Pittsburgh Penguins Player Nicknames

Today we explore some Pittsburgh Penguins nicknames and tell you why the players are called what they are.  You've probably heard some of these names before, but you might not know where they came from or even who they're referring to.



Looking back through NHL history there have been some great nicknames.  Imagine forever being known as "The Great One " or "Mr. Hockey ."  How cool is that?  In Penguins history we've had "The Magnificent One " and "Ronnie Franchise " among others.



The current Penguins have a set of nicknames as well.  Sure, we'll probably never get something as cool as "The Rocket " but here are some of the best.

• Sidney Crosby - "The Next One" "Sid The Kid" "Bing"


• Sidney Crosby has a nickname problem.  The first two names (The Next One and The Kid) were given to him early in his career.  It's tough at this point to call a former Hart Trophy and Art Ross Trophy winner going into his fourth NHL season by either of those names.  "Bing" comes from Bing Crosby and while it's not the best nickname in the world, it's all we've got right now.
  
  


• Evgeni Malkin - "Geno"


• Again, it's not the best nickname.  Evgeni in Russian roughly translates into Geno or Gino in English.  That's it.
  
  


• Jordan Staal - "Gronk"


• I'm not sure if I'd want to go through my life being called "Gronk" but at least it's creative.  Gronk is a superhumanly strong villain from the Marvel universe.  It was given to Staal by former Penguins Colby Armstrong and it's one of the most unique, if not nerdy, nicknames on the team.
  
  


• Marc-Andre Fleury - "Flower"


• File this one beside "Geno" in terms of originality.  "Fleur" in French means "Flower" in English.  Not only is it unoriginal on the Penguins, but he's not even the only player to be called "Flower." Guy Lafleur had the nickname first.


• Brooks Orpik - "Free Candy"


• Not only is this one original, it's organic.  The folks at The Pensblog came up with this one after this photoshop was submitted.  I have to say, it's one of my favourite nicknames.


• Sergei Gonchar - "Sarge"


• Not only does "Sarge" sound like "Sergei" but it alludes to a strong leader and commander, which is exactly what Gonchar is.


• Dany Sabourin - "Creepy Baby"


• I'll admit it.  I created this one myself.  It refers to the black and white child on the side of Sabourin's mask.  Sabourin is also known as "Dany Boy" and "Sabu."


• Tyler Kennedy - "Mr. Kennedy"
  
  


• It's a reference to WWE wrestler Ken Kennedy, who announces himself as "Misterrrrrr Kennnnnnnnnedy!   Kennedy ."  I believe the clip of his introduction is/was used at the Mellon Arena following Kennedy goals.


• Paul Bissonnette - "Biz Nasty"


• Another one of the coolest nicknames on the team.  "Biz" is "Nasty" to play against.


• Janne Pesonen - "Nananana"


• One of the stranger ones.  It come from this Youtube video that gained popularity when Pesonen was first signed to the team.

Here are a few more Pittsburgh Penguins player nicknames that don't really need explanation:

• Ruslan Fedotenko - "Tank"


• Matt Cooke - "Cookie Monster"


• Maxime Talbot - "Mad Max"


• Mike Zigomanis - "Ziggy"


• Ryan Whitney - "Whits"


• Rob Scuderi - "Scuds"


• Alex Goligoski - "Gogo"


• Jeff Taffe - "Taffy"

Many of those aren't the most creative names in the world.  They're mostly shorted versions of the players' actual names.  Of course, some people have last names like "Satan," and couldn't get a nickname any cooler if they tried.





I honestly think the Mellon Arena has the best nickname on the team if not the NHL.  Who doesn't love "The Igloo?"



Did we miss any nicknames?  What player nicknames do you use?  Post in the comments below.





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