The NHL is one of the most violent and physically demanding professional sports in the world.
It requires top-notch conditioning, athleticism, and toughness.
During hockey season, fans are treated to wild saves, dazzling goals, crushing body checks, and back-and-forth brawls. All courtesy of some of the world’s greatest and toughest athletes.
Given the physicality of the sport, I got curious about the average age throughout the league.
How old is the average NHL player? And how does it vary by position? I dissected data from Stathead to find out.
As of December 5th, 2024, the average age of an NHL player is 27.653 years old.
For reference, that’s over a year and a half older than the average NBA player and a year older than NFL players. Yet, it’s still more than a year younger than the typical MLB player.
As you’ll see, some position groups are older than others.
Here is a full position-by-position breakdown of the average age of all NHL players at every position.
- Average Age of an NHL Goalie
- Average Age of an NHL Defenseman
- Average Age of an NHL Forward
- FAQs About the Ages of NHL Players
Average Age of an NHL Goalie
The average age of an NHL goalie is 28.59 years old.
Tasked with what’s been called “one of the most impossible [jobs] in sports”, goaltenders are the oldest of all position groups for a reason. It takes time to learn how to stop the most talented goal-scorers on Earth.
In fact, some of the league’s best goalies of all time didn’t enter the league until their late 20s. Tim Thomas didn’t make his NHL debut until he was 28.
3-time Stanley Cup Champion and 2021 Vezina Trophy winner Marc-André Fleury is the oldest goalie in the NHL at 40 years old.
Fleury entered the league in 2003, a year after the league’s youngest netminder – 22-year-old Yaroslav Askarov – was born.
Average Age of an NHL Defenseman
The average age of an NHL defenseman is 27.91 years old.
As the last line of defense before the goalie, D-men skew to the taller side. Yet, they are all over the place when it comes to age.
Aging veterans like Ryan Suter and Kris Letang are still holding it down, while up-and-comers like 20-year-old Isaiah George are just getting started.
George is two decades younger than Ryan Suter, who was drafted before the young Islander defenseman was even born.
Average Age of an NHL Forward
The average age of an NHL forward is 27.39 years old.
Here is how it breaks down by position:
- Left winger = 27.97 years old
- Center = 27.47 years old
- Right winger = 27 years old
At 39 years old, the legendary Alex Ovechkin is among the oldest forwards in hockey today.
He also belongs to the oldest position group of the bunch at left wing, where there are 40 players aged 30 or older.
The youngest group in the NHL is on the other side of the faceoff. Right-wingers are exactly 27 years old on average. There are 42 right-wingers aged 25 or younger, which pulls down the average by a significant margin.
In general, forwards get the most coverage. And for good reason.
We’ve covered guys like Martin St. Louis, Theo Fleury, and Chris Chelios, who each carved out their own unique underdog stories en route to the NHL.
FAQs About the Ages of NHL Players
40-year-old goalie Marc-André Fleury is the oldest player in the NHL right now, edging out defenseman Ryan Suter by about 11 months.
18-year-old center Jett Luchanko is the youngest player right now, narrowly beating Macklin Celebrini by two months.
The Washington Capitals. 39-year-old Alex Ovechkin is 19 years older than his 20-year-old teammate Ivan Miroshnichenko.
Goaltender is the oldest position group in the NHL, at an average age of 28.59 years old.
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