Top 10 NHL Players – April 2019

NHL Players with the Highest Social Interactions Among Fans

April is a critical month for NHL Franchises; the Stanley Cup Playoffs are in full swing while teams that did not make the Playoffs are planning for the offseason. This particular playoff has been a rollercoaster of emotions with some unexpected upsets and nail-biters. Based on the first two rounds of the Playoffs, the hockey play moving forward should be special. Every month, Hookit analyzes 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. For the second consecutive month, two members of the Boston Bruins  (Zdeno Chara and Brad Marchand) have generated the most social media engagement. Hats off to the Bruins as they are finding success on the ice and on social media platforms.

Note: All data from Hookit Engagement rankings on May 6th, 2019. Data is updated consistently to reflect live rankings on the Hookit Rankings website.

Key Insights

TJ Oshie Showing His Caps Support Via Twitter

TJ Oshie generated the most engagement on Twitter with 92.4K interactions. TJ Oshie is as entertaining as it comes on Twitter – especially after the Capitals 2018 Stanley Cup Championship. His trademark beer chug (#oshiechug) has become a staple for the fan experience in D.C. See Ryan Kerrigan (Washington Redskins Defensive End) tackle the #oshiechug.
Unfortunately for Oshie, he was awkwardly checked into the boards and broke his clavicle in the first round of the playoffs. His Top Tweet was to assure fans that he is in the good hands of the training staff and his ‘mama bear’. Everyone loves a good mama’s boy.

Henrik “The King” Lundqvist Makes An Announcement

Henrik Lundqvist is a legend of the game. He comes in at #3 on our list, jumping up seven spots from the previous month. The future Hall of Famer took to Instagram to thank the New York Ranger fan base for their support throughout the season. Their record was a little rocky but a shoutout from a player of Lundqvist’s caliber is enough to drive a lot of engagement.
King Lundqvist took to both Instagram and Twitter to announce that he is to join the Swedish national team for the IIHF world championships. This is important to the people of Sweden because they won the IIHF World Championships last year. To see their goaltender come back for another year infuses hope for a back-to-back championship.

NJ Devils Win The NHL Draft Lottery

Taylor Hall is a former #1 overall pick and the reigning MVP of the NHL. The incredibly talented Hall is unfortunately on a struggling New Jersey Devils roster. Because of his elite skills, he has generated a large (506k) following on Twitter.

On April 9th, the Devils won the NHL draft lottery – held for the 15 clubs that did not make it into the playoffs. He had some fun on social media after his team secured yet another top pick. The Devils are now set to draft 1st for the second time in three years. Hall’s best Tweet of the night instilled a sense of humor mentioning the luck of the club is the more untouchable than Gretzky’s 92 goals.  The post gained plenty of momentum on Twitter and moved him up 125 spots on our list.

The Wrap Up

This month offered some great headlines within the NHL’s social media scene. These social interactions are key metrics for brands that are sponsoring the top NHL players/teams 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.

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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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