Who Said That?
Communication is Key in Hockey, and because of this, hockey has developed some common sayings. There are phrases that only make sense in the context of a hockey game and sayings that, when you hear them, you instantly recognize it as a “hockey quote.” But sometimes we hear and repeat these hockey sayings without knowing where they came from or why they were said.
Here are five common hockey sayings and how they came to be:
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”
Likely the most popular is attributed to Wayne Gretzky, and it serves as a useful saying not just for hockey, but for life in general. Although, one of the earliest recorded uses of the saying is by Burton W. Kanter, a tax lawyer, who was talking about Gretzky and claimed that Gretzky used the saying in conversation with him. The saying is also sometimes attributed to Wayne’s father, Walter Gretzky, or to one of Wayne’s coaches.
Regardless of who first uttered the quote, the idea of missed opportunity has long existed before Gretzky’s phrase, in the form of a soccer adage from 1965, “you can’t score if you don’t shoot,” and a baseball saying from 1943, “you can’t expect to hit if you don’t swing at ‘em.”
Recently, the popularity of Gretzky’s saying exploded beyond the world of hockey and even beyond the world of sports, when the American sitcom The Office featured the quotation as part of a gag involving one of the show’s main characters, the office boss, Michael Scott (pictured above).
“Gordie Howe hat-trick”
A normal “hat-trick” is defined as “the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match.” A “Gordie Howe hat-trick” is named after NHL hall-of-famer Gordie Howe and involves a humorous combination of two positive feats and one more questionable feat: a goal, an assist, and a good old fist fight.
The phrase was coined by a New York sportswriter in the 1950s and was named for his all-around hockey prowess and his reputation as a “tough guy.” However, Howe himself only achieved a Gordie Howe hat trick twice: once in 1953 and once in 1954, both against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The former head coach of the Arizona Coyotes, Rick Tocchet, currently has the most Gordie Howe hat tricks in NHL history, with 18.
“Bring your A-game”
This phrase isn’t just common to hockey, it’s used nowadays in pretty much any sport or activity, and if you were or are an athlete in any discipline, chances are that you’ve had a coach say this to you at some point.
To “bring your A-game” means to perform at your best, both in terms of focus and physical ability. Although it is uncertain how long the saying has been used in hockey specifically, hockey writer Adrian Dater claims that he first heard the phrase, “bring your A-game” used by former Colorado Avalanche coach Marc Crawford in 1996. One of the earliest recorded general uses of the saying is in a 1969 “Gentleman’s Quarterly” article about an unusually difficult golf course.
“Great moments are born from great opportunities”
This fantastic quote is courtesy of Herb Brooks, who both played for and coached multiple Olympic hockey teams throughout his life. He first used the now popular hockey phrase in the opening line of his pregame speech to the 1980 U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team he was coaching, as they were about to face the Soviet Union team that had consistently dominated international competition and seemed like an unstoppable force.
Brooks specifically built and trained the Olympic team to be able to face the intimidating Soviet Union team. When the U.S. team defeated the Soviets and claimed the gold medal, the entire story, as well as Brooks’s iconic speech, was enshrined in hockey history.
The story of the U.S. 1980 Olympic ice hockey victory is told in the 2004 film Miracle, where Brooks is played by Kurt Russell.
“Don’t go through life without goals”
Outside of the sport of hockey, this proverb just sounds like a boring, obvious piece of life advice. But when you consider the context of a hockey game, the saying gains some humour and extra meaning: scoring goals in hockey is great, but it’s important to have larger aspirations both for your hockey career and for your life.
Although the saying is often cited in hockey books and by pro players on social media, it isn’t known who came up with the quote. The saying is often featured on hockey t-shirts, bumper stickers, and posters, the earliest of which was first seen right around the start of the 21st century.
There you have it: five common hockey sayings and their origin stories. Although language may continue to change, including the language of hockey, there will always be some way of urging players to “give it their all” and “put the puck in the net”!
