We have come to know the NHL as a vicious sport that can take your breath away. The images and sounds of the game bring it to life and can bring in a new fan just like that. We have so many memories of this sport that most bring us back to when we began watching the game. On the flip side, there have been so many insane moments that we will never forget about, including some memorable names. With the Christmas/ holiday season upon us, we look back on the history of NHL names relevant to the holiday season, along with the team(s) they have played for.
Hockey name history for the holidays
Below are the names, listed by position
Goaltenders
Marc-Andre Fleury (Pittsburgh Penguins, Vegas Golden Knights, Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild)
Garth Snow (New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks,Philadelphia Flyers, Quebec Nordiques)
Bob Froese (Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers)
Defensemen
Chris McAllister (Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers)
Ernie Dickens (Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs)
Greg Joly (Detroit Red Wings, Washington Capitals)
Forwards
Kris Versteeg (Chicago Blackhawks, Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs,
Morgan Frost (Philadelphia Flyers)
Billy Carroll (New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers, Detroit Red Wings)
Erik Cole (Detroit Red Wings, Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers)
Harry Frost (Boston Bruins)
Scott Garland (Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings)
MIlt Halliday (Ottawa Senators)
Claude Noel (Washington Capitals)
The list of names that have unusual meanings, difficult spellings, or something else not seen much is not that rare in the hockey world anymore. We see names all the time that we cannot pronounce or ones that have hilarious sounds. This is a reminder that hockey and the holiday season do go hand in hand. These names are meaningful to the holiday season and to those celebrating Christmas.
There will be no NHL action on Tuesday, December 24, Wednesday, December 25, or Thursday, December 26 for a short three-day Christmas break this season. The NHL returns to action on Friday, December 27 for a full slate of eight games, including the Toronto Maple Leas on the road in Detroit to take on the Red Wings in a key Atlantic division battle. Looking ahead to the year 2025, the Los Angeles Kings will take on the New Jersey Devils at Crypto.com Arena as the only game on the first day of the new year.