NHL name game: Four generations of monikers from P.K. back to Odie

The NHL's most common and unusual player names from today’s Ryans and Tylers back to the days of Odie and Sprague.

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Jul 21, 2015

Back in May, Canada’s junior Western Hockey League held its draft for players who were born in 2000. As our Extra Mustard post noted, the names that were tallied by blogger Adam Herman of Blueshirt Banter offered a window into 21st century naming customs. Four Coles, four Chases, four Dawsons and four Jacksons were selected as well as a Jaxon, a Rin, a Ryley, a Baxter, a Lach, a Kaiden, a Jayden, a Loeden and such distinctive full names as Gianni Fairbrother and Orrin Centazzo.

This inspired us to look at the most common and distinctive monikers in the NHL by generation, starting with team rosters as of the summer of 2015 and working our way back in 30-year intervals to the old tyme hockey days of 1925. The results were indeed revealing.

Although some names such as Mike, Dave, Bill and Bob have remained common, there have been distinct trends through the years. For example, you don't see many Gords, Dicks, Cecils or Wilfreds these days, but there are more Ryans, Jakes, Tylers and Brandons. Meanwhile the league’ ubiquitous nicknames of yore have given way to initials (P.K., T.J. etc.).

NOTE: For the sake of our tabulations, variations of a name (e.g. Mark/Marc/Marcus, Jon/John/Johnny, Nick/Nicholas/Nicklas) were lumped together. We’ve also included a nod to European, Scandavian and Russian players for they too provide a glimpse into the NHL's ever-changing demographics.

2015

TOP FIVE: Mike (26), John (25), Mark (22), Matt (21), Ryan (20)

Mike Green, John Tavares, Marc Staal, Matt Duchene, Ryan Getzlaf

OH, BABY (Top five most popular names): Liam, Noah, Ethan, Mason, Logan (U.S.); Aidan, Jacob, Ethan, Nicholas, Matthew (Canada)

PLUS/MINUS: John (+12), Matt (+21) and Ryan (+19) replaced Dave, Bob and Rich/Rick in the top five from 1984-85 when three Mats (Naslund, Hallin, Thelin) but no Matts or Matthews, and one Ryan (Walter), played in the NHL. In the iconic first names department, there is now one Wayne (Simmonds) and one Sid (Crosby) on NHL rosters but no Mario or Gordie.

Ryan Miller, Ryan Callahan, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Ryan Kesler, Ryan Suter

NOTABLES: Chris (19), Nick (16), Alex (15), Drew (14), Jake (10), Justin (9), Tyler, Brandon, Kyle (8)

Chris Kreider, Alex Ovechkin, Drew Doughty, Jake Allen, Tyler Seguin

OF DISTINCTION: Players using their initials is a modern trend. Among them: P.K. (Pernell Karl) Subban, P.A. (Pierre-Alexandre) Parenteau, J.T. (Jonathan Tanner) Miller and (Joshua Thomas) Brown, T.J. (Timothy Leif) Oshie and (Terrance James) Brennan.

P.K. Subban, P.A. Parenteau, J.T. Miller, J.T. Brown, T.J. Oshie

FOREIGN ACCENTS: Nikita (4), Dmitry (3), Henrik (3)

Nikita Kucherov, Nikita Nesterov, Nikita Nikitin, Nikita Zadorov, Henrik Lundqvist

1985

TOP FIVE: Dave (30), Bob (28), Mike (24), Rich/Rick (23), Mark (20)

Dave Taylor, Bob Gainey, Mike Bossy, Rich Sutter, Mark Messier

OH, BABY (Top five most popular names): Michael, Christopher, Matthew, Joshua, Daniel (U.S.)

PLUS/MINUS: Dave (+28), Mike (+24), Rich/Rick (+23) and Mark (+19) replaced Bill, Jim, Jack, and the Dick-Larry-Ed-Don-Paul tie in the top five from 1954-55. Nicknames dwindled to three: Tiger (Williams), Butch (Goring), Rocky (Trottier). Two players went by their initials: J.J. (Jean-Jacques) Daigneault and J.F. (Jean-François) Sauvé.

