There’s nothing more Canadian than the game of hockey, so it’s not surprising that more than 40 per cent of current NHLers are from the Great White North. You don’t have to look far to find terrific talent from the jagged Rockies, or the sprawling prairies, or the East Coast’s craggy cliffs.

From sea to shining sea, here’s a look at the best and most dominant active NHL player from each Canadian province.

British Columbia — Jamie Benn

We’ll start things off in the West on Vancouver Island, the birthplace of Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn.

Benn was an outright steal for the Stars, selected in the fifth round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. He’s spent his entire 11-year NHL career in the Lone Star State and has racked up 300 goals and 388 assists for 688 points in 814 career games. His best two seasons were 2014-15 — where he recorded 35 goals and 52 assists for 87 points and captured the Art Ross Trophy — and 2015-16, where he put up 41 goals and 48 assists for 89 points.

Victoria’s Jamie Benn’s been a consistent and complete, yet consistently underrated player, in his 11-year NHL career. (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

A complete player who possesses a hard shot and plays a heavy game, Benn has been a Stars’ cornerstone for a long time but somehow manages to keep a fairly low profile despite being a six-time NHL All-Star. He’s not flashy, but he’s a workhorse who’s very durable: he’s suited up for at least 69 games in every 82-game NHL campaign.

Benn has also had international success: he won a gold medal at the 2009 World Junior Championships in Ottawa and an Olympic gold in 2014 in Sochi.

Related: NHL’s Top 5 Left Wingers of the Decade

Benn looks destined to be a Star for life: he’s 30-years-old now and is locked up through 2024-25.

Honourable Mentions (in alphabetical order): Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Morgan Rielly, Shea Weber

Alberta — Taylor Hall

Hailing from the foothills of Calgary, Taylor Hall was the first of three Edmonton Oilers’ first-overall picks.

Taylor Hall during his tenure with the Edmonton Oilers.

Chosen in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft after a standout juniors career with the Windsor Spitfires in which he helped the club capture back-to-back Memorial Cups and was the Cup MVP both times, the left-winger really came into his own in 2013-14, when he posted 80 points. He hasn’t really looked back since then.

Although the Oilers were abysmal for most of his tenure there, Hall still has 218 goals and 345 assists for 563 points in his 10-year career. His best offensive season came in 2017-18, his second campaign with the New Jersey Devils. That season, where he popped in 39 goals and added 54 apples for 93 points, won him the Hart Memorial Trophy.

Hall struggled with some injuries last season, but is undoubtedly an explosive player with great puck skills and a natural knack for finding the back of the net. He was traded to the Arizona Coyotes last December, where he recorded 10 goals and 17 assists in 30 games before the NHL shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hall was traded to the Arizona Coyotes in December, 2019. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Honourable Mentions: Mike Green, William Nylander, Brayden Point

Saskatchewan — Ryan Getzlaf

Ryan Getzlaf just edges out Patrick Marleau for the title of best current Saskatchewanian. What sets the Regina-born Getzlaf slightly apart from the Swift Current-born Marleau is that Getzlaf has a Stanley Cup and Marleau does not.

Getzlaf has spent his entire 14-year career with the Ducks and is second all-time in points. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Getzlaf has averaged nearly a point per game over his 14-year career, which he’s spent entirely with the Anaheim Ducks. A prolific playmaker who was outstanding especially when playing with fellow 2003 pick Corey Perry —the duo was even referred to as “Hockey’s Version of Pairs Skaters” by the New York Times — the centre has 274 goals and a 691 assists for 965 points in his 1,053-game career.

Related: Remembering the Anaheim Mighty Ducks’ 2003 Draft

The power forward and captain since 2010-11 is second all-time in points with the franchise — trailing Teemu Selanne by only 23 — and has led the Ducks in scoring seven times. He helped the team capture Lord Stanley’s Mug in 2007 by putting up points in 21 games that postseason, is a three-time NHL All-Star, and has a pair of Olympic gold medals, too.

