Top 10 NHL Players – March 2019

NHL Players with the Highest Social Interactions Among Fans

The month of March is a special month in the NHL – the NHLPA Player Poll is released, records are being broken, & the scene is being set for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Hookit analyzed the top-10 active NHL players based upon the total number of interactions on their social media channels and created valuable insights for reasons behind a few of the players’ rankings. In the month of March, we saw a lot of Boston Bruins dominating the social media realm. Brad Marchand made his presence felt – leading the league in fan interactions. It’s no surprise as the NHL recently voted Marchand as the best and worst trash talker. 42-year-old legend, Zdeno Chara, signed a 1-year contract extension as the defenseman comes in at the #2 spot on our list. We also saw some major jumps from Torey Krug, Evander Kane, & Robin Lehner.

Key Insights

Brad Marchand Reaches 100 Points!

Brad Marchand has had a career year for the Bruins. The winger has broken the 18-year Bruin drought as he joins the exclusive 100-point club. He not only has been a success on the ice for the Black and Gold but he is experiencing major successes on social media with a massive jump of 158.5K new followers.
According to NHL players throughout the league, Marchand is known as the best and worst trash talker in the NHL. His McGregor-like confidence and photoshop skills on Instagram and Twitter make him a must-follow. Marchand also posted 76 times across those two social media platforms. All of these factors are key components to gaining the #1 spot of the month.

Robin Lehner Proves It’s More Than Just A Game

The New York Islanders goalkeeper proves “positivity goes viral” as he moved up 27 spots with the feel-good story of the month. Lehner generated 60.7k interactions on just two Twitter posts. The post: Jack, was born with half a heart and survived three open-heart surgeries before the age of two. Jack is now defying what the doctors said by playing ice hockey. Lehner then gave up his stick to complete the checklist for this young Heart Hero.
Lehner reminds us of the positive impact that NHL athletes have on the fans. Keep on shining Robin!

Boston Bruins’ Locker Room Twitter Rivalry

Torey Krug has seen a huge jump in social interactions as he moves up 16 spots. Krug’s and Marchand’s back and forth social media roasting of each other helps land the defenseman at the #4 spot. We spoke about Brad Marchand earlier. His social media rivalry with teammate Torey Krug has put the defenseman on the social media map. With 21.9K new followers, it’s clear that fans are tuning in for the next joke from Krug. The unique social media strategy is clearly working with Krug generating 92K interactions in 13 posts. If you’re a fan of the NHL or some good ol’ fashion hockey jokes, I’d recommend tuning in.

P.K Subban Stays In The Top 3

P.K. Subban is known for his fashion, personality, and humor – making him one of the most followed NHL athletes on social media, with a reach of up to 1.3M fans on his social media accounts. With an impressive number of followers, P.K. managed to generate 101.5K interactions over the month of March. His 48.6K interactions on Facebook make it his most notable social media platform.
He started off the month with a Facebook post of himself giving a stick to a young fan at an away stadium. The post racked up over 12 million views. Like we mentioned with Robin Lehner, individuals love to see players use their platform for positivity – enough to get over 13k shares on the post.

The Wrap Up

March offered some solid headlines in the way of the NHL’s social scene. These social interactions can be key metrics for brands that are sponsoring the top NHL players and are looking to increase their value. By analyzing the top-ranked NHL athletes based on social interactions, brands can create valuable insights when looking for new partnerships or wanting to increase their media value. Sponsorship is a great way to connect with a specific audience – make sure you have the tools to make the best sponsorship decisions.
Note: All data is from official Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram Business accounts. Any personal Instagram account data is not included in these rankings.

Written by Kyle Miller
Kyle is on our partnership development team here at Hookit. As a millennial, social media is a major element of his lifestyle and he loves bridging that to the wide range of sports he follows. As a graduate of Grand Canyon University, he was also was on the volleyball team at GCU. Kyle became a hockey fan in middle school when NHL became the most competitive video game between his neighborhood friends. In his free time, he enjoys surfing, making art, playing basketball, beach volleyball, practicing yoga, and being a burrito connoisseur.
 

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