Minnesota is a great place to play hockey growing up. In fact, some of the best hockey players of all time were born in Minnesota. From top NHL players to Olympic Gold medalists, this list has players who made some remarkable contributions to the game.
Taking into account all-time stats leaders, awards won, and more, we’ve come up with the best forwards, defensemen, and goalies. Keep reading to learn about the greatest hockey players of all time from Minnesota.
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1. Phil Housley
Born March 9, 1964 in St. Paul, Minnesota
With 1,232 career points, Phil Housley is the 4th highest-scoring defenseman in NHL history. He’s also the top-scoring of any player from Minnesota. It’s no wonder he’s first on the list of the best hockey players of all time from Minnesota.
2. Zach Parise
Born July 28, 1984 in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Zach Parise has some impressive goal-scoring stats. 82 game-winning goals, 125 power-play goals, and 429 total goals which is more than any other player from Minnesota.
3. Blake Wheeler
Born August 31, 1986 in Plymouth, Minnesota
Throughout his NHL career, Blake Wheeler has been one of those consistently good hockey players with 922 total points scored.
4. Dave Christian
Born May 12, 1959 in Warroad, Minnesota
In addition to scoring 340 NHL goals and 773 total points, Dave Christian also won an Olympic gold medal with the U.S. Hockey team in 1980.
5. Matt Cullen
Born November 2, 1976 in Virginia, Minnesota
With 1,516 games played, Matt Cullen has played more NHL games than any other player from Minnesota. He also has more faceoff wins than any other player from Minnesota with a whopping 9,423.
6. Frank Brimsek
Born September 26, 1915 in Eveleth, Minnesota
We couldn’t have a list of the best hockey players of all time without including some goaltenders. Frank Brimsek was certainly one of the best. He earned the “nickname Mr. Zero” with 40 career shutouts. He won two Stanley Cups and two Vezina trophies.
7. Neal Broten
Born November 29, 1959 in Roseau, Minnesota
Neal Broten won the NCAA hockey championship in 1979, an Olympic Gold medal with Team USA in 1980, and a Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 1995. He’s one of the few players to win all three.
8. Reed Larson
Born July 30, 195 in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Reed Larson played 14 seasons in the NHL. In 904 games he scored a total of 685 points. He also played college hockey for the University of Minnesota.
9. David Backes
Born May 4, 1984 in Minneapolis, Minnesota
In 965 NHL games, David Backes racked up 1,148 penalty minutes and 2,710 hits. With 561 total points scored, he’s in the top 10 of all the best NHL players from Minnesota for NHL points.
10. Kyle Okposo
Born April 16, 1988 in St. Paul, Minnesota
Another top-ten scorer from Minnesota, Kyle Okposo has 592 NHL points.
11. Dustin Byfuglien
Born March 27, 1985 in Roseau, Minnesota
The best hockey players of all time aren’t just top scorers, some of them are great at defense too. During his time in the NHL, Dustin Byfuglien was great at both stopping shots and scoring points. He’s the third-highest-scoring defenseman of all time from Minnesota.
12. Jamie Langebrunner
Born July 24, 1975 in Cloquet, Minnesota
Jamie Langenbrunner won two Stanley Cups and an Olympic Silver medal. He was captain of the U.S. Olympic team in 2010.
13. Derek Stepan
Born June 18, 1990 in Hastings, Minnesota
Derek Stepan started his NHL career in a big way. He scored a hat trick (three goals in one game) in his very first game. How many top NHL players can claim they did that?
14. Alex Goligoski
Born July 30, 1985 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota
Alex Goligoski has played for both the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Wild. He’s one of the top-scoring defensemen from Minnesota with 465 NHL points. He’s also blocked more shots than any other player from Minnesota with 1,737.
15. Aaron Broten
Born November 14, 1960 in Roseau, Minnesota
In 748 NHL games, Aaron Broten scored 515 points, earning his spot on the list as one of the best hockey players of all time from Minnesota.
