Puck It!

Black Cats? Ladders? Broken Mirrors? Good Luck Charms? This week we dive into the bizarre world of player superstitions. Tessa got to read 2 peoples masters theses and Jaz gets to unfortunately learn how many players don't wash their gear. We not only discuss the superstitions themselves, but why players may have them!

Works Cited:

https://www.sportsish.com/thenews/https/wwwsportsishcom/nhlsuperstisions

https://www.milehighhockey.com/2010/11/23/1832668/theyre-not-superstitious-theyre-just-hockey-players

https://premiersportpsychology.com/2015/01/28/what-is-the-story-behind-superstitions/

https://bolavip.com/en/nhl/the-most-bizarre-nhl-superstitions-wild-rituals-players-swear-by

https://thehockeywriters.com/the-strangest-superstitions-in-nhl-history/

https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-stars-superstitions-pregame-traditions-296669560

Ptacek, Taylor Jon, "The Relationship Between Superstition and Confidence in Sport" (2016). Theses and Dissertations. 742. University of North Dakota

Catsoulis, Stamata. “Black Cats and Hockey Tape: Investigating Routines and Superstitions Among Professional Hockey Athletes: A Qualitative Study” (2011). York University

Dömötör, Z., Ruız-Barquın, R. & Szabo, A. “Superstitous Behavior in Sport: A Literature Review” (2016) Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 57 368-382

This one is a bit different! Tessa did not do a bunch of in-depth research with citations galore. Instead, today Jaz and Tessa expose how nerdy they are by discussing fandom culture, RPF (Real People Fiction) and separating the idol from the person!

Last week we talked about fighting, this week we expand on the physical dangers to hockey. In an episode with a more serious note than usual, Tessa warms up her long burried research and communication skills to highlight some of the dangers of hockey.

!!Content warning!! This episode contains mentions of severe bodily harm and suicide

Works Cited:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67264536

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6822215/

https://canadasafetycouncil.org/hockey-our-most-dangerous-game/

https://www.npr.org/2024/12/04/nx-s1-5214628/ice-hockey-nhl-cte-head-impacts-concussions

https://www.brainfacts.org/diseases-and-disorders/neurodegenerative-disorders/2025/protecting-the-game-how-hockey-can-prevent-brain-injury-among-players-042225

https://publichealthpost.org/mental-behavioral-health/fighting-hockeys-deadly-toll/

https://www.nhl.com/info/player-safety

Anderson, G., Melugin, H., Stuart, M. (2019) “Epidemiology of Injuries in Ice Hockey” American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine Volume 11, Issue 6. 

Markowitz, Jeffrey S. (2025) “Mortality and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Among Enforcers and Non-Enforcers in the National Hockey League (NHL)” Frontiers in Neurology

Abdolmohammadi B, Tuz-Zahra F, Uretsky M et al. (2024) “Duration of Ice Hockey Play and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy”. JAMA Network Open 7(12). 
Morrissette C, Park P, Lehman R, Popkin C. (2020) “Cervical Spine Injuries in the Ice Hockey Player: Current Concepts in Epidemiology, Management and Prevention”. Global Spine 11(8).

We all love it, it's the only major non-combat sport that has it. The only question is, why do they do it at all? This week we talk about all the fighting in hockey. We explore some potential reasons for it, and admit we have a love for it.

Works Cited:

https://www.wbspenguins.com/blog/what-kind-of-fighting-on-the-ice-is-allowed-in-hockey/

https://www.purehockey.com/c/all-about-hockey-fights

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3752193/

https://www.ontheforecheck.com/the-science-of-the-skirmish-the-mechanics-of-a-nhl-fight-mma-enforcers-strategy-ice-is-slippery/

https://theweek.com/feature/briefing/1018995/why-fighting-is-allowed-in-ice-hockey

https://www.espn.com/blog/nhl/post/_/id/28064/inside-the-rule-book-rule-46-fighting

Goldschmied, N. and Espindola, S. (2013) ““I Went to a Fight the Other Night and a Hockey Game Broke Out”: Is Professional Hockey Fighting Calculated or Impulsive?” Sports Health 5 (5): 458-462

Well we know a bit about the NHL, YAY! But how do you get into the NHL? This week we cover the draft (which is coming up soon), and the AHL. We also cover scratches and waivers which can be confusing!