Honorable Mentions: Jordan Eberle, Patrick Marleau, Brayden Point

Manitoba — Jonathan Toews

Jonathan Toews has a sportsplex named after him in south Winnipeg, and it’s easy to understand why.

The Chicago Blackhawks captain is a class act and a terrific talent, a full package of near-otherworldly intelligence, puck handling prowess, and skating skill.

Winnipegger Jonathan Toews is a hyper-competent captain and a terrific talent. (AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)

Chosen third overall in 2006, Toews has spent his entire 13-year career with the Blackhawks, tallying 345 goals and 470 assists for 815 points. He’s also won an eye-popping 56.9 per cent of his face offs.

A true leader and clutch competitor, Toews was instrumental in the Blackhawks’ dynastic three-Cups-in-six-seasons run between 2010-11 and 2014-15, with 40 goals and 70 assists in 128 playoff games. Three years ago, the NHL broke down what makes “Captain Serious” so effective.

Related: Chicago’s Original Six: An Overview of the Blackhawks’ Dynasty Players

Aside from the three Stanley Cups, Toews has also bagged a Frank J. Selke Trophy, Mark Messier Leader of the Year Award, a Conn Smythe Trophy, Six NHL All-Star nods, two World Junior gold medals (2006 and 2007) and two Olympic gold medals (2010 and 2014.) Not too shabby for a guy who’s still only 31.

Honourable mentions: Duncan Keith, Mark Stone, Alexander Steen

Ontario — Connor McDavid

This is an obvious choice, but the right one. While there are dozens of superb players from Ontario — especially from the “hockey player factory” towns in the province’s southern portion — no one is more dominant in today’s NHL than Richmond Hill’s Connor McDavid.

A once-in-a-generational talent, “The Chosen One” has recorded 461 points in just 351 NHL games since being chosen first overall in 2015. A human highlight reel, the centre has outrageous wheels, blows by opponents with ease, and owns out-of-sight offensive awareness.

He’s only 23 but has already recorded a pair of 100-plus point seasons (and would have had a third this season if the NHL hadn’t been shut down) and has won a pair of Art Ross Trophies, a pair of Ted Lindsay Awards, and a Hart Memorial Trophy for his 100-point 2016-17 campaign.

Related: Edmonton Oilers With 100-Point Seasons

It’s hard to see McDavid being anything other than a perennial all-star and 100-point player for another decade, at least. He’s truly the cream of the NHL crop and his career is just beginning.

Connor McDavid’s reign as the NHL’s best player is just beginning. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson)

Honourable Mentions: Brent Burns, Claude Giroux, Mark Scheifele, Steven Stamkos, John Tavares

Quebec — Patrice Bergeron

A savvy, two-way centre, Patrice Bergeron hails from L’Ancienne-Lorette, a suburb just east of Quebec City.

Bergeron is the picture of consistency and can be counted on to create offence night in, night out and to come through in critical situations. In his 16-year career, which he’s spent entirely with the Bruins, he has 352 goals and 517 assists for 869 points and has tallied 50-plus points 12 times. He’s also won 58.2 per cent of his face offs.

He may not have the speed of Connor McDavid, the shot of Alexander Ovechkin or the championships of Sidney Crosby,” THW’s Drew Johnson wrote last year. “Yet Bergeron is arguably the most complete player in the NHL – he brings the entire package.” From Drew Johnson’s “Growing Up in the Patrice Bergeron Era”

Patrice Bergeron is a consistent, savvy player who comes through in the clutch. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Bergeron played a key role in the Bruins’ 2011 Stanley Cup victory, posting four goals and 16 assists — including two goals in the deciding Game 7 against the Vancouver Canucks — and a plus-15 rating in 23 games.

Bergeron’s racked up quite the list of accolades since being selected 45th overall in 2003: he owns an NHL Plus-Minus Award, (he was plus-36 in 2012 and is plus-201 for his career) four Frank J. Selke Awards for his defensive abilities, and a King Clancy Memorial Trophy.

