Players who are surprisingly not from Europe

[Musampa]

Russians who were born East of Ural Mountains technically aren’t from Europe

 

[mcleex]

I used to think Barkov was Russian "ov" not Finnish
Somewhat similar

 

[Musampa]

I used to think Barkov was Russian "ov" not Finnish
Somewhat similar

His father is Russian

 

[SnowblindNYR]

I just realized that Trochek is American! lol This reminded me of how Milan Lucic is surprisingly from BC. Which had me thinking- what other NHLers are surprisingly not from Europe given their names?

His name is Vincent though. Trocheck sound Czech to me but he's apparently Italian. Maybe his dad is Czech? I don't know.

If not for his first name and if he didn't play for the Rangers I'd think Ryan Lindgren was Swedish.

Not exactly this thread is about but Jason Robertson being Asian was a curveball.

 

[BB79]

Every white north american is european lol

Wtf? Funny, I always thought they were Canadian or American

 

[McDonald19]

Ducks prospect Sasha Pastujov from Florida.

 

[Bixby Snyder]

Always thought Rob Langway was from an Anglo country, but he’s actually born in Taiwan! I always thought Anders Lee was from Taiwan but actually is American!

Born in Taiwan to American parents and raised in the US, also its Rod not Ron.

And yes Anders is a very Chinese name.

 

[IslesNorway]

Shame that Milwaukee is now part of Europe.



I mean, it’s not really common for a white dude either? And “Anders” isn’t as common, so I get it.

It’s the first names that might be a bigger indicator- Travis, Steven, Cody, those all seem largely NA-only. My own last name is Western European AF, it’s a thing.

Melting pot yo.

Anders is most definitely Scandinavian. The surname Lie is common in Norway, but you can see why it could have become anglicized into Lee, as it pronounced identically. Being from Minnesota he surely has Norwegian or Swedish heritage, hence the name.

 

[hi]

I thought Tony DeAngelo was Italian

 

[LeBrun is a Clown]

Born in Taiwan to American parents and raised in the US, also its Rod not Ron.

And yes Anders is a very Chinese name.

 

[jetsforever]

Jakob Chychrun surprised me

 

[EdJovanovski]

I’ve always thought Erik Gustafsson looked like a North American guy I was surprised he’s Swedish. Just something about his face and facial hair, looks like a very Canadian guy lol

 

[LeBrun is a Clown]

Namestikov is American, I believe ? Or just his brother ?

Gabe Landeskog looks and speaks like a NA

 

[bh53]

Mattias Samuelsson

Saw an Instagram post where Dahlin referred to him as the "fake swede" which is pretty funny

 

[Nogatco Rd]

Zidane O’Charra - not actually Irish

 

[tarheelhockey]

Yeah but I mean, why would someone be surprised that someone named "Lee" not be european? That's why I'm asking because maybe there's something I don't know about that name in europe.

At least as of 20 years ago, Lee was the 39th most common name in the UK.

Appendix:English surnames (England and Wales) - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

en.m.wiktionary.org

On the other hand, it was the 22nd most common name in the USA, which has around 5 times the population of the UK.

Lists of most common surnames in North American countries - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

So, someone named Lee is far more likely to be from the USA than from the UK, and unlikely to be from continental Europe.

All that said, “Anders” is a very Scandinavian sounding name and that’s probably what the person found surprising.

 

[Kahvi]

His father is Russian

And his mother is Russian.

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

Steven Stamkos for some reason? Alliteration made me think he’s Swedish.

I used to think Stamkos was Finnish or something

 

[McGarnagle]

Anders Bjork sounds Icelandic but is actually from Wisconsin

 

[Spybot]

I heard a story that when Matt Niskanen signed with the capitals, his new teammates needed a few days to realize he was American because of his name and the fact he didn't talk much.

 

[mr figgles]

It’s an English surname, like most notably, Confederate war General Robert E Lee

Famous Englishman Robert E Lee

 

[alko]

Travis Zajac aka Travis Rabbit - that screams after Slovakia roots.

 

[JoVel]

Despite popular belief, it is possible for two people from different countries to make a baby. Or even crazier, it's possible for two people from country A to make a baby in country B.

 

[Albatros]

Olaf Kölzig, no Canadian or US citizenship but still not even born in Europe.

 

[OKR]

What nationality did you think Trochek was, I don't recall any European players named Vincent?

Vincent is much more of an European name than it’s North-American. Hence why you mostly see French-Canadians having it.