Find us on twitter: Puckitit_Podcast

Instagram: puckit_podcast

Email: [email protected] Cited:

https://www.purehockey.com/c/understanding-the-nhl-draft

https://www.eliteprospects.com/page/how-does-the-nhl-draft-work

https://www.refrsports.com/blog/understanding-the-nhl-draft-a-comprehensive-guide

https://www.wbspenguins.com/blog/how-players-move-from-the-ahl-to-the-nhl/

https://www.sportsgirlsclub.com/post/the-important-relationship-of-the-ahl-and-nhl

https://offsidenewsco.com/news/ahl-101

https://www.sportskeeda.com/us/nhl/what-healthy-scratch-nhl-all-need-know-famous-hockey-terminology

The playoff games have begun! Now we answer: why is everybody fighting for the Stanley Cup? We cover its origin and some of the nonsense it has gotten into! We also look into other awards and trophies the NHL has.

Works Cited:

https://www.hhof.com/thecollection/stanleycup_history.html

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/march-22/first-stanley-cup-championship-played

https://www.purehockey.com/c/stanley-cup-history

https://records.nhl.com/awards/trophies

Tessa digs deep into her statistical past. Jaz learns what an Enforcer is. Both of us think too much about baseball as we discuss the unofficial roles on hockey teams.

Works Cited:

https://www.hockeymonkey.com/learn/hockey-positions

https://www.newswise.com/articles/what-fighting-in-the-nhl-says-about-illicit-roles-in-organizations

Cope, Cassandra & Eys, Mark & Beauchamp, Mark & Schinke, Robert & Grégoire, Bosselut. (2011). Informal roles on sport teams. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 9. 19-30. 10.1080/1612197X.2011.563124. 

Stuart, H. and Moore, C. (2017). Shady Characters: The Implications of Illicit Organizational Roles for Resilient Team Performance. Academy of Management Journal Vol 60. No 5. Pg 1963-1985. 10.5465/amj.2014.0512

Tessa greatly overestimated her notes, so this one is a little short! Tess and Jaz try to answer the age-old question: are goalies okay? We find out Tessa is a goalie enthusiast and There are more jokes about Princess Diana.

Works Cited:

https://hockeygrrls.blogspot.com/2014/01/goalie-personalities-what-makes-goalies.html

https://www.espn.com/nhl/columns/pang_darren/1271237.html

https://www.nhl.com/kraken/news/true-or-false-goalies-are-weird-316948634

https://thehockeywriters.com/the-strangest-superstitions-in-nhl-history/

https://hockeygrrls.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-strange-case-of-goalies.html

In this one we create a K-pop band. Tess Forces Jaz back into the classroom to learn some Hockey Lingo and learn why trash-talk is called chirping. There is indeed a test.

Works referenced:

https://thehockeywriters.com/how-to-talk-like-a-hockey-player/

https://www.flohockey.tv/articles/5060128-the-ultimate-guide-to-hockey-slang

https://www.chicagowolves.com/gameday/hockey-101/statistic-abbreviations/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_ice_hockey_terms#A

Tessa tries to correctly pronounce French Canadian names and says "Um" way too many times. Jaz finally finds out who Sidney Crosby is. This week we look at some of the legendary hockey players.

Works Cited:

https://www.nhl.com/news/100-greatest-nhl-players-of-all-time-286030052

https://www.britannica.com/list/10-best-hockey-players-of-all-time

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40568433/ranking-top-25-nhl-players-21st-century

https://prohockeynews.com/seven-famous-ice-hockey-players-who-changed-the-game/https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00014254.htmlhttps://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00016409.htmlhttps://www.espn.com/classic/biography/s/Plante_Jacques.htmlhttps://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/jean-beliveau

https://halloffamers.sportshall.ca/?willie_oree&language=EN

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Willie-OReehttps://www.espn.com/nhl/s/bobbyorrbio.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Marson

https://edmontonjournal.com/feature/racism-in-the-nhl-didnt-end-when-willie-oree-stepped-onto-the-ice

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Val_James

https://thehockeywriters.com/val-james-trailblazer/https://www.espn.com/sportscentury/features/00229711.htmlhttps://www.si.com/nhl/2022/01/29/manon-rheaume-womens-hockey-lightninghttps://www.britannica.com/biography/Martin-Brodeurhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Ovechkinhttps://www.nbcolympics.com/news/sidney-crosby-meet-athletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evgeni_Malkinhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_MacKinnonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc-Andr%C3%A9_Fleury

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macklin_Celebrini

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connor_Bedard

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Schaefer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matty_Beniers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_Wright

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkly_Catton