Talking Hockey On A Road Trip

I recently went on an East Coast road trip from Toronto to St. John’s on Dirty Dangle business. This trip involved traveling through five provinces and an all-night ferry, which included watching Canada lose to Russia while crossing the Gulf of St. Lawrence. I couldn’t imagine doing this road trip with a girlfriend because I would have run out of things to talk about before leaving the city. Luckily, I was with my buddy and for ninety percent of the trip we talked about hockey or as we say, “talked shop.” The other ten percent was about the horrible drivers in Québec, Nova Scotian “hotties,” and the Newfoundland blizzard that left us stranded in an all-night diner. Here are some of the games we play and topics we discussed on the road. (Note: Free Wi-Fi at McDonald’s is great for verifying those tough questions. For example, was Tim Kerr a four-time fifty goal scorer? Yes he was!)

Here are some fun games and topics you can play and discuss while on the road:

• Use your Pierre McGuire rolodex and name players from the small towns you drive through. 
• Name that player’s junior team.  If your buddy says, “Kris Letang?” You say, “Val-d'Or Foreurs.” or, as you drive through a city/town/ville that has a major junior team, name former players that are in The Show.
• The player alphabet game. A is for Abdelkader.  Rookies can use both first and last names, while pros can only use last names. 
• Five question showdown.  Be sure to play head-to-head and whomever loses has to pay for the next fill-up. 
• Name Wayne Gretzky’s NHL records. 
• Match license plates with hockey players’ numbers. 
• Name the top five picks from past draft years. 
• Name that concussion. Name NHL players that have suffered a concussion (bonus points for naming the player that delivered the concussion).
• Name the teams that Mike Sillinger played for. 
• 50/50 - which way does this NHL player shoot? 
• Name the NHL’s youngest balding hockey players. Ryan Getzlaf and Kevin Shattenkirk are our current leaders. 
• Go back year-by-year naming Stanley Cup winners. Also works for individual awards like Conn Smythe Trophy winners and Art Ross winners. 
• Discuss how Keanu Reeves didn’t get a best-supporting actor nod for his role as a French-Canadian goalie in the great hockey movie, Youngblood.