You can tell a lot about a hockey season based on what people are talking about on Twitter.
On Friday, Twitter Canada compiled some interesting insights into the social media habits of hockey fans over the course of the first half of the 2019-20 NHL season.
Between Oct. 2 and Jan. 22, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner was the most-mentioned NHL player account on the platform. He’s joined by two of his Toronto teammates in the top five — John Tavares was the second most-mentioned, with Auston Matthews coming in at No. 5.
Here are the top-five, most-mentioned NHL player accounts so far this season:
1. Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs (@Marner93)
2. John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs (@91Tavares)
3. David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins (@pastrnak96)
4. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals (@ovi8)
5. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs (@AM34)
It’s worth noting that while Bruins forward Brad Marchand (@Bmarch63) didn’t crack the top five, his Jan. 17 tweet — in which he mastered the art of self-deprecation following a pair of breakaway bloopers — won him the popularity contest when it comes to most-liked tweets of the first half of the season.
Twitter Canada also tracked the most-mentioned player account on each Canadian team. Unsurprisingly, captains Connor McDavid and Bo Horvat dominate the hockey talk in Edmonton and Vancouver, respectively:
Calgary: Johnny Gaudreau (@johngaudreau03_)
Edmonton: Connor McDavid (@cmcdavid97)
Montréal: Max Domi (@max_domi)
Ottawa: Brady Tkachuk (@BradyTkachuk71)
Toronto: Mitch Marner
Vancouver: Bo Horvat (@BoHorvat)
Winnipeg: Patrik Laine (@PatrikLaine29)
Toronto has long been considered a pretty hockey-crazed market, so it’s no surprise to see the Maple Leafs are the most-mentioned NHL club on Twitter. It’s pretty cool to see the Vegas Golden Knights come in at No. 2 — the league’s newest club has certainly done an incredible job cultivating a passionate fanbase.
Most mentioned team accounts (overall):
1. Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs)
2. Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights)
3. Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche)
4. St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues)
5. Pittsburgh Penguins (@Penguins)
As for individual tweets with the most traction, Twitter Canada highlighted the following top three most-liked Tweets:
Birthday boy Kade Foster received more than 180,000 likes and too many birthday wishes to count — both on Twitter and in person when he attended a Maple Leafs game as the team’s guest after this tweet went viral:
That was the most-liked NHL tweet of the first half of the season, followed by this adorable introduction to the Washington Capitals’ new team pup, Captain…
At No. 3, a tweet from U.S. President Donald Trump congratulating the Stanley Cup champs:
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