We asked and you answered. USA Hockey Magazine readers and hockey fans from Beantown to Bozeman chimed in with their opinions on the best parts of our great game.
The votes have been tabulated by our accounting firm of Dewey, Cheatum and Howe and are ready to release the results. Ten lucky voters were also big winners, taking home a USA Hockey prize pack simply for voting. (Go to usahockeymagazine.com to see if you are a winner.)
Thanks again to everyone for participating in our “Best of Hockey Survey.” And now, without further ado, drum roll please…
NHL Rivalry
a N.Y. Islanders vs. N.Y. Rangers – 21%
b Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens – 43%
c Anaheim Ducks vs. Los Angeles Kings – 6%
d Detroit Red Wings vs. Colorado Avalanche – 30%
Best College Rivalry
a Boston College vs. Boston University – 38%
b Michigan vs. Michigan State – 27%
c Harvard vs. Yale – 6%
d Wisconsin vs. Minnesota – 29%
Best NHL Arena
a Xcel energy Center (St. Paul, Minn. – 19%
b Madison Square Garden (New York City) – 27%
c Joe Louis Arena (Detroit) – 28%
d The Shark Tank (San Jose, Calif.) – 26%
Best College Barn
a Yost Arena (Michigan) – 42%
b Hobey Baker Arena (Princeton) – 22%
c Ralph Englestad Arena (North Dakota) – 24%
d Ingalls Rink (Yale) – 12%
Best NHL Uniform
a Detroit Red Wings – 19%
b Chicago Blackhawks – 42%
c Montreal Canadiens – 14%
d Boston Bruins – 25%
Best NHL Mascot
a Al the Octopus (Detroit) – 38%
b Thrash (Atlanta) – 22%
c Stanley C. Panther (Florida) – 18%
d Tommyhawk (Chicago) – 22%
Best Goal Celebration
a Bobby Orr, 1971 Stanley Cup winner – 30%
b Patrick Kane, 2010 Stanley Cup winner – 12%
c Zach Parise, tying goal in the gold-medal
game at the 2010 Olympics – 16%
d Mike Eruzione, winning goal against
Russia in the 1980 Olympics – 42%
Best NHL Goalie Mask
a Ryan Miller – 56%
b Rick DiPietro – 15%
c Jimmy Howard – 13%
d Brian Boucher – 16%
Best American Sniper
a Phil Kessel – 12%
b Zach Parise – 38%
c Patrick Kane – 42%
d Bobby Ryan – 8%
Best American Defenseman
a Ryan Suter – 16%
b Brian Rafalski – 48%
c Jack Johnson – 20%
d Erik Johnson – 16%
Greatest American Goalie of All-Time
a John Vanbiesbrouck – 12%
b Mike Richter – 26%
c Jim Craig – 29%
d Jack McCartan – 8%
e Mike “Lefty” Curran – 3%
f Ryan Miller – 22%
Greatest American Player of All-Time
a Mark Johnson – 12%
b Mike Modano – 49%
c John Mariucci – 3%
d Chris Chelios – 28%
e Neal Broten – 4%
f Joe Mullen – 4%
Best Hockey Movie
a Slap Shot – 33%
b Mighty Ducks – 13%
c Mystery Alaska – 7%
d Miracle – 47%
Best Hockey Hair
a Barry Melrose – 35%
b Patrick Kane – 31%
c Mike Green – 18%
d Scott Hartnell – 16%
Best Pregame Tune
a Thunderstruck by AC/DC – 60%
b Start Me Up by The Rolling Stones – 12%
c Wanted Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi – 22%
d Cold Feelings by Social Distortion – 6%
What Hockey Player Would
Make the Best Reality TV Star?
a Patrick Kane – 17%
b Alexander Ovechkin – 63%
c Sidney Crosby – 15%
d Rick DiPietro – 5%
Favorite Hockey Book
a The Code: The Unwritten Rules of Fighting And Retaliation In The
NHL by Ross Bernstein – 16%
b Original Six: True Stories From Hockey’s Classic Era edited by
Paul Quarrington – 32%
c Searching for Bobby Orr
by Stephen Brunt – 14%
d The Game by Ken Dryden – 33%
e Slashing by Stan Fischler – 5%
Favorite Hockey Web site
a NHL.com – 51%
b USAHockey.com – 23%
c USCHO.com – 5%
d InsideCollegeHockey.com – 2%
e Individual team Web site – 19%
Best Hockey Game
Not Played On The Ice
a EA Sports NHL
2011 – 28%
b Bubble Hockey – 16%
c Air Hockey – 12%
d Street Hockey – 32%
e Inline Hockey – 11%
f Hockey on Synthetic Ice – 1%
Where’s Your Favorite Place To Play?
a Indoor Rink – 51%
b Backyard Rink – 17%
c Pond/Lake – 25%
d Street or Cul-De-Sac – 4%
e Inline Rink – 3%
f Synthetic Ice Sheet – 0%
What’s On Your Hockey Bucket List?
a Driving an ice resurfacer – 7%
b Watching an Olympic hockey game in person – 30%
c Playing pond hockey – 7%
d Scoring a game-winning goal in overtime – 56%
Should Pros Continue To Play In The Olympics?
a Absolutely. The Olympics should always be the best on best – 65%
b No. Bring back the college players – 25%
c Who cares, the next Olympics will take place in the middle of the night – 10%
What Steps Should Be Taken To Keep Women’s Hockey An Olympic Sport?
a Give more money to developing women’s programs – 7%
b Send North American Coaches overseas to help train players – 9%
c Create a women’s pro league – 14%
d Be patient, it takes time to build a program – 13%
e All of the above – 57%
What American City Should Get An NHL Expansion Team?
a Las Vegas – 28%
b Portland, Ore. – 23%
c Kansas City – 17%
d Cleveland – 32%
What’s The Biggest Issue In The Game Today?
a The rise in the number of concussions – 29%
b Too many games – 2%
c Win-at-all-cost mentality by adults – 15%
d Not enough rinks – 11%
e Rising costs freezing people out – 43%
What Can Be Done To Make The Game Safer?
a Better enforcement of the rules – 20%
b More emphasis placed on respect and sportsmanship – 30%
c Make changes to equipment – 7%
d Take checking out of youth hockey – 4%
e Emphasize concussion prevention and
Heads Up Hockey – 39%
What Should Be Done To
Make Hockey More Popular?
a Build more rinks – 13%
b Get rid of early morning practices – 1%
c Cut the costs – 33%
d Expose the game to more inner-city kids – 13%
e Get a network TV contract for the NHL – 40%
What Makes A Good Coach?
a Knowledge of the game – 44%
b Integrity – 17%
c Personality – 19%
d Experience – 18%
e Knows the best places
to eat after the game – 2%
Who Do You Trust The Most For Hockey Advice?
a Parents – 13%
b Coach – 71%
c Teammate – 14%
d Stix Handle – 2%
What USA Hockey Program Has Had
The Greatest Impact On The Game?
a Coaching Education Program – 15%
b American Development Model – 12%
c Adult Pond Hockey Championships – 4%
d Expanded programs for girls/women – 16%
e Growing the game campaign – 14%
f Player development camps – 22%
g National Team Development
Program – 17%
How Do You Judge A Successful Season?
a Goals and assists – 5%
b Wins and championships – 21%
c Having fun and making friends – 32%
d Improving your skills – 42%
*Poll created and results tabulated by Jessi Pierce