Photo by Alan Light via upload.wikimedia.org
The 1960s were not just about the Summer of Love, which was part of a social shift relatively late to the decade. For the NHL, the real flowering was the expansion from six to twelve teams, including a bevy of new U.S. markets and weird uniform colour combinations (like this image of 1960s Penguins heartthrob Val Fonteyne). With expansion came more names, and after the stagnation of the 1950s it was a welcome sight for fans of name-dom. Follow after the jump for our first installment (of two) for the 1960s, and give us your vote, because these guys want you to choo-choo-choose them.
The goal again…
…hockey history is chock full of names that can pique a person’s interest, whether it’s because it’s unintentionally funny to the English sensibility (Petr Pohl), almost regal (Normand Rochefort), or lends itself to entertaining wordplay (Darius Kasparaitis). The criteria for our ‘most interesting names’ is a bit loose, in that the name can strike you as any one of the above descriptors, or all of them, but ultimately you are going to vote on the name that ‘strikes’ you the strongest.
The candidates:
- Gord Kannegiesser – Not sure how a person “cans-a-geezer,” but it sounds mean.
- Skip Krake – Used by announcers to work on their enunciation before broadcasts (I’m lying). Traded away from the Bruins before they won the Stanley Cup; the pick ended up being one used to select Reggie Leach, who was, um, pretty good.
- Ron Schock – No word on whether he was called The Schocker, but if I was him I’d certainly tell people that I was what came before the aftershock.
- Danny O’Shea – Gosh, where have I heard that name before? Oh yeah…
- Andre Champagne – Potential porn star name, could also be a hip hop name.
- Cesare Maniago – He’s the guy your girlfriend left you for. Too cool for school.
- Don Head – Not inappropriate to call someone this, as far as I know. Significantly better than being called a dickhead, I’m guessing.
- Sandy Snow – Didn’t expect to find a stripper name, but hey, it was the 60s.
- Jim Wiste – Name spoken really fast sounds like “gymnast.” Made a good, honest effort at having a perfectly round head.
Vote or, well not “die,” but feel really, really bad. Rick Moranis is watching.
| Option | Votes |
|---|---|
| Gord Kannegiesser | 5 |
| Skip Krake | 2 |
| Cesare Maniago | 11 |
| Ron Schock | 2 |
| Don Head | 2 |
| Danny O’Shea | 0 |
| Jim Wiste | 1 |
| Andre Champagne | 10 |
| Sandy Snow | 6 |