Tiger Williams, Butch Goring, Rocky Trottier, J.J. Daigneault, J.F. Sauve

NOTABLES: Five Gordies/Gords (Lane, Donnelly, Dineen, Roberts, Sherven),four Waynes(Gretzky,Babych, Groulx, Presley) and four Marios (Lemieux, Marois, Tremblay, Gosselin) graced the NHL but no Sid. There was, however, two Moes (Mantha, Lemay) and six Larrys (Melnyk, Murphy, Patey, Playfair, Robinson, Trader) but, alas, no Curly or Shemp. (Robbie Schremp did not come along until 2006-07, but a Three Stooges line of a Moe, Larry and Schremp would certainly qualify as one for the ages.) Doubles were surprisingly common: two Steve Smiths, two Greg Adams, two Ron Wilsons and two Dave Jensens.

Gord Lane, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Moe Mantha, Larry Murphy

Gates Orlando, Cleon Daskalakis, Nevin Markwart, Corrado Micalef, Hakan Loob

Claude Lemieux, Pierre Larouche, Anders Kallur, Mats Naslund, Michel Goulet

Bill Quackenbush, Bob Armstrong, Jim Morrison, Jack McIntyre, Dickie Moore

Dick Duff, Larry Popein, Don Marshall, Ed Litzenberger, Edgar Laprade

Gordie Howe, Gump Worsley, Dutch Reibel, Red Kelly, Butch Bouchard

Maurice "Rocket" Richard, Metro Prystai, Aldo Guidolin, Orval Tessier, Flem MacKell

Jean Beliveau, Jean-Guy Talbot, Jacques Plante, Dollard St. Laurent, Marcel Pronovost

Billy Boucher, Francis Cain, Frank Finnigan, Reg Noble, Charlie Langlois

Cyril "Cy" Denneny, Ganton Scott, Lionel Hitchman, Edmond Bouchard, Lloyd Cook

Odie Cleghorn, Punch Broadbent, King Clancy, Hap Day, Babe Dye

Sprague Cleghorn, Alf Skinner, Emory "Spunk" Sparrow, Fern Headley, Dunc Munro

Georges Vezina, Georges Boucher, Aurele Joliat, Rene Joliat, Sylvio Mantha

Top 30 Hockey Names of All Time

Zarley Zalapski

The Vancouver Province has published its list of the 50 best names in hockey, all current, ( Click here ), so we thought we'd choose our favorite 30 of all time that evoke hockey or simply please with their color. Note: This list does not include nicknames. For the best of those, try this gallery ( Click here ). And now we begin at the end of the alphabet with a double dose of Zs from the journeyman defenseman who of the late 1980s and through the '90s. Honorable mention: Zenon Kenopka

Ziggy Palffy

Hard not to love a guy named Ziggy (short for Zigmund), who enjoyed a star turn with the Islanders and Kings during the '90s and into the 2000s before concluding with the Penguins.

Garth Snow

A winter classic. Plain and simple.

Ulf Samuelsson

A guy named Ulf just sounds mean, and this Swedish blueliner of the '80s and '90s (seen here as a Ranger) surely was.

Dave Snuggerud

A perfect name for a checking winger. The former Sabre-Shark-Flyer of the '90s sounded kind of cuddly in a rugged sort of way...

Dick Duff

NASCAR had Dick Trickle, the Hall of Fame has former Canadiens winger Dick Duff. Honorable mention: Mike Hurlbut, Bruce Shoebottom

Daren Puppa

Continuing in our thoroughly childish vein, with a name pronounced Poo-pa , this fellow's better found in the net than on the rug.

Sergei Krivokrasov

Our favorite among Russian names, the former winger (Blackhawks, Predators, Flames, Wild, Mighty Ducks) reminds us of a cosmonaut, although his NHL career was hardly stellar.

