Who is the Best Canadian Hockey Player?

Hockey is a sport that has been dominated by Canadian players for decades. Seeing as its arguably the most popular sport in the country, it’s inevitable for Canada to produce the best talents that the sport has seen.

Canadian players have made an immense impact in promoting hockey and making it a sport that is recognized all over the world. But who is really the best Canadian player to ever grace the sport?

Sports have always caused heated debates on who the greatest of all time is, and is no different. There are a handful of players who have made quite a case as the best of all time, but there is hardly any undisputed GOAT considering that these players have played in different generations and have not all been able to face off against each other in their primes.

While there is no single metric to determine who the best hockey player is, let’s take a look at who among the greats have the best case to be the best of all time, by looking at factors such as their statistics, accolades, and overall impact to the sport.

The question of who’s the best Canadian hockey player ever can’t be answered with absolute certainty, but the following players are perhaps the consensus greatest Canadian hockey players of all time.

Gordie Howe

Gordie Howe was called “Mr. Hockey” for a reason. The Saskatchewan native was a natural-born talent who was destined for greatness.

Howe was a rare ambidextrous player who was equally adept using both hands and was utterly dominant in all levels that he played in.

An icon for the Detroit Red Wings, Howe played a stunning 1687 games with Detroit, and holds the record for most NHL regular season games played with a single team. With Howe at the helm, Detroit was able to win four Stanley Cup Championships in the early 50’s.

A deadly scorer, Howe led the league in scoring five times and is a six-time recipient of the Art Ross Trophy. He is likewise a six-time winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy in recognition of his invaluable contributions to his team.

He is also the progenitor of the “Gordie Howe Hat Trick,” which is achieved by scoring a goal, netting an assist, and getting in a fight in a single game.

After an incredible career totaling 32 professional seasons, Mr. Hockey finished his career with a total of 1767 games, which is currently second in the record books, and 1850 points scored, for fourth all-time, and 1049 assists made throughout his career.

Howe was the first player to score 1000 goals and play at least 1500 games in NHL history, and his 23 All-Star Game appearances remains an unmatched record. He also holds the record for most consecutive 20-goal seasons in the NHL at 22, from 1949 to 1971. Needless to say that he was inducted to the Hall of Fame.

Wayne Gretzky

Perhaps no name is more synonymous with hockey that Wayne Gretzky. The Great One is unarguably the greatest scorer to ever play in the NHL, and no one even comes close.

Although Gretzky wasn’t always the most athletic on the floor, his IQ was unmatched, and he is widely considered the smartest player in NHL history, having a thorough understanding of the game and the ability to anticipate and improvise plays while also knowing how to execute the right play at the right time.

Gretzky is a four-time Stanley Cup Winner, and has also won the Canada Cup thrice. The 18-time All-Star is a holder of 10 Art Ross Trophies and nine Hart Trophies, and is the player with the most wins for each trophy.

He has set and remains the sole holder of numerous career records in the NHL. Gretzky is the only player to have scored more than 2000 points in their career, totaling an astonishing 2857 points throughout 1487 games played. Furthermore, he also holds the record for most assists with 1963. As if that weren’t impressive enough, no other player in the history of the league was able to tally more goals and assists combined that Gretzky’s 1963 assists.

The Hall of Famer is also the only player other than Mario Lemieux to score 160 points in a season. Lemieux was able to accomplish the feat four times while Gretzky did so nine times, while eclipsing the 200-point mark four times.

Bobby Orr

The undisputed greatest NHL defenseman of all time, Bobby Orr’s contributions to the game of hockey cannot be denied.

A two-time Stanley Cup Winner with the Boston Bruins, Orr’s star power was undeniable. His two-way capabilities paved the way for countless defensemen who played in the NFL.

Orr is a two-time Art Ross Trophy winner, a three-time Hart Memorial Trophy, and holds the record for most James Norris Memorial Trophies with eight.

His Hall of Fame career saw him become the first and only defenseman to score nine hat tricks, the only defenseman to win the Art Ross Trophy, and the only player in the history of the league to win the Norris Trophy, Art Ross Trophy, Hart Memorial Trophy, and Conn Smythe Trophy all in one season, when he did so in the 1969-70 season. Although Orr’s career was cut short by injuries, he was able to accomplish feats that few players with full careers can.

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The bizarre story of Taro Tsujimoto

Published on March 28, 2025

Todayville Content Team

The National Hockey League (NHL) has seen its fair share of strange moments, but few compare to the bizarre and hilarious tale of Taro Tsujimoto, a player who never existed. His “selection” in the 1974 NHL Draft remains one of the most legendary pranks in hockey history. If you want to wager on actual players, making the 1xBet app download is definitely a great idea.

In the 1970s, the NHL Draft was a much less glamorous event than today. It was a tedious process conducted over the phone, with teams calling in their picks. The 3 biggest highlights of what happened during that year’s draft were:

the draft dragged on for hours;
there were multiple rounds and teams selecting unknown prospects from obscure leagues;
frustrated with the monotony, Buffalo Sabres general manager Punch Imlach decided to have a little fun.

As the 11th round approached, Imlach instructed his team’s representative to draft Taro Tsujimoto, a supposed forward from the Tokyo Katanas of the Japan Ice Hockey League. The name sounded authentic enough. The league officials, unfamiliar with Japanese hockey, accepted the pick without question. By downloading the 1xBet app you will also be able to wager on great NHL teams too.

