Nicest and rudest NHLers you've met

[Cole436]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Don't think anyone really has a whole lot of Eberle stories, he was really quiet in school. Only reason I even remember him much is from running into him a few times afterwards. We only had one class together as far as I remember, which was gym.

For the record, I'm better than Eberle at floor hockey.

Bahaha that's what most of the guys say. One of my buddies, you may know Loach, would always say the same thing.

[Trailer Fire]

I met the 95-96 Colorado Avalanche the summer after they won he cup. Adam Deadmarsh if from my home area. His home town is roughly 15 minutes from where I grew up. The summer after the cup win, Deadmarsh got married, and brought the cup home at the same time. I was walking to a local restaurant known as "The Collander" which is more akin to a spaghetti assembly line, when 2 limos (the only ones we have in town) and a couple more cars pull up. Out comes a bunch of dudes I didn't recognize. I was 7, shoot me. Finally I recognize one of the faces. Joe Sakic. Holy crap. Patrick Roy. Peter Forsberg. Adam Foote. They kept piling out and piling out. As a young Avs fan (shut up... I was young, idolized Roy, and was just hitting my stride following the NHL) I was completely floored. Sakic, Foote, Ozolinsh, and especially Roy were awesome about meeting this young, insignificant fan. Mike Ricci, and, who my dad later told me was Warren Rychel, were assbags. They couldn't be bothered to even respond to me. Mike Keane grabbed my Avs hat, pulls out a sharpie from somewhere and hands it around for the guys to sign. Roy even ruffled my hair.

I saw Deadmarsh a few years later after he got traded to LA and thanked him. He actually told me he remembered it, and they guys gave Ricci and Rychel big time crap.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

I'm sure you don't consider CFL football to be among the major sports, but CFL players are by far the most approachable and accommodating pro athletes. Most don't seem to have big egos and I've talked with many and have never been treated badly.

hard to have an ego when you are making 40k per year

[AcGold]

Went to high school with Nick Johnson (who plays with Boston now). He was a goofball most of the time, not taking much seriously picking his nose when he thought it would be funny. Never saw him do much besides make jokes and avoid questions.

[T@T]

I won't mention the arseholes but some of the nicest were.

Old guys like me.

Lanny Macdonald - always smiling and looked you in the eyes when speaking to you.
Mel Bridgeman - a real hoot, 2-3 drinks before every game!
Perry Berezan - great guy,always having fun
Grant Fuhr - really down to earth nice guy, still don't forgive him for missing a 3 foot putt to win a tourney though!

[dammage79]

Back in 1993-1994 while living in Saskatoon, My community put together a skate with the Blades day to celebrate the completion of the new ghetto outdoor rink we just built.

From that I got to meet:

Clark Wilm
Rhett Warrener
Norm Maracle (at the time was a top goaltending prospect)
Todd Simpson
Mark Wotton
Chad Allen
Wade Belak
Brent Sopel

All were super nice and awesome to talk with. I was a wanna be goaltender and Getting to meet Norm Maracle was the highlight. Rhett Warrener was the most outgoing of them all though. Clark Wilm was also pretty cool, gave me some tips on skating technique.

Back in 06, met the L.A Kings while working in a nightclub in Banff.

Had a great chat with Sean Burke, Rob Blake, Craig Conroy, Kopitar, TKO. All funny guys and very polite.

Cammy meanwhile was already kind of separating himself from the group. Sat at the bar solo and chatted up myself and the bartender for a good while. Was really pumped to see him get traded to Calgary not too long after (the season after maybe?). Also, Ratis Ivanitz or whatever is a freak of nature. Biggest hockey player I ever seen.

Met the 08 Flames also working a Nightclub in Banff. Meeting Kipper, Iggy, Bertuzzi, Lankow, Lombardi. Big Bert being the most anti-social of the bunch. But was still very professional.

Biggest D-bags hockey players I've met, Fernando Pisani comes to mind off the bat. Came into the nightclub and was a total arrogant jerk. Even got the biggest Oilers fan I know to hate him. Was talking to all the staff very condescendingly, constantly whining that the bartenders werent giving him priority number one status, tipped like an Aussie right off of the boat. Wasn't pretty.

There's one more guy who was a nightmare but I'M having a hard time recollecting his name. I'M sure I'll edit this post later.

Met Felix Potvin too, he was pretty cool. this was a couple years after his NHL days were over though. So I am guessing that he was pretty stoked to have anyone at that time remember him.

[Righteous1]

Met Jamie McLennan and Mike Green few summers back @ A nightclub on different nights. Both were laid back and chill, had a beer with Jamie and had a few shots with Mike.

Also met former Oiler Theo Peckham on 17th ave and had a brief convo.

All 3 were nice guy's and Mike Green was cool with me hook in up with one his gfs friends.

[ClubFlames]

I have met Joel Otto, Jarome Iginla, Martin St. Louis, Mark Smith and Dion Phaneuf. All very nice.

Dion Phaneuf and Mark Smith I met at a club (don't remember the name of it) and I instantly recognized him. I sent a couple of drinks their way and they came over to thank me and my buddies and we went our seperate ways within the club. Half hour later I get a tap on my shoulder and it's Dion and he asks me and my friends to join him and Mark at their table. He paid for bottle service the entire night and there was no shortage of girls coming up to the table just to say hi

Few days later it was reported that Dion has signed a 6 year 33 million extension with us.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

I've only met a few NHL players (Lombardi, Regehr, Leclerc), but one of the nicest human beings, let alone athletes, that I've ever met is Lanny McDonald. I don't need to explain why but his reputation is well deserved.

[saXon]

Nicest: Lanny of course. He signed my hockey card back in '91.

Complete dick: Messier.

I was working for a private executive airline company here in Van during the 2010 Olympics. He got off the plane, I greeted everyone, and everyone said hi and shook my hand except him. Didn't even make eye contact. I instructed them further as to where the lounge was and that was that.

I told my co-worker during break how much of a dick he was, and my co-worker was like "Oh? Did he give you a bag of Lays chips and tell you to f*** off or something?' Haha, made me feel much better.

Messier still remains a dick to this day.

[EVERLAST]

Back when prospects development camp was at the rink by my house I had the pleasure of meeting Gio AND Richie Regher back to back years and they were both very cool and even remembered my little guys name.

Back between 1986- 1989 I played slowpitch in a league where all the Flames played on a team coached by the late Bill Powers.

I was thrilled to be able to have beers with nearly all the Stanley cup roster after our games.

All of those guys were awesome....all were very kind and gracious.
That 1988/89 roster was something

[Flashpoint]

Ed Ward was always a favorite. He got traded to Atlanta, and when they visited Calgary, he was staying at the Marriot, where a good friend of mine worked the front desk.

Friend: Hey, Ed