NHL Nickname Court is in session: What do we think of Scylla and Charybdis? SchaefDaddy?

New York Times

17-07-2025

Hockey nicknames are terrible.
We all know this. But some of us might be too young to know that it wasn't always like this. There was a time when hockey nicknames ranged from decent to outright cool, back in a distant time before we just started putting '-y' or '-er' at the end of a player's name and calling it a day.
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Why did this happen? I got into that in this column from a few years ago, but I'm not sure it matters. The point is that the hockey nickname world is a mess right now, and the bigger question is: Can it be fixed?
I think it can, and there are two paths to that. One is to just let the weirdos at Hockey-Reference take over because those guys will take absolutely anything and call it a nickname. The second option is to turn it over to you, the readers. That's what we're going to try today. Welcome to the first, and very possibly the last, edition of Nickname Court.
A few days ago, I put out a call for submissions, and you responded with lots of entries. Were they good entries? Eh … we'll get to that. But the idea was that you could submit any nickname you wanted us to pass judgment on — already existing ones you weren't sure about, or ones you had made up on your own. I've brought in Peter Baugh and Scott Powers to help me pass judgment on a dozen of your most interesting ideas.
Convince at least two out of three judges, and your nickname becomes official and legally binding gets the stamp of approval.
Modern hockey nicknames are terrible. Let's see if your ideas are any better.
The reason: The 10th pick in the 2025 NHL Draft was picked by Anaheim, which led to pretty much the only memorable moment of the otherwise uncomfortably awkward decentralized draft when the Ducks hustled him off to Disneyland that very night.
Roger McQueen meet Lightning McQueen 🤝🏼 #FlyTogether 😂 🚗 pic.twitter.com/XIJ6095aDD
— DucksNPucks 🦆🏒 (@DucksNPucks) June 28, 2025
Sean says: I'm starting us off with an easy one, just to get us warmed up. Sure, you could object to calling a guy 'Lightning' in a league where there's a different team using that name, but come on. The Disney crossover potential here is too good to pass up. It's an easy YES.
Scott says: The bar is low for hockey nicknames, so anything somewhat different is welcome. This is a YES for me. This one seems like it has gained some early traction. The question is whether it becomes adopted in the dressing room. Covering the Blackhawks, this one feels like it has some staying power, sort of like 'Soupy' with Brian Campbell.
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Peter says: The fact that he seems to have chosen No. 95, the same number as the one on Lightning McQueen's car, is perfect. The nickname works if he plays into it, and early returns are good. It's a YES from me, and hopefully the Ducks can provide young Lightning with some Doc Hudson-esque vets to show him the ropes early in his career.
Verdict: A unanimous YES, as expected. Just wanted to make sure this thing was working.
Speaking of 2025 draft picks who offer up easy calls, let's try one more.
The reason: The first overall pick revealed his own nickname during a podcast appearance shortly after the draft.
Sean says: No. Absolutely not. We all need to come together as a society and nip this one in the bud immediately. NO.
Scott says: We all make mistakes as teenagers. We have to step in before this one goes too far. NO.
Peter says: Let's stick with Schaef. NO.
Verdict: It's subtle, but I feel like this one is a NO.
Submitted by: Kevin M.
The reason: While this one doesn't seem to have broken through to the mainstream, it's apparently been a thing with especially online Rangers fans, who think that Fox kind of looks like this guy. And of course, there's an additional Crimson tie-in, since Fox went to Harvard.
Sean says: See, this is the kind of nickname I was hoping to see in Nickname Court. It's a star player, it makes sense, and it fits the classic 'The Adjective Noun' format of so many great nicknames of the past. The only downside is that it's a little on the meme-y side for an old codger like me, but I think I can live with that. YES.
Scott says: It might not be as iconic and welcomed as say, The Sultan of Swat, but there is some love, affection, and possibly most importantly, some thought behind a nickname like this. I'm on board. YES.
Peter says: This one isn't quite doing it for me. I can't imagine anyone ever using it in conversation or an announcer saying it on a broadcast. I haven't really seen it on Rangers' Twitter, either. Perhaps it has some T-shirt potential, but that's not enough for me. I vote NO.
Verdict: Our first split decision is a YES, although the fact that our New York guy is the one voting against it is a bad sign.
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Submitted by: Multiple Panthers fans, since this one has apparently been out there for a while.
