What are the odds that Denmark has been able to foster two of the biggest stars in the NHL playoffs, Frederik Andersen and Nicolaj Ehlers of the Carolina Hurricanes?
Not very large. In fact, astronomically low; defying mathematical expectations by every metric if you start to examine the numbers behind ice hockey in a very small nation where most resources are allocated for football, handball, and badminton.
Denmark has only roughly 6,700 registered hockey players in the entire country. This accounts for less than 0.08% of its total population. The country has fewer than 30 indoor ice rinks nationwide.
By comparison, Canada has approx 8,300 indoor and outdoor rinks in total, and over 500,000 registered players. The United States has over 2,600 ice skating rinks nationwide and approximately 680,000 registered players.
That would seemingly leave very little room for any player from one of the smallest hockey nations in the world to excel at the greatest spectacle of the sport, the Stanley Cup finals.
Nevertheless, Denmark has not only one, but two players present in the final who haven't merely been just passengers but, in fact, have been driving the bus for Carolina throughout the playoffs and very well could lead the Hurricanes to their first title since 2006 (their only one to date).
A brick wall between the sticks
Andersen was a literal brick wall through the first two rounds of the playoffs, posting an extraordinary .950 save percentage and a 1.12 GAA to completely shut down Ottawa and Philadelphia.
Ehlers has racked up 11 points (six goals, five assists) during the playoffs alone, and the Danish international forward lit up Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final by scoring two first-period goals, including a strike just 25 seconds into the game.
Ehlers was also the decisive force when Denmark last year completed the arguably biggest shock in the history of the Ice Hockey World Championships, when they defeated Canada on home ice in Herning in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Morten Green, the General Manager of the Danish Ice Hockey Federation and the all-time most capped player for the Danish men's national ice hockey team (316 official international matches), says the importance of Andersen's and Ehlers' performances in the Stanley Cup cannot be underestimated for Danish hockey.
"The fact that Frederik and Nikolaj are in the final means that there are lots of young boys in Denmark thinking: 'I want to try that too'.
"The young players today, they see that their biggest idols are playing in the NHL, they no longer play in Germany, Finland and Sweden like it was the case when I was active myself," says Green, underlining that the bar for Danish hockey has been raised considerably over the years.
'Structured talent nursing'
"During my active days, the dream was always to earn a contract with a team in the Swedish hockey league. That was pretty much the pinnacle of what you could achieve. But today it's different.
"Players like Frans Nielsen and Lars Eller (the first Dane to win the Stanley Cup in 2018) proved that Danish players could succeed in the NHL. Their success created a clear roadmap for our young talents to follow, and today scouts pay much closer attention to what's going on in the Danish domestic league," Green adds.
Green says the production of NHL players completely defies the odds when you compare all the skills it takes to compete in the NHL to the size of hockey in Denmark.
"The number of NHL players coming from Denmark in the last 15 years has been extreme when you look at how small an ice hockey nation we are. There have really been many through the system, and when it was at its peak, we had nine players in the league.
"At the moment, we have seven players in the NHL league, and I think it is incredible that we can continue to create players at that level, which we owe to serious and structured talent nursing in the clubs and via the federation," says Green.
The Danish General Manager, who was in contact with both Andersen and Ehlers just before the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs to discuss their possible inclusion in the Danish squad for the just-held World Championships in Switzerland, says he is proud of the legacy which Andersen and Ehlers have created for Danish hockey.
'All Danish fans rooting for Carolina'
"There are many who can describe how they are as players, but what I would rather highlight are their human qualities. They are both down-to-earth, incredibly humble, and have never forgotten where they come from. They are incredibly proud to be Danes, and every time they have the chance, they do everything they can to pay back Danish ice hockey," says Green, who is rooting for Carolina in the playoff final series.
"I think it was incredibly important for them that they levelled the series; it would have been unbelievably hard for them if they had lost in overtime, and thus had lost two games at home.
"It's a bit of a fifty-fifty series with two fantastic teams. Carolina has been playing well all season, and Vegas has found form right up to the playoffs, so it is very even, and it is very small margins that will decide it, but there is no doubt that all Danish hockey fans are cheering for Carolina."
With the series tied at 1-1, the Vegas Golden Knights will host the Hurricanes on Sunday morning in Game 3 at 02.00 CET.