Top 10 European Hockey Players

Jaromir Jagr

Jaromír Jágr is a Czech professional ice hockey right winger and currently plays for Rytíři Kladno in the Czech Extraliga. He was born on February 15, 1972, and has had one of the longest and most successful careers in professional hockey history. As of the 2024-25 season, he continues to play, making... read more

Best European hockey player by far. He has 1,638 points (659 goals and 979 assists) as of 02-12-2012. He is one of a small group of hockey players to have won the Stanley Cup, Olympic Gold Medal, and World Championship (Triple Gold Club).
Jagr received several awards and holds several NHL records such as: most regular season points by a European-born and trained player (1,638), most regular season points by a player born outside of Canada (1,638), most all-time regular season points by a European-born and trained player (1,638), most all-time regular season goals by a European-born and trained player (659), most all-time overtime goals (15), most consecutive 30-goal seasons (15), and most consecutive 70-or-more point seasons (16).

Teemu Selanne

Teemu Selänne is by far the best European ice hockey player ever. He's still a top 20 scorer at 41, and he's the all-time Olympic point-scorer. Also, Jari Kurri played with Wayne Gretzky, and Jaromir Jagr played with Mario Lemieux.

Teemu Selanne should be first because he is old but still in the top 20 in points. Finnish Flash is the hockey king.

He is still playing against the youngsters and doing really well.

Dominik Hasek

Dominik Hašek (born January 29, 1965) is a Czech former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Blackhawks, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, and Ottawa Senators. During his time with the Sabres, he established himself as one of the... read more

There is no question that the Dominator is the best goalie of all time. He won six Vezina Trophies and two Hart Trophies, most of which came when he played for the Buffalo Sabres, who would have been horrible without him. He also became the first European goaltender to win the Stanley Cup.
There is no question Jagr is the best European to ever play in the NHL, but Hasek should be second.

Nick Lidstrom

What!?! I am not a fan or anything, but Nicklas is the third-best defenseman of all time, voted by the NHL PA. Jaromir is the 52nd forward, and Teemu is 49th, so Nick should be first!

Bobby Orr is the only one in front of him.

No knock against the top three, but Nick is a true legend. A Norris Trophy winner at age 40 is unheard of.

Peter Forsberg

Great hockey player haunted by a foot injury. He is one of the few players to have won the Stanley Cup, World Championship, and Olympic Gold twice. He can read the game like no one else, and when he played healthy, he was as good as Lemieux and Gretzky.

The perfect all-around player. When fit, there was no one on the planet who could touch him. His size, speed, and strength were all great, but it was his sick stick-handling skills that made him truly elite.

Best player of all time. He didn't have a chance to show it for long, but when he was healthy, he dominated the NHL.

Vladislav Tretiak

Tretiak would have dominated against any of the greatest goaltenders of that time. He owned Ken Dryden, the best goalie in the 1970s, and the Canadians in the '72 Summit Series. His domination of the IIHF and Olympics was incredible. Greatest goaltender of all time.

Led the Soviets to 45 consecutive wins up until 1980 in the Olympics when the USA beat them 4-3.

Alexander Ovechkin

Alexander Mikhailovich "Alex" Ovechkin is a Russian professional ice hockey winger and the captain of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League. He is considered one of the greatest goal scorers in NHL history. Ovechkin has won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy nine times and led the Capitals... read more

Jari Kurri

Evgeni Malkin

Evgeni Vladimirovich Malkin, born on July 31, 1986, is a Russian professional ice hockey player. He plays as a centre and serves as an alternate captain for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League. Malkin is widely regarded as one of the top NHL players of his generation and has won multiple... read more

Pittsburgh's second-line center is better than any other team's first.

James Foster

During the 1936 Winter Olympic Ice Hockey Tournament, goalie Jimmy Foster made 219 saves from the 222 shots he faced to help Great Britain to an unexpected gold medal in arguably the best performance ever by a player in Olympic ice hockey history!
There is a book titled Pride and Glory by author Rob Jovanovic about that 1936 Olympic gold medal Great Britain ice hockey team, and it is very interesting.

Finally, James Foster got the recognition he deserves when he was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Hall of Fame in 2023.

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Simon Nemec

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Jesper Bratt

Sergei Fedorov

Valeri Kharlamov

Kharlamov was the Russian Wayne Gretzky. What he did in his era and during his time on earth was incredible. He is the only skater to be elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame without playing a single game in the NHL. Like his teammate Tretiak, Kharlamov was a lost treasure in a time of greatness during the Cold War.

Mats Sundin

Mats Johan Sundin (born February 13, 1971) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player. He played in the NHL from 1989 to 2009, including a long tenure as captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sundin was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012.

The only thing about the Leafs that was good.

Unlike Fedorov, Jagr, and Forsberg, he had no one else... Jonas Hoglund, enough said.

Sergei Makarov

He could handle the puck at full speed like no one else I have ever seen before or since! He belongs much higher on this list.

Peter Stastny

Pavel Datsyuk

Pavel Valeryevich Datsyuk (born 20 July 1978) is a Russian former professional ice hockey player. He was nicknamed the "Magic Man," a tribute to his exceptional stickhandling skills and creativity with the puck.

From 2001 to 2016, he played for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League... read more

Definitely Top 5. Jagr, Stastny, and Makarov are rated above him. He made people look silly, scoring 5v1 on a rush, dekeing everyone defending him. Nobody gives him credit for his outstanding defensive play, plus everyone's puck went missing? The magic man of hockey.
Top 5 for sure. He wasn't a goal-scoring machine all the time but made very high IQ plays along with some of the best stick handling. Pavel "Magician" Datsyuk.

Igor Larionov

Stan Mikita

One of the greatest NHL players.

He is number 17 on the top 100 NHL players of all time, has a HUT card of 94, made the curved stick, and is the highest-ranked European hockey player.

Borje Salming

Sandis Ozolinsh

Jan Suchý

Vladimir Tarasenko

Vladimir Andreyevich Tarasenko (Russian: Влади́мир Андре́евич Тарасе́нко. Born December 13, 1991) is a Russian professional ice hockey right winger. He played for the St. Louis Blues in the NHL, where he also served as an alternate captain. As of the 2024-2025 NHL season,... read more

Jarkko Ruutu

All around great guy! Silky mitts and deadly shot!