A small problem

There was a small problem with all of this, as 2 things didn’t exist: Tsujimoto and the Tokyo Katanas. Imlach had completely fabricated the player as a joke, taking advantage of the NHL’s lack of verification. When it comes to NHL wagers, there is no better platform than the 1xBet Canada site.

For weeks, the league listed Tsujimoto as an official draft pick, and even some newspapers reported on Buffalo’s mysterious new Japanese prospect. Eventually, the Sabres admitted the hoax, and the NHL was forced to retroactively erase the selection from its records.

Despite being a fictional player, Taro Tsujimoto took on a life of his own. Buffalo Sabres fans embraced the prank, and over the years, his name has become a cult legend in hockey culture. Some fans even wore jerseys with “Tsujimoto” on the back. The joke persisted so much that when EA Sports released NHL video games, players could occasionally find Tsujimoto in the game’s draft pool as a hidden Easter egg.

More than just a prank, the story of Taro Tsujimoto highlights 2 things: the quirks of old-school sports management and the creativity of one of hockey’s most colorful executives. Today, with the draft process being highly scrutinized and broadcast live, such a prank would be impossible. But Tsujimoto’s legacy lives on as one of hockey’s greatest inside jokes. What is not a joke are the great rewards that a platform like the Canadian 1xBet site can give you.

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60% of Canadians gamble each month – why the industry is going from strength to strength

Published on March 26, 2025

Todayville Content Team

When it comes to regulating gambling, Canada has a somewhat relaxed approach. The Canadian Gaming Association oversees the industry, but it’s up to individual provinces to enact and enforce any laws relating to online casino gaming, sports betting, traditional casino gaming, and other forms of gambling.

Canada’s online casino gaming laws are not totally clear, but individual provinces are starting to put this right. Ontario was the first and did so when it launched its own regulated igaming market in April 2022. Now some other provinces have followed suit, creating a safer igaming environment for players in those provinces. Below is a look at gambling in Canada compared to other parts of the world, at gaming laws in Alberta compared to other provinces, and at the future of the Canadian, US, and UK gambling industries.

Canada: a forever love of gambling

Gambling in some form or other has always been popular in Canada. Way back in the 1990s, research found six in ten Canadians (60%) gambled every month. Additionally, four in ten (43%) spent between 1 and 20 Canadian dollars on gambling. Fast forward to today and the Canadian gambling market is worth 14.2 billion US dollars as of January 2024, according to data on the website of consumer and market data company Statista.

It seems Canada enjoys wagering just as much as two other countries that love a gamble: the US and the UK. Data on the Statista website shows that 49% of US adults took part in gambling activities in 2023. Fifty-six percent said their attitude towards gambling had relaxed, compared to the 50% of 2019.

The UK returned similar stats for the same year. Forty-eight percent of adults reported engaging in gambling activity. Online casinos generated the most gross gambling yield in 2023, but it was the nation’s National Lottery that people played the most.

Alberta: following Ontario’s lead

The regulatory developments in Ontario have triggered movement in Alberta. In May 2024, Bill 16, the Red Tape Reduction Amendment Act, made it through the process and later received Royal Assent to become law. The act removes the monopoly of gaming by a single government entity and will allow private operators, licensed by Alberta’s provincial regulator, to provide online gaming services in Alberta, meaning players will have a choice of more than one Alberta online casino to play at.

The regulation transforms Alberta into one of the more liberal provinces when it comes to online gambling, others being Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia.

Several provinces, such as Novia Scotia and Northwest Territories, have no provincially regulated online gaming sites. Some also restrict betting on horse racing and/or other types of sports betting, obliging citizens to use international betting sites for freedom from caps and betting on as many events as they wish.

What lies ahead for the Canadian, US, and UK gambling industries?

Canada’s appetite for gambling is clear, and the industry’s online sector is beginning to thrive. Ontario has enjoyed vast success by creating its own regulated market, one which, in just its first year, saw Canadians place billions in wagers and the industry itself generate more than a billion in total gaming revenue.

Canada can expect to see other provinces follow Ontario’s lead and allow private operators to provide services in the province under license. The purpose of the regulation is player protection. Any province that develops a regulated market will focus on this, so there will also be regulations around the advertising of gambling services.

The US

Gambling online is the future for the US, too, although states are slow to legalize it. As of September 2024, 38 states had legalized sports betting, following the US Supreme Court’s ruling that states could regulate sports gambling directly.

Despite allowing sports betting, some states only permit in-person betting, and only a few states allow online casino gaming. Operators believe online casino gaming is the future of gambling.

The UK

In the UK, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) will get bigger and bigger. Companies have realized AI can enhance players’ experience and are embracing it more and more. For instance, sports betting websites can use it to crunch data and provide iGamers with stats and other data to make better betting decisions. They’re also understanding they can use AI to prioritize content players are likely to be interested in and to personalize their offerings and services to players’ preferences.

Canada enjoys gambling as much as America and the UK. Although laws around igaming are more of a grey area in Canada, some provinces are clearing the issue up by creating regulated markets and experiencing great success. As time goes by, more are sure to follow.