Related: NHL’s Top 5 Defensive Forwards of the Decade

He also won gold at the World Junior Championship in 2005 — he led that tournament in points with 13 and was named MVP — gold at both the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, and is a Spengler Cup champion for good measure.

Bergeron doesn’t appear to be slowing down, either: despite being 34 years old, he set a new high with 79 points last season and had 56 this season prior to the shutdown.

Honourable Mentions: Marc-Andre Fleury, Jonathan Huberdeau, Paul Stastny

New Brunswick — Jake Allen

There aren’t many active players from New Brunswick, but St. Louis Blues goaltender Jake Allen certainly stands out as the most successful.

Since being chosen by the Blues 34th overall in 2008, “Jake the Snake” has made 271 starts and has a career 148-94-26 record, 2.50 Goals Against Average, and .913 Save Percentage, and 21 shutouts.

Jake Allen enjoyed some good seasons with the Blues but has been supplanted by Jordan Binnington. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

While he’s been relegated to backup duty since Jordan Binnington’s meteoric rise last season — the Blues went from dead-last to Stanley Cup champion with Binnington in the crease — Allen is only 29 and remains a capable goaltender. He will likely begin a new chapter with a new team after his contract with the Blues expires at the end of next season, or even sooner.

Nova Scotia — Sidney Crosby

He’s won three Stanley Cups. He’s won two Art Ross Trophies, Hart Trophies, and Ted Lindsay Awards each. He’s also won Lester B. Pearson, Maurice “Rocket” Richard” and Mark Messier Leader of the Year Awards. He’s been named an NHL All-Star seven times. He’s won two Olympic golds — he, of course, scored the iconic “golden goal” in 2010 — and has won World Junior and World Cup of Hockey golds, too.

He’s Sidney Crosby. “The Great One.” The pride of Coal Harbour, Nova Scotia. Nobody in recent memory has single-handedly changed the fortunes of a franchise more than him.

Sidney Crosby is the total package and one of the NHL’s all-time best. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Crosby, who is an elite passer that also owns perhaps the best backhand shot of all-time, has put 1263 points in 948-career games and has reached the 100-point plateau in six separate seasons. He’s also recorded 186 in 164 playoff games — including a whopping 31 in 2009 — when the Penguins captured the Stanley Cup against the Detroit Red Wings in what was a rematch from the year prior.

Related: NHL’s Top 5 Centers of the 2010s

The Penguins have qualified for the postseason for 13 straight seasons in the Crosby era; the only time they didn’t was his rookie 2005-06 season.

“Sid the Kid’s” legacy as one of the NHL’s best-ever and as a superb role model are already firmly cemented, and as long as he can avoid the concussion problems which dogged him in the earlier part of last decade, he should continue to excel for a number of seasons yet.

Honourable Mentions: Alex Killorn, Nathan MacKinnon, Brad Marchand

Prince Edward Island — Noah Dobson

The Summerside-born Dobson is just beginning his NHL career with the New York Islanders but has the potential to blossom into an impactful, top-pairing defenseman.

Dobson is a rookie defender with good upside. (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Selected 12th overall in 2018, the 20-year-old is a smooth-skating and mobile blue-liner with good all-around awareness who ate up huge minutes and put up 152 points in his three-year junior career with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan and later, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

Related: Noah Dobson – 2018 NHL Draft Prospect Profile

He’s recorded one goal and six assists this season for the Islanders and looks to be a big part of their back-end future.

Newfoundland and Labrador — Clark Bishop

By default, Clark Bishop takes the crown — he’s the only active NHLer from Newfoundland and Labrador.

The forward has played 25 games for the Carolina Hurricanes over the past two seasons, recording one goal and three assists. He won a Calder Cup with the Charlotte Checkers last season.

There have been a number of more notable players from the province who retired recently, including Michael Ryder, Daniel Cleary, and Colin Greening.

Let the Debates Begin!

Do you agree with the selections? Comment below! Also, be sure to check out THW’s piece that highlights the Best NHL Player from Each U.S. State.