KHL Nationality Breakdown

The Russian KHL, which began its operations in 2008, is an international league in terms of player material, having successfully attracted top players from North America and leading hockey nations in Europe.

The proportion of foreign players remained between 30-40% until the 2021-2022 season but dropped to about 25% after Russia's attack on Ukraine. Especially Finnish, Swedish, Latvian, and Czech players left the league in large numbers due to the war initiated by Russia. This was facilitated by the withdrawal of Jokerit Helsinki and Dinamo Riga from the league after the end of the 2021-2022 season.

The chart below shows the relative proportions of different nationalities in the KHL from the 2008-2009 season onwards. Season specific data used in the chart can be found on the nationality totals statistics pages.