The Underrepresentation of French Canadians on English Canadian NHL Teams

Abstract

Using a comprehensive data set covering the entire modern era of the National Hockey League (NHL), this article finds evidence that French Canadians have been underrepresented on English Canadian NHL teams, relative to their representation on U.S.-based teams. This underrepresentation on English Canadian teams was found not only for French Canadian players but also for off-ice personnel such as general managers and coaches. None of the traditional arguments as to why French Canadians may face entry barriers in the NHL can adequately explain the results of this article. The findings of the article give support to the hypothesis that French-English tensions may be resulting in English Canadian teams discriminating against French Canadian players. This hypothesis is given more credence when it is found that the degree of underrepresentation of French Canadians is greater during those NHL seasons when sovereigntist political threats in Quebec are highest.

Measuring Employer‐Based Discrimination Versus Customer‐Based Discrimination: The Case of French Canadians in the National Hockey League

“…While the draft is certainly not the only means by which teams acquire players, it is perhaps the most important means, since it is he mechanism by which all of the top young amateur players are allocated to NHL teams. Longley (2000) found that the tendency for English Canadian teams to draft fewer French Canadians is particularly prevalent in the lower rounds of the draft (after the 100th overall selection). A similar question to the one posed above can be examined.…”

“…Similarly, French Canadian coaches have been highly underrepresented on English Canadian teams relative to U.S. teams (Longley 2000). The past two decades have also seen a number of Americans rise to head coaching and GM positions in the NHL; the great majority of these Americans have been employed by U.S.-based teams.…”

“…Whether such an overrepresentation is a reflection of discrimination by Quebec teams-i.e., an anti-Anglophone bias-or whether it is a legitimate and acceptable attempt to preserve a cultural heritage is an important question in itself, a question that, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, has received almost no consideration in the literature. However, this paper follows more in the mode of Longley (2000), who takes the overrepresentation of French Canadians on Quebec teams as a given and concentrates only on the distribution of French Canadians on teams outside of Quebec. Longley (2000) finds that French Canadians have been consistently and significantly underrepresented on English Canadian teams, relative to U.S. teams.…”

“…However, this paper follows more in the mode of Longley (2000), who takes the overrepresentation of French Canadians on Quebec teams as a given and concentrates only on the distribution of French Canadians on teams outside of Quebec. Longley (2000) finds that French Canadians have been consistently and significantly underrepresented on English Canadian teams, relative to U.S. teams. He argues that, even if language and cultural barriers make French Canadians less valuable to teams outside Quebec than to teams within Quebec, such effects should be felt equally on English Canadian teams and U.S. teams.…”

“…1 More recently, however, a different form of discrimination has been examined-the segregation of French Canadians to certain teams within the NHL. For example, Longley (2000) found, using a data set that spans the entire modern history of the NHL, that French Canadians have generally been underrepresented on teams based in English Canada, compared to teams based in the United States.…”