With the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks facing-off for bragging rights as the Stanley Cup champ, which home country—the U.S. or Canada—has the most marketable hockey players? A look at the Nielsen/E-Poll N-Scores of the top 10 active players in the NHL—and a review of the top retired players—reveals the Canadians have a slight breakaway with American audiences. The N-Score evaluates name, image awareness, appeal and attributes such as sincerity, approachability, experience and influence to determine a player’s endorsement potential.
Canadian and Pittsburgh Penguin Sidney Crosby tops the list (N-Score 26) along with his fellow countrymen Chicago Blackhawks’ Jonathan Toews (14), New Jersey Devils’ Martin Brodeur (12) and fellow Penguin Marc-Andre Fleury (11). The Americans don’t quite earn a hat trick with only two players in the top 10—Detroit Red Wings’ Mike Modano (20) and Buffalo Sabres’ Tim Connolly (13) - tying with Russia’s Alex Ovechkin (16) and Evgeni Malkin (12).
“Canadians are known for producing some of the best hockey players. In terms of lasting brands, they certainly have the power play, with eight of the top 10 retired players hailing from Canada,” said Stephen Master, VP Nielsen Sports. “While Sidney Crosby—who’s been revered as one of the best current hockey players in the world—is leaving his mark, Wayne Gretzky is still the brand to beat. A venerable name, Gretzky skates to the top of the list with an N-Score of 203, almost five times greater than his closest competition.”
| Top 10 N-Score - Active NHL Players | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Player | Team | Nationality | N-Score |
| 1 | Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins | Canadian | 26 |
| 2 | Mike Modano | Detroit Red Wings | American | 20 |
| 3 | Alex Ovechkin | Washington Capitals | Russian | 16 |
| 4 | Nicklas Lidstrom | Detroit Red Wings | Swedish | 14 |
| 5 | Jonathan Toews | Chicago Blackhawks | Canadian | 14 |
| 6 | Tim Connolly | Buffalo Sabres | American | 13 |
| 7 | Evgeni Malkin | Pittsburgh Penguins | Russian | 12 |
| 8 | Martin Brodeur | New Jersey Devils | Canadian | 12 |
| 9 | Marc-Andre Fleury | Pittsburgh Penguins | Canadian | 11 |
| 10 | Jarome Iginla | Calgary Flames | Canadian | 10 |
| Source: Nielsen | ||||
| Top 10 N-Score - Retired NHL Players | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Name | Nationality | Retirement Year | N-Score |
| 1 | Wayne Gretzky | Canadian | 1999 | 203 |
| 2 | Gordie Howe | Canadian | 1980 | 45 |
| 3 | Mario Lemieux | Canadian | 2006 | 32 |
| 4 | Bobby Orr | Canadian | 1978 | 31 |
| 5 | Mark Messier | Canadian | 2004 | 23 |
| 6 | Steve Yzerman | Canadian | 2006 | 20 |
| 7 | Brian Leetch | American | 2006 | 12 |
| 8 | Cam Neely | Canadian | 1996 | 11 |
| 9 | Mike Richter | American | 2003 | 10 |
| 10 | Adam Graves | Canadian | 2003 | 7 |
| Source: The Nielsen Company | ||||
Methodology
Using the combined research expertise of Nielsen and E-Poll Market Research, N-Score is an in-depth look at a sports figure's overall endorsement potential, factoring in the attributes and demographic measures that align brands with endorsers. E-Poll maintains a national online panel of 250,000 people age 13 and up. Each individual N-Score National survey is administered to 1,100 people within that panel via the Internet. The sample is representative of the general population based on gender, income, age, and education
