Search for your favorite player or team
© The Hockey News. All rights reserved. Any and all material on this website cannot be used, reproduced, or distributed without prior written permission from Roustan Media Ltd. For more information, please see our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
The Lighter Side of Hockey
The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.
Messed with the best, shocked like the rest
The No. 1 rule of traveling with a prankster like Marc Bergevin is never, ever try to one-up him. You will play the price. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, an 18-year-old playing with the Pittsburgh Penguins and assigned to Bergevin’s care while on the road, found that out the hard way. “Marc-Andre and a bunch of the kids on our team went to a mall on an off-day while we were in Florida,” Bergevin recalls. “I was tired, so I decided to stay back at the hotel. When Marc returns, he walks into the room and places a book on the table between our two beds and doesn’t say a word. I was watching TV and after a while, my curiosity got the better of me, so I reached over and grabbed the book.…
BEST OF TWO MINUTES IN THE BOX
Start the clock… Worst hotel “The Grand Royale in Binghamton. It was 0-for-2: neither grand, nor anywhere close to royal.”– Jason Spezza“About 10 or 11 years back, we had to stay at a motel in Stevensville, Newfoundland. The place wasn’t a horror show, but it was small. We didn’t get a wakeup call there – we got a wakeup knock.”– Peter White“The Marriott in Long Island. I think that’s why some guys play extra hard against the Islanders – they want to get the game over with and check out of that place as fast as humanly possible.”– Bob Boughner Memorable fan mail “A photo of a naked woman. A naked, big woman.”– Brad Smyth“There’s a lady in Japan who sends me stuff all the time, including a box of chocolate wafers. I didn’t…
Houlder the Elder captivated Preds
Bill Houlder always was prepared to get his rest wherever he could. Every time he strolled onto the Nashville Predators’ charter plane, he had a pillow under his arm. Once inside he pulled out a pair of pyjamas from inside the pillow case, changed out of his suit and prepared to settle in. But what’s a nap without a good bedtime story first? By the time he was claimed on waivers by the Nashville Predators early in 1999-2000, Houlder was 32 and had played for six NHL teams over a span of 12 seasons. On a club in just its second year of existence and loaded with young, inexpensive talent, the veteran defenseman was the closest thing to a living, breathing oral history lesson. “He played probably for every team there is…
Oh, those lazy hazing days of winter
Philadelphia’s Bob ‘Houndog’ Kelly was one of the fiercest Flyers of the Broad Street Bullies era, but in his rookie season, 1970-71, team vets snookered him with one of the best practical jokes in NHL history. Masterminded by defenseman Ed Van Impe with tough guy Earl Heiskala as the star, the ruse was simple: to welcome Kelly to the big leagues, the boys were going to take him on a snipe hunt. Kelly, of course, had never been on a snipe hunt, because “snipes” don’t exist. But he did not know that at the time. The vets told Kelly snipes could only be hunted at night, so they gave him a gun and a flashlight and sauntered out to nearby Delaware County to ferret some out. As Kelly stood tensely in the…
Made possible with the support of
