Top 10 NHL Players – May 2019

Jun 17, 2019 | Athlete Spotlights

Top NHL Players With the Highest Social Interactions Among Fans

May has been an eventful month for the sport of hockey. This month we saw the Stanley Cup Playoffs develop into a memorable series between the Bruins and the Blues. The Blues positioned themselves to hoist the first Stanley Cup ever for the city of St. Louis. While the Stanley Cup Playoffs were underway, the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) World Championship took place in Slovakia. Finland took home the gold medal with Canada taking second and Russia gaining the bronze. For the third consecutive month, Chara and Marchand of the Bruins generated the most engagement across social platforms. Let’s take a deeper dive on some insights for the month of May.

Note: All data from Hookit Engagement rankings on June 10th, 2019. Data is updated consistently to reflect live rankings on the Hookit Rankings website.

Mikhail Sergachev Posted Content Engaging With Russian Fans

Sergachev is a 20-year-old Russian Defenceman for the Tampa Bay Lightning. This young gun generated 37.3K interactions in 6 posts on Instagram in the month of May. With a first-round elimination, Tampa Bay did not have the playoffs they expected as the #1 seed. Although his NHL season came to an end, the 20-year-old defenceman still took to Instagram to engage fans throughout the IIHF World Championship. His most engaging post, which generated 8,215 likes, was a ‘Thank You’/ bronze medal flex towards all the Russian fans for their support throughout the tournament. His 2nd best post was a picture with Russian Ice-Hockey legend Alex Ovechkin. It’s clear that he posted content that appeals to Russian hockey fans – pushing him up 47 spots on our list this month.

Logan Couture’s NBA Finals Takes

Logan Couture is a star for the the San Jose Sharks and a native to Ontario, Canada – home of the Toronto Raptors. Even if you’re not a basketball fan, you’ve likely seen the hype surrounding the Raptors first ever appearance in the NBA Finals. Couture took to Twitter to announce his divorce from the Bay Area for the period of the NBA Finals – this post picked up some Twitter momentum and logged over 14k likes & 1.2k retweets. His activity on Twitter has been Retweets of final scores and hype videos for the Toronto Raptors, fueling the excitement of his fellow Canadians.

Jakub Vorachek- May’s Facebook MVP

Jakub Vorachek is a member of the Philadelphia Flyers and the Captain for the Czech National Team. Vorachek is our Facebook MVP for the month, generating over 20k interactions on 31 posts. He leveraged Facebook excellently throughout the IIHF. His posts ranged from a shoutout to all of the Czech mothers on Mother’s Day to live streams for the IIHF exhibitions. He also consistently posted recap articles – giving Czech Ice-Hockey fans a one-stop shop for all of their needs. It was clear he had a plan for fans to engage with his page, helping him gain over 11.1k new followers and jump 59 spots on our monthly list.

The Wrap Up

The month of May offered some great headlines within the NHL’s social media scene. Social interactions are one of the 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 maximize your sponsorship efforts.

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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