UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — There's no nickname like a hockey player's nickname.
Nicknames in hockey are typically simple and formulaic, with -y or -er added to the end of a player's first or last name, or are the result of an inside joke. Some nicknames build on each other over time, so much so that the origin of the nickname is forgotten.
Connor MacEachern admitted that nicknames are just "easier to say," when on the ice to grab the attention of a teammate, in addition to being a way to jab at them.
"I think if (a guy) has a poor reaction to (a nickname,) it just automatically sticks," Jimmy Dowd said.
In an attempt to discover all the nicknames on the Penn State men's hockey team that are fit to print, Oskar Autio, Dowd, Carson Dyck, MacEachern, Connor McMenamin and Adam Pilewicz were enlisted to share some insights.
Paul DeNaples:
Pauly D – After the Jersey Shore character, DJ Pauly D.
Pauly – Classic hockey nickname, add the -y when it makes sense.
Napes – Moniker used by head coach Guy Gadowsky only. Gadowsky is known for giving members of the team unusual and quirky nicknames.
Simon Mack:
Doc – Mack is intending to major in pre-med, hence the nickname "Doc."
Christian Berger:
Chin –
"I always thought ChristCHIN," Pilewicz said.
"I've never heard someone call him Chin," MacEachern said.
"I call him Chin," Autio said.
Bergs, Bergey – Classic hockey nicknames, variations of Berger's last name. His older brother, Chase, was "Bergs," which has been passed down to Christian as it's a logical way to shorten Berger.
Jimmy Dowd: Dowder, Jimbo, Jim
Carson Dyck: Dycker
Xander Lamppa: Lamps
Christian Sarlo: Sars
Ryan Kirwan: Kirby – "I can't really give an explanation to a lot of these," Pilewicz said.
Ben Schoen: Schoener
Danny Dzhaniyev:
Daniel Son – Moniker used by Dowd primarily.
Jordy – "Unexplainable," Pilewicz said. "Someone said it one time," Autio said.
Ben Copeland:
Coop/Coupe/Cuup –
Former Nittany Lion Nikita Pavlychev is responsible for Copeland's interesting nickname.
"He used to call him Coop instead of Copes," Pilewicz said.
"Pav would say 'Coops,' in his Russian accent," Autio said.
"(Copeland) hates it," MacEachern said.
Kenny Johnson:
KJ – Johnson's initials squished together.
Ken Joeng – Kim Jong
"Actually, Un though… that's the most used one," Autio said.
"(Brandon) Biro called him Kim Jong freshman year and that kind of just stuck," McMenamin said. "But then he just put 'KJ,' on his stick this year, so we started calling him KJ."
"I like KJ," Dyck said.
"Kenny Johnson, like Ken Jeong, the actor," Autio said.
Mason Snell: MaeMae – "Bobby (Hampton) started calling him Mae, and then it became MaeMae," Autio said.
Chase McLane: Claner
Clayton Phillips: Filipo – Variation of his last name, but instead of adding an -er or -y, former teammate Aarne Talvitie coined the -o.
Connor McMenamin:
Maccer (Pronounced Macker) –
"So, Gads came up to us freshman year… and (MacEachern) goes, I go by 'Kecks,' and I was always called Mac in juniors," McMenamin said.
"We wanted to give Simon, 'Mack,' and make another nickname (for McMenamin,) but Simon's too nice," Pilewicz said.
Kevin Wall:
Waller – Classic hockey nickname with the addition of -er to the last name.
Kevin Bahl (You're good.) –
"That's an actual guy's name though," Dowd said.
"Isn't he on Aarne's team [the Utica Comets]?" Pilewicz said.
"He is on Aarne's team [the Utica Comets]," Autio said.
"We were at COVID testing last year in the beginning of the year, and the nurse would come out and be like, 'Oskar, you're good.' So, she came out, and in front of everyone she was like, 'Kevin Bahl, you're good,'" Autio said.
The group came to the consensus that Kevin Bahl (You're Good) is by far the team's favorite nickname and in order to get the full effect the 'You're Good' portion needs to be said.
Tyler Paquette: Paq (pronounced Pack)
Adam Pilewicz:
Pilewicz is one of the guys on the team that has many nicknames that range in popularity.
Pboy – One of the more popular of Pilewicz nicknames. Pilewicz allegedly refers to himself as Pman.
Pillowboy – Another last name inspired nickname.
Adum – Jokey version of Adam.
Boyo Guiyo – Another nickname coined by Talvitie.
"It's just one of those nicknames that just kind of spiraled, I don't know how we got there," McMenamin said.
"Biro used to call me Adam Boy," Pilewicz said.
"And then Aarne started calling him Boyo Guiyo," Autio said.
Jared Westcott:
Westy – Another classic hockey nickname.
Gordie – "Gordie Howe, when he had a mullet we started calling him that," MacEachern said.
Tyler Gratton: Gratts
Connor MacEachern: Kecks – Has gone by this since juniors.
Doug Dorr:
Doorman/Dorrman – Take on Dorr's last name.
Muscle Milk – Dorr drinks a lot of muscle milk, which led his teammates to call him this endearing nickname.
Liam Soulière: Souly
Oskar Autio:
Scar – A Fortnite reference dating back to freshman year courtesy of Kevin Kerr and Derian Hamilton that coach Gadowsky overheard and took a liking toward.
"No one calls him Scar at all," McMenamin said.
Otter – started out as simple as Auts short for Autio and became Otter with many other variations.
"That had to be Biro [who started that]," McMenamin said.
"I think [Oskar] started calling himself that," Pilewicz said.
"I would never call myself Otter," Autio said.
While some nicknames are more outlandish than others, once a player receives one it sticks, no matter how much they may dislike it. Some players, like Talvitie and Autio, are more inclined to give their teammates goofy or various nicknames.
It's a process that has many levels, and like with MacEachern's nickname of Kecks, some nicknames follow a player throughout his career.
But, at the end of the day, hockey nicknames bring a team closer together. From Chin to Pboy, every nickname has a story. Even if it's just as simple as a nurse saying your teammate's name wrong one time.