The reason: It kind of rhymes. And let's face it, once playoff overtime kicks in, the guy is pretty darn swaggy.
Sean says: Wait, this doesn't actually rhyme, does it? I'll admit that learning of this nickname made me doubt how I'd been saying 'Verhaeghe' all these years, which led me to this, which is now how I'm going to pronounce it going forward. Sorry, where was I? Unless we're all agreeing to pronounce it 'Sway-ggy', I think I'm a NO.
Scott says: I think I'm behind this if we can expand it to Swaggy V. It's a bit of a play on Nick Young's Swaggy P, but it gives it a bit more personalization. Either way, it's having some fun. I'm good with it. YES.
Peter says: Do you know what's swaggy? Playoff overtime winners. Verhaeghe has five of them, including one in a Game 7 to upset a historically great regular season team (the 2022-23 Bruins). That track record matters much more to me than whether or not there is a perfect rhyme. In fact, I had no clue that the rhyme was even part of the reason for the nickname until doing this exercise. I vote YES.
Verdict: Another split-decision YES.
Submitted by: Brian B.
The reason: ???
Sean says: This one doesn't make one damn bit of sense. I love it. The modern era version of The Chicoutimi Cucumber. YES.
Scott says: These poor non-North American players get saddled with strange nicknames with a 'Finnish', 'Russian' or whatever country they're tied to. I need more info on this one. I'm voting NO for now.
Peter says: I guess this one is because he has some flow and fettuccini noodles are long? That's enough of a reason for me, but I'm perhaps a biased party on this because I'm a long lover of alliteration. I'd even vote yes for the Turku Tortellini, even if that pasta shape isn't long like Maccelli's hair. You get a YES from me, Brian.
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Verdict: We're cooking with another YES. (Get it? Cooking? Like with Fettuccine? You know what, let's just move on.)
Submitted by: Jay T.
The reason: It's an apple, get it?
Sean says: My first thought here was a firm no. But then I remembered that after spending the first seven years of his career split between a pair of blue teams in Winnipeg and Seattle, Appleton just signed a UFA deal in Detroit. Yes, he's a Red Wing now. Red Delicious could actually work here. Hey, we all said we wanted Steve Yzerman to add some core players. (crickets chirp) Screw all of you, that's a good pun, I'm a YES.
Peter says: You're forgetting, Sean, that he also has red hair. The name is a nod to both the apple in his name and the color on his head — and now jersey, too. Red Delicious isn't the best form of apple (I'm partial to galas or fujis) but it is a quality nickname worthy of our support. I give it a firm YES.
Scott says: I feel like you guys have done all the research needed on this one. Red Delicious works at way too many levels not to be accepted. YES.
Verdict: A unanimous YES.
Submitted by: Patrick D., but with a twist. After 20 years, Patrick is using Nickname Court as an opportunity to push for getting rid of this one.
The reason: I'll let Patrick make the case in his own words. 'Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, Sidney Patrick Crosby will be 38 years old at the beginning of the 2025-26 season. I kid you not, he is no longer, what one describes as a 'kid.''
Sean says: Patrick's not wrong, and it's fair to point out that 'Sid the Kid' was never a great nickname, even without the obvious best-before date. That said, we're 20 years in now, and I know better than to try to change what's already set in stone. I vote for the nickname to stay, which in this case means I'm a NO.
Scott says: It's like a rapper who gets Lil attached to their name. (Got to respect the publication that ranks all the Lil artists.) In the rare case, the person might be able to shed the Lil tag, but it usually sticks. Maybe if the Nickname Court was around back then, Crosby's fate could have been saved, but he's stuck with Sid the Kid. NO.
Peter says: Crosby will always be Sid the Kid, and that's how it should be. People still knew Joe DiMaggio as 'Joltin' Joe' long after he retired and his bat slowed down, LeBron James is still King James even though he's no longer the best basketball player in the world, and Crosby remains Sid the Kid. Some nicknames just stick, and we best not try to change them when they do. NO.
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Verdict: The kid stays in the picture nickname.
Submitted by: Chuck T.
The reason: His name rhymes with 'nevermore'.
Sean says: I think there's a valid debate to be had about how far down the lineup we should go, especially when the nickname makes the guy sound like a stud. But Moore had 30 goals once, right? Good enough for me. YES.
Scott says: I think this opens the door in the wrong direction for nicknames. Clever? Sure. But I need something more if I'm calling someone 'The Raven.' Something bad is going to happen when you spot a raven. Coming off his 30-goal season, maybe I would have considered it. NO.
