A look at the Leafs’ more creative nicknames for each other

Timashov is named after a household appliance!

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
A look at the Leafs’ more creative nicknames for each other
Frank Jansky/Icon SMI via ZUMA Press

Hockey and nicknames go together like an ice-cold beer and then another ice-cold beer. Hockey nicknames are the stuff of legends and much has been made over the years of what players call each other during games and in practice. Some are obvious and not overly creative (Kaner for Patrick Kane), some are a little more obscure (MiniFridge, we’ll get to that one later). The Athletic recently took the time to ask the Toronto Maple Leafs about their favourite alternative monikers for their teammates. Here’s a few the Buds are going with.

Tyson Barrie: Nothing too crazy here. He goes by shortened versions of his first and last name. “Bear”, “Bears”, or “Tys”.

Morgan Rielly: A lot of fans are already aware of this one; “Mo”. However, he does sometimes go by “Riells”, although that’s not exactly an easy-to-say nickname.

Jake Muzzin: Everyone knows “Muzzy” or “Muzz”. But the man himself told The Athletic he likes to go by “The Golf Channel”. “Just because, every time I see a TV it’s usually going to the Golf Network. We see enough hockey highlights around here.”

Frederik Andersen: The fans love to chant his nickname at Scotiabank Arena whenever he comes up with a big save. “Freddie, Freddie!”. However, defenseman Justin Holl likes to use “The Andersen”. Why? “Freddie’s Freddie,” Holl said. “But sometimes people call him 'The Andersen.' Because 'The Goat' is Freddie the Goat, and so he’s 'Freddie The Andersen'.”

That really seems like the long way around for a nickname. Freddie also goes by “FredEx” “because he always delivers,” said Holl. It’s also his Xbox Live Gamertag.

Trevor Moore: “Moresy” is the obvious one. However, he also goes by “T-Dog”, another Gamertag.

Jason Spezza: “Spezz,” but Holl is trying to get “Spetsnaz,”to stick. It’s a general term for Russian special forces. Spezza told The Athletic he doesn’t like it.

John Tavares: “JT” is the mostly widely used. However, he’s also called “T-Hums”. “That came from my close buddies from my hometown over the years,” Tavares said. “It’s just kind of an inside joke. We were talking about humming along, having a good time, and then T-Hums kind of started from there. I like it. It’s my fantasy football name, so that makes it official now, right?”

Auston Matthews: “Matty” early in his career. Now, though teammates have taken to calling him “Tony”, “Tone”, or “Big Tone.” Apparently, it was given to him by former Leaf Tyler Ennis.

Dmytro Timashov: The obvious ones are Dimi,” “Timo,” and “Dima.” But some are now calling him “Minifridge”, a name given to him by Jake Muzzin because he’s short and wide. Timashov says he was very confused by the nickname at first, but clued in after a couple of days.

You can check out the full list here: 


Source: Twitter