Complete NHL Age Distribution between 1917/18 - 2009/10 Seasons

Published January 2, 2009 | Last Updated June 27, 2010

Here we look at the complete age distribution of all NHL players between 1917/18 - 2009/10 seasons. The charts below pull together all season specific distributions to create a 3D view of the NHL player age distribution. Charts are available for all skaters (includes both forwards and defensemen) as well as forwards, defensemen and goalies separately. Each chart is also shown from two angles to gain a better view on the distribution shape.

Each chart shows time on the horizontal axis (x-axis) and the player age on the depth axis (z-axis). The vertical axis (y-axis) shows the number of players in each age group.

The distributions reveal a few things. First, the expansion of NHL starting in late 1960s is obvious from the rising slope of the distribution. Second, during the 2000s the distribution is gradually widening as players continue to play to an older age. Click on the buttons below to switch between the charts.

The age of each player is determined by calculating the number of days between the player birth date and the December 31st of the season in question. This difference (age of the player measured in days) is then divided by 365 to convert it into years.

To construct the charts, player age is rounded downwards to nearest integer to place each player in their respective retirement age group. In other words, if the player age on the December 31st is 22.9 years, he will appear in the 22 year group.

A small number of players have been excluded from the data set, because their birth dates are unknown.