Peter says: This is an incredible nickname and makes the English major part of my heart very happy. YES times a million.
Verdict: Call Trevor Moore an early 2000s teen sitcom, because he's so Raven.
Submitted by: Scott A.
The reason: P for Palat, B for Bratt, J for Jack. Also, Hughes seems to like PB&J sandwiches.
Sean says: I need everyone to listen closely – stop making up line nicknames just based on initials. It's the worst. Taking three letters from guys' names and calling it a line nickname is lazy, and every fan base needs to cut it out. This one is at least vaguely clever, and the initials actually mean something, which makes this a better effort than most. But just on principle, I'm a firm NO.
Scott says: I'm open to this to an extent. I was down with Run TMC back in the day. Line nicknames are just so temporary, though. They come, they go. I'm fine with you saying, The PBJ Line. It's catchy and fun. It might end up in a story. But that line would have to be something really special for it to have staying power. I don't foresee that. For all those reasons, I'm voting NO.
Peter says: I'd be more inclined to hear this one out if it weren't using one first initial and two last ones. I also don't know if Palat, Bratt and Hughes have played together enough to warrant their own line nickname. Sheldon Keefe used the line a lot this past season (a team-leading 517 minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick), but in the two years prior, they were together only 103 minutes, all of which came in the 2022-23 season. We need more longevity before we start making line nicknames. If it's an elite line for the Devils this coming season and they go on a deep playoff run I'd be willing to reconsider, but for now I'm out. NO.
Verdict: This sandwich-based nickname is toast.
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Submitted by: Several of you, as it's apparently his real nickname.
The reason: He has a peanut allergy.
Sean says: I'm a little bit hesitant here, only because the pro sports world already has a famous Peanut. But as the dad of a peanut allergy kid, I think I can get on board, on one condition: If we ever find a player who can neutralize O'Reilly, that guy has to be known as The Epi-Pen. YES.
Scott says: It feels slightly mean. Kid, we're going to call you something that has a negative effect on you. But if he's cool with it and it's already in place, there are worse nicknames. He probably just can't come to Chicago and have it stick. YES.
Peter says: This one is hilarious. I hope it sticks throughout his career and is something teammates actually call him, not just a name that fades when he goes from junior to the pros. I give it a YES.
Verdict: We're unanimously nuts for this nickname.
Submitted by: Sean M.
The reason: Because it's an absolute travesty that we're not using this for a blueline pairing somewhere.
Sean says: We probably should have used this one for the Jaccob Slavin/Brent Burns pairing, especially since one of them spends all day drinking and belching, but here we are. Is this too smart for hockey fans? Probably, but I'm still a YES.
Scott says: This is like a great Dennis Miller reference. It's intelligent and definitely works at some level. But, for me, it fails to pass an audible test. I just can't imagine anyone saying 'Scylla and Charybdis' aloud. I'm going NO.
Peter says: The Toews-Makar pairing is probably the best in the league, but I think this nickname needs to go to more of a shutdown duo. Reading up on Scylla and Charybdis, with whom I admittedly wasn't particularly familiar, it seems like their deal is that they make it hard to pass through. That makes me think of a pair that doesn't let opponents have easy access to its own net. Toews and Makar are both strong defensively, but they're also offensive forces and get tons of offensive-zone starts. I'm prone to overthinking and could be doing it here, but Scylla and Charybdis feel like they'd be starting off more on the defensive end of the ice. In short, I like the nickname but think it'd be best used on another pairing. So I'm a NO.
Verdict: We like the name enough to hold onto it for a more appropriate pairing.
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Submitted by: Marc S.
The reason: I admit I had to look this up, but…
Sean says: Absolutely perfect. Might have made this entire dumb premise worth doing. No notes. YES.
Scott says: I love this, too. The explainer probably needs to be linked every time the nickname is mentioned, but it's worth the joy that it ultimately brings. YES.
Peter says: Rempe already has the Rempire State Building moniker, and I think that comes with broader recognition. This one is a bit too niche for my liking. NO.
Verdict: Once again, the New York guys wants to spoil our fun for the Rangers, but we still have enough votes for one final YES.
(Want to submit your own suggestions for future editions of Nickname Court? Email us here.)
(Top photo of Cale Makar and Devon Toews: Alysa Rubin / Getty Images)