16. Mark Johnson
Born September 22, 1957 in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Mark Johnson has been inducted into both the Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame and the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. He scored a total of 203 goals and 305 assists in his NHL career.
17. Joel Otto
Born October 29, 1961 in Elk River, Minnesota
During his time in the NHL, Joel Otto received 1,934 penalty minutes. The only player from Minnesota to get more penalty minutes was Mike Peluso with 1,951.
18. Justin Faulk
Born March 20, 1992 in South Saint Paul, Minnesota
Justin Faulk is a high-scoring defenseman which is part of what makes him one of the best hockey players of all time. He currently has 396 points in 842 NHL games.
19. Jason Blake
Born September 2, 1973 in Moorhead, Minnesota
Jason Blake was awarded the Bill Masterton trophy in 2008 after he didn’t miss a single game, even after being diagnosed with Leukemia shortly before the start of the season.
20. Tom Kurvers
Born September 14, 1962 in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Another award-winning player, Tom Kurvers won the Hobey Baker Award while playing for the University of Minnesota Duluth in 1984. He went on to play eleven seasons in the NHL.
21. Brock Nelson
Born October 15, 1991 in Warroad, Minnesota
Some of the best hockey players in the NHL start with the draft. Brock Nelson was drafted in the first round of the 2010 NHL entry draft by the New York Islanders. He’s played his entire career with the team so far.
22. Tom Williams
Born April 17, 1940 in Duluth, Minnesota
Tom Williams won an Olympic Gold Medal with the U.S. Hockey team in 1960.
23. Mark Parrish
Born February 2, 1977 in Bloomington, Minnesota
Mark Parrish spent two seasons with the Minnesota Wild from 2006-2008. In his NHL career, he scored 73 power-play goals.
24. Ryan McDonagh
Born June 13, 1989 in St. Paul, Minnesota
Ryan McDonagh has the highest +/- ranking of all of the best hockey players from Minnesota. He has a whopping 227, which means he’s on the ice far more often when his team scores than when they’re scored against.
25. Anders Lee
Born July 3, 1990 in Edina, Minnesota
Anders Lee has 38 game-winning goals in the NHL so far. That puts him in the top ten for game-winning goals by the best NHL players from Minnesota.
26. Mike Ramsey
Born December 3, 1960 in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Mike Ramsey played 1,070 regular-season NHL games. In that time he scored 345 points and earned a +/- rating of 203.
27. Matt Niskanen
Born December 6, 1986 in Virginia, Minnesota
Matt Niskanen has played in 125 Stanley Cup playoff games. He won the cup in 2018 with the Washington Capitals.
28. Erik Johnson
Born March 21, 1988 in Bloomington, Minnesota
Erik Johnson was drafted first overall in the 2006 NHL entry draft. Before that, he played college hockey for the University of Minnesota.
29. Nick Leddy
Born March 20, 1991 in Eden Prairie, Minnesota
Nick Leddy was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the 2009 NHL entry draft. Before being drafted he scored 83 points in just 80 high school games.
30. Paul Holmgren
Born in December 2, 1955 in St. Paul, Minnesota
After ten seasons in the NHL, Paul Holmgren continued his hockey career with the Philadelphia Flyers. He spent time as an assistant coach, head coach, general manager, president, and senior adviser.
31. Mark Pavelich
Born February 28, 1958 in Eveleth, Minnesota
Mark Pavelich is another one of the best NHL players who won a gold medal with the U.S. Olympic team in 1980. Mark scored seven points in seven games at the Olympics that year.
32. Paul Martin
Born March 5, 1981 in Minneapolis, Minnesota
With 320, Paul Martin ranks at number 32 for points scored by the best hockey players of all time from Minnesota.
33. Trent Klatt
Born January 30, 1971 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota
Trent Klatt spent 14 seasons in the NHL, including several seasons with the Minnesota North Stars organization.