Yvan Cournoyer

Wide open to interpretation by announcers -- Eye-van Korn-noy-err , Ee-vohn Corn-why-ay , Eye-van Cornwire and all points in between -- the great Canadiens forward was probably best referred to by his nickname: The Roadrunner.

Terry Sawchuk

Hockey has its share of great "chuks" -- Ilya Kovalchuk, Darcy Hordichuk, Keith Tkachuk, Dale Hawerchuk, and Gene Achtymichuk among them -- but this Hall of Famer's name was cutting edge.

Janne Niinimaa

We nominate this Finnish defenseman as the leader of the vowel movement. Honorable mention: Hexi Riihiranta, Pete Peeters

Larry Playfair

You can only ask as much from anyone, although this bruising blueliner did have a pugnacious streak. "I remember my mom telling me 'You've got to learn to control your temper," Playfair once told Sabres magazine. "I'd get mad really quick about stupid things, I mean anything. I remember once, (in midget hockey) we lost a playoff game, and we were going down the line, shaking hands, and I just drilled a kid right in the head, I was just so mad."

Lindy Ruff

Just like the sport he played as a defenseman for the Sabres and Rangers (1979-91) and coaches in Buffalo.

John Van Boxmeer

The former Canadiens, Rockies, Sabres and Nordiques blueliner (1973-84) just summons to mind the fistic side of the game...or the penalty box where he spent a relatively modest 465 minutes during his NHL career. Steve Kraftcheck sounds like he belonged in there, too.

Hnat Domenichelli

The former Whalers-Flames-Thrashers-Wild center's first name fits nicely in the eye chart department with Mariusz Czerkawski while his last ranks with such Italian pleasers as Fernando Pisani, Carlo Colaiacovo and Dino Ciccarelli...

Colton Orr

Not the most famous Orr, but surely the leader of the tweed jacket pricey prep school set that includes Forbes Kennedy and Hartland Monahan.

Edouard Lalonde

The Hall of Fame center's name is the epitome of French-Canadian elegance -- like Jean Beliveau, Rogatien Vachon or Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond -- and his nickame was pretty cool, too: "Newsy" for his having worked in a newsprint plant.

Jordin Tootoo

This hardnosed winger hardly wears one -- a ballet outfit, we mean -- so we give him the edge over the other notable oo's that include Jonathan Cheechoo, Derek Boogaard, Pat Falloon, and Per Djoos.

Alf Pike

A Ranger forward of the 1940s, Pike sounds like he'd put your head on one. Honorable mention: Ted Speers.

Garth Butcher

This blueliner (1982-95) sounds serial-killer tough.

Miroslav Satan

Though his last name is actually pronounced "Sha-tahn", it looked devishly good on the back of his sweater.

Darius Kasparaitis

A painful affliction, like what you'd get after one of the Lithuanian defenseman's punishing checks...

Jeff Beukeboom

Perhaps the most evocative name as far as hitting and fighting go belongs to this former Oilers and Rangers blueliner. Honorable mention: Fred Boimistruck

Brad Bombardir

A defensive pairing of Bombardir (here with the Wild) and Beukeboom would have been positively explosive...

Radek Bonk

There's something cartoonishly evocative about this one. (The Czech center was Ottawa's first pick (third overall) in the 1994 entry draft.) Honorable mention: Bart Crashley, Ron Schock

Hakan Loob

The notable Flames forward of the 1980s made you think of greasy speed or the kind of nasty chest cold you get from hanging around rinks.

Bill Quackenbush

Too bad the Ducks weren't around in the 1940s and '50s, or this Hall of Fame blueliner and his brother Max would have been naturals...

Tony Twist

A notorious enforcer, his name made it sound like he'd twist your head off. Honorable mention: Morris Titanic

Jonathan Quick

Simply a great name for a goaltender. Too bad that Patrick Sharp isn't one.

Sprague Cleghorn

The Hall of Fame defenseman summons to mind the cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn, but was considerably nastier, and the horn in his last name evokes goals by the home team and the end of play in the period. Honorable mention in the sound effects department: Ville Siren, Aubrey Clapper