He Shoots, He Scores!: Hockey-Inspired Names

photo via Wikipedia

With the NHL Playoffs in its final round, I thought it was time to put together a post of hockey-inspired names, a la my baseball-inspired post. I admittedly don't know as much about hockey as I do about baseball, but research allowed me to gather the following for any hockey-enthusiasts out there.

There are several ways you can channel hockey when naming your child...

Player Names (this is just a small selection):

Crosby - Sidney Patrick Crosby is considered one of the best players currently playing. He plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Dionne - Marcel Elphège Dionne is one of the best scorers that never won a championship. He played the majority of his career with the Los Angeles Kings.

Gordie - Born Gordon Howe, he is regarded as one of the best hockey players of all time, nicknamed "Mr. Hockey." He played for the Detroit Red Wings and his career spanned 50 years, from 1946 to 1997.

Gretzky - Wayne Gretsky played most of his career with the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings. He is arguably considered the best hockey player of all time, nicknamed "The Great One", and his number #99 was retired by the entire league.

Jaromír Jágr - His name is so cool I had to include it in its entirety. He is from the Czech Republic (the J's in his name are pronounced like Y) and while he is currently with the Boston Bruins, he played most of his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Lafleur - Guy Damien Lafleur is considered one of the most popular players ever to play and had his most successful seasons with the Montreal Canadians.

Lemieux - Mario Lemieux played his entire career with the Pittsburgh Penguins and won several most valuable player awards for both the playoffs and the league as well as top scorer awards.

Lindros - Eric Bryan Lindros played most of his career with the Philadelphia Flyers and was one of the top scorers in the league. According to Wikipedia, the name Lindros is Swedish and means "rose of the linden tree."

Malone - Maurice Joseph "Joe" Malone played for the Montreal Canadians in the 1910s and 1920s and is know for being the only player to have scored seven goals in one game.

Mikita - Stanislav "Stan" Mikita played for the Chicago Black Hawks and was regarded as one of the best centers in the 1960s. He was born in the former Czechoslovakia.

Modano - Michael Thomas Modano, Jr. is probably the best American-born player ever to play in the NHL. He made hockey more popular in the south, as he played with the Dallas Stars and won a championship there.

Roy - Patrick Jacques Roy (pronounced "wah") was a highly successful goalkeeper (arguably the best) with the Montreal Canadians and Colorado Avalanche, and is the only player to have won the playoff's most valuable player three times.


Arena and/or Team Names:

Blue - St. Louis Blues

Bruin - Boston Bruins

Jet - Winipeg Jets

Joe Louis - The Joe Louis Arena is where the Detroit Red Wings play, and was named after the boxer Joe Louis who grew up in Detroit. It's a great double name.

King - Los Angeles Kings

Madison - The New York Rangers play at Madison Square Garden, named after its original location at Madison Square, which was named after the President James Madison.

Ranger - New York Rangers

Rexall - Where the Edmonton Oilers play, Rexall Place was named after the sponsoring company.

Rogers - Rogers Arena is where the Vancouver Canucks play and was named after their sponsor Rogers Communications.

Star - Dallas Stars


Hockey Terms, Positions or Related Items:

Art Ross - The Art Ross trophy is awarded to the top scorer of the National Hockey League each year. Art Ross' full name was Arthur Howey Ross and was one of the early great players of the game.

Bunny - Like an Annie in baseball, a "puck bunny" is a hockey groupie.

Butterfly - A stance the goalie makes to block the puck from going into the net.

Celly - A celebration after a goal.

Conn Smythe - The Conn Smythe award is given out the most valuable player in the playoffs of each year. Conn Smythe's full name was Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe and he was an NHL team owner.

Deke - When a player who has the puck moves in a way to fool the opponent enough to get past him (from decoy).

Hart - The Hart Trophy is awarded to the most valuable player in the league each year.

Hatty - A slang word used for "hat-trick", or when three goals are scored by one player in one game.

Ice - The surface ice hockey is played on.

Puck - The rubber disc that is hit around and used to score goals.

Slash - Swinging one's stick hard at an opponent; this is a penalty.

Stanley - The teams in the National Hockey League compete for the Stanley Cup, the name of the trophy given to the championship team.

Tilly - Another word for "fight."

Trapper - A term for the glove the goalie wears.

Wing or Winger - A position on the ice mostly set in the outer playing area.

Before there were the Western and Eastern Conferences, the NHL was divided into the much more interestingly-named Campbell Conference, made up of the Norris and Smythe Divisions, and the Wales Conference, made up of the Adams and Patrick Divisions.

And last but not least...

Miracle - "Do you believe in miracles?" Sportscaster Al Michaels asked that question at the end of the match between the United States and the USSR in the 1980 Olympics, in which the US team came out winners. The game is now called "The Miracle on Ice" as the Soviets were highly favored to win against the young and inexperienced Americans. With the Cold War also in full effect at the time, this game was truly an inspiring event for the United States. The name Miracle would be a great way of honoring the sport of hockey without a glaringly obvious connection. And as we learned recently, Mira is a cute way to shorten Miracle.

Do you have a favorite hockey-inspired name?

Some of the above information was gathered from Wikipedia.