The puck dropped last night for the new National Hockey League season, and I myself am extremely excited about it. I love watching hockey every Saturday night with my family, watching whichever teams play, checking scores from other games, and having hilarious discussions about anything and everything.
While I enjoy it, I know a lot of girls out there are forced to watch with family members, friends and boyfriends alike, so I’ve put together a list of the hottest players from each NHL team that will keep you glued to each game and saying “puck me.”
Eastern Conference
1. Evander Kane
Team: Buffalo Sabres
Position: Left Wing
Age: 25
Fun Fact: He has a bad boy reputation in the NHL, and apparently loves using the Nashville filter on some of his Instagram photo’s.
2. Elias Lindholm
Team: Carolina Hurricanes
Position: Center
Age: 21
Fun Fact: He likes to try new things and make the most of his experiences, especially with a goofy grin on his face.
3. Alexander Wennberg
Team: Columbus Blue Jackets
Position: Center
Age: 22
Fun Fact: This devilishly good-looking Blue Jacket looks good in any jacket, since he has an interest in fashion (he also looks good in swim trunks, but that’s a whole other story)
4. Mike Green
Team: Detroit Red Wings
Position: Defence
Age: 30
Fun Fact: His nickname is “Game Over Green”, and he loves dogs and his kids.
5. Aaron Ekblad
Team: Florida Panthers
Position: Defence
Age: 20
Fun Fact: Like the good Canadian boy is he, he’s a fan of Drake.
6. Carey Price
Team: Montreal Canadiens
Position: Goalie
Age: 29
Fun Fact: He and his wife Angela (who is featured in Season 2 of the show Hockey Wives) just welcomed a little girl this past year, and is a highly respected man in the Aboriginal community, as well as Montreal.
7. Taylor Hall
Team: New Jersey Devils
Position: Left Wing
Age: 24
Fun Fact: He was the number one draft pick in the 2010 entry draft to the Edmonton Oilers.
8. John Tavares
Team: New York Islanders
Position: Center
Age: 26
Fun Fact: Not only was the Captain of the Islanders drafted 1st overall in the NHL, he was drafted first in the Ontario Hockey League (aka the big leagues in Ontario, Canada where NHL hopefuls play) at the age of 14! He was the youngest ever drafted to the league and his record still holds.
9. Henrik Lundqvist
Team: New York Rangers
Position: Goalie
Age: 34
Fun Fact: Besides being a total DILF, Henrik is heavily into fashion! He has a clothing line exclusively sold in retail outlets sold at Madison Square Garden and was voted best dressed in his homeland of Sweden.
10. Bobby Ryan
Team: Ottawa Senators
Position: Right Wing
Age: 29
Fun Fact: He likes to collect wine! According to his Twitter red seems to be his favorite.
11. Brayden Schenn
Team: Philadelphia Flyers
Position: Center
Age: 25
Fun Fact: He has an equally hot brother in the NHL named Luke, who actually used to play on the same team!
12. Sidney Crosby
Team: Pittsburgh Penguins
Position: Center
Age: 29
Fun Fact: He has to get his jeans custom-made because he can’t fit in regular ones. (That’s a great sign to me if you know what I’m saying!)
13. Cedric Paquette
Team: Tampa Bay Lightning
Position: Center
Age: 23
Fun Fact: Before his hockey career really started taking off, his first job was working at a pharmacy.
14. Jake Gardiner
Team: Toronto Maple Leafs
Position: Defence
Age: 26
Fun Fact: He has a great sense of humor and a respectable love for onesies! His Instagram page really just says it all!
15. Tom Wilson
Team: Washington Capitals
Position: Right Wing
Age: 22
Fun Fact: This goon is currently dating Canadian Beach Volleyball player, Taylor Pischke, and may or may not have a special place in his heart for Snapchat.
Western Conference
16. Ryan Kesler
Team: Anaheim Ducks
Position: Centre
Age: 32
Fun Fact: He loves to race his Ford Mustang in his free time (clearly he likes to go fast if ya know what I’m saying).
17. Max Domi
Team: Arizona Coyotes
Position: Left Wing
Age: 21
Fun Fact: Aside from watching his dad play in the NHL for most of his childhood, Max was diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes at the age of 12 and has used his status to educate and inspire others with the same illness.
18. TJ Brodie
Team: Calgary Flames
Position: Defence
Age: 26
Fun Fact: He is not much of a coffee drinker, and the long lineups at Starbucks don’t make sense to him.
19. Jonathan Toews
Team: Chicago Blackhawks
Position: Center
Age: 28
Fun Fact: Being the good Canadian boy he is, Captain Serious (his nickname) is bilingual and can fluently speak English and French.
20. Gabriel Landeskog
Team: Colorado Avalanche
Position: Left Wing
Age: 23
Fun Fact: Captain Landeskog has a twin sister named Beatrice who lives back home in Stockholm, Sweden.
21. Tyler Seguin
Team: Dallas Stars
Position: Center
Age: 24
Fun Fact: Although this smokeshow might have a party boy image in the NHL, he does have a soft side, since he is the proud dog daddy to his chocolate lab Marshall, and black lab Cash.
22. Leon Draisaitl
Team: Edmonton Oilers
Position: Center
Age: 20
Fun Fact: His favourite food is steak with mashed potatoes, and he enjoys cheese on his pizza.
23. Michael Latta
Team: LA Kings
Position: Center
Age: 25
Fun Fact: Based on his social media he has a strong love for animals, kids and his mom. Could he get any more perfect than that?
24. Zach Parise
Team: Minnesota Wild
Position: Left Wing
Age: 32
Fun Fact: He’s a dad to 2-year-old twins named Jaxson and Emelia.
25. James Neal
Team: Nashville Predators
Position: Right Wing
Age: 29
Fun Fact: The Real Deal James Neal (his nickname) is a fan of UFC, golf, tattoos, and Pitbulls.
26. Chris Tierney
Team: San José Sharks
Position: Center
Age: 22
Fun Fact: He and his teammate/roommate Barclay Goodrow have quite the bromance, and an apparent addiction to Stranger Things.
27. Alex Pietrangelo
Team: St. Louis Blues
Position: Defence
Age: 26
Fun Fact: This fan favourite just tied the knot this past summer, and if one thing is clear from his Twitter page, he loves his wife and his fur babies.
28. Erik Gudbranson
Team: Vancouver Canucks
Position: Defence
Age: 24
Fun Fact: Aside from his tough training schedule, Guddy (his nickname), loves to enjoy the beauty of the nature, and is quite fond of hikes.
29. Mark Scheifele
Team: Winnipeg Jets
Position: Center
Age: 23
Fun Fact: Not only is he a world champion in his sport, but his girlfriend Dara Howell is a Gold winning Canadian Olympic athlete in Freestyle Skiing.
There you have it! The top 30 players in the NHL to add to your fantasy draft. In case you want to impress your hockey fan at home and keep him a little more interested in you rather than the game, try using a few of these references to throw him off guard.
“He can dangle, snipe and celly all over my body any time he’d like” (After someone really hot scores), “I’d love to take him to centre ice, drop the mitts and tilly with him” (When someone gets in a fight), “That guy in the C can give me the D”, “I’d love to stick handle him, and ride his pine” (referring to his stick), “I bet that goalie could do a good butterfly in bed too” (Some goalies use this technique where they spread their goal pads and hands which resembles the wings of a butterfly). Or you could just go with the classic, “I’d donate a kidney to make out with Sidney.” It’s up to you.
May watching hockey be a bit easier to tolerate, and may the hockey God’s be in you or your boyfriend’s favor.
Featured Image via Pexels