34. Brock Boeser
Born February 25, 1997 in Burnsville, Minnesota
In just 398 NHL games so far, Brock Boeser already has 312 NHL points. Including 48 power-play goals and 21 game-winning goals.
35. Sean Hill
Born February 14, 1970 in Duluth, Minnesota
Sean Hill won the Stanley Cup while playing with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.
36. Jake Gardiner
Born July 4, 1990 in Minnetonka, Minnesota
Jake Gardiner already has 79 power-play goals with 645 NHL games played so far. Quite a lot for a Defenseman!
37. Tom Gilbert
Born January 10, 1983 in Bloomington, Minnesota
During his NHL career, Tom Gilbert blocked 1,199 total shots in just 655 games.
38. Derek Plante
Born January 17, 1971 in Cloquet, Minnesota
Before playing in the NHL Derek Plante earned numerous collegiate hockey awards including the WCHA Player of the Year.
39. Bret Hedican
Born August 10, 1970 in St. Paul, Minnesota
Bret Hedican played on the U.S. Olympic team in 1992. He won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006.
40. Dean Talafous
Born August 25, 1953 in Duluth, Minnesota
Dean Talafous grew up watching skilled players and learning from them. With practice, Dean taught himself to be one of the best hockey players of all time.
41. Tom Chorske
Born September 18, 1966 in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Tom Chorske spent eleven seasons in the NHL. He won the Stanley Cup in 1995 with the New Jersey Devils.
42. Steve Jensen
Born April 14, 1955 in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Steve Jensen played on the U.S. Olympic team in 1976. He led the team that year with 52 goals scored.
43. Gary Sargent
Born February 18, 1954 in Red Lake, Minnesota
Gary Sargent led the Bemidji High School varsity hockey team in scoring when he was only in 8th grade. Gary went on to play college hockey and eventually to the NHL.
44. Justin Braun
Born February 10, 1987 in Minneapolis, Minnesota
During his time in the NHL, Justin Braun was well known for shutting down scoring chances. He racked up over 1,000 hits and over 1,300 blocked shots.
45. Nate Schmidt
Born July 16, 1991 in St. Cloud, Minnesota
Nate Schmidt has scored 206 NHL points so far with 161 assists.
46. Bryan Erickson
Born March 7, 1960 in Roseau, Minnesota
Bryan Erickson played college hockey for the University of Minnesota before joining the NHL.
47. Corey Millen
Born March 30, 1964 in Cloquet, Minnesota
Corey Millen spent several seasons in the NHL and played for the U.S. hockey team in both the 1984 and 1988 Olympic games.
48. Jordan Leopold
Born August 3, 1980 in Golden Valley, Minnesota
Jordan Leopold is another one of the best hockey players of all time for defense. In 695 NHL games, he blocked 758 shots.
49. Brady Skjei
Born March 26, 1994 in Lakeville, Minnesota
Brady Skjei has 610 blocked shots so far in the NHL with 529 games played.
50. Nick Bjugstad
Born July 17, 1992 in Blaine, Minnesota
Last but not least on our list of the greatest hockey players of all time from Minnesota is Nick Bjugstad. Nick grew up cheering for the Minnesota Wild, and he got to play with them for two NHL seasons in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Wrapping up the Best Hockey Players of All Time From Minnesota
Isn’t it cool that so many of the best hockey players of all time came from Minnesota? To learn about more interesting people from Minnesota, check out 10 Famous Actors from Minnesota.
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- About the Author
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Born in Madelia, MN, to a now 5-generation Minnesota family, Ryan’s MN roots go deep.
A painter by day, Ryan founded Life in Minnesota in 2013 with his wife Kelly to chronicle their musings on everything Minnesota. Ryan and Kelly are raising their 7 kiddos in Maple Grove, MN.
When he’s not shuttling his kids around to hockey practice, you might find him in the shop working on his leatherwork. Undoubtedly, there will be a family trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area every summer, and of course weekends at Grandpa’s cabin up north in the summer.