there had never been a stronger Jewish representation than last year’s league-wide makeup of rosters.

While over the past 12 months there has been inevitable roster turnover—Friedman is currently playing for Pittsburgh’s minor league affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins—the Jewish influence remains strong in the hockey world, particularly in the Tri-State area where two prominent players, Adam Fox of the New York Rangers (profiled in the AJT last May), and Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils, are anchoring their respective Stanley Cup-contending teams.

Fox is one of the league’s elite defensemen, as evidenced by his capturing the 2021 Norris Trophy and annually being one of the league leaders in assists. Across the George Washington Bridge, the upstart Devils have been one of the league’s biggest surprises this winter and no one is more responsible for the club’s fantastic start than Hughes, who, after being limited to 49 games last season with a dislocated shoulder and MCL injury, paces the team in goals and assists.

But it’s not just Fox and Hughes, the latter of whom has two standout brothers, Quinn, currently playing for the Vancouver Canucks, and Luke, a defenseman for the University of Michigan Wolverines, who was drafted by New Jersey fourth overall in the 2021 NHL Draft. On opening night, in addition to the Penguins, Devils, Rangers, and Canucks, a passel of other franchises including the Arizona Coyotes, San Jose Sharks, and Edmonton Oilers rolled out lineups featuring Jewish players.

Meanwhile, the future also looks rather promising as a couple of the big names in college hockey, Northeastern goalie Devon Levi, and University of Denver defenseman Shai Buium, both have strong Jewish roots…and affiliation with NHL franchises, the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings, respectively.

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