What Twitter told us about the first half of the 2018/2019 NHL season

The first half of the new @NHL season was full of top players, top teams and the emergence of the league’s next batch of All-Stars. Across North America, #HockeyTwitter became the hashtag that helped unite the pro hockey conversation on Twitter. 

Here’s a look back at the talent and teams that owned Twitter during the first half of this @NHL season.

Top Players

Players from Canadian teams dominated the Twitter conversation during the league’s first half. 70% of league’s 10 most mentioned player accounts this season are from Canadian teams.

Auston Matthews (@AM34) of the Toronto Maple Leafs is once again the league’s most-mentioned player account. Matthews was also the most-mentioned account during the 2017/2018 regular season.

These were the players with the most Twitter account mentions during the season’s first half.

1. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs (@AM34)
2. William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs (@wmnylander)
3. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (@cmcdavid97)
4. P.K. Subban, Nashville Predators (@PKSubban1)
5. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals (@ovi8)
6. John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs (@91Tavares)
7. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks (@_EPettersson)
8. Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs (@Marner93)
9. Max Domi, Montreal Canadiens (@max_domi)
10. Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins (@BMarch63)

Top Teams

With Canada-based players owning #HockeyTwitter for much of the season’s first half, it’s not surprising that Canada’s seven teams were also quite popular on the platform.

These were the teams with the most Twitter account mentions during the season’s first half.

1. Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights)
2. Pittsburgh Penguins (@Penguins)
3. Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs)
4. Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres)
5. Montreal Canadiens (@canadiensmtl)
6. Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks)
7. Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers)
8. Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins)
9. Washington Capitals (@Capitals)
10. Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning)

In terms of the custom Twitter emojis that launched on Opening Night, the Canadiens are owning that conversation so far. The emoji that unlocks when you Tweet #GoHabsGo is the most used NHL team emoji so far this season, followed by #LeafsForever and #Blackhawks.

Two other Canadian squads have seen significant growth in Twitter conversation compared to the 2017/2018 regular season. The Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) saw a 20% increase in account mentions during the first three months of the 2018/2019 campaign while the Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) saw a 16% increase over the same period.

Furthermore on the Jets momentum, the team has also seen their Twitter following grow by more than 50% since the start of the last @NHL season, helping to keep the #HockeyTwitter conversation strong in Manitoba and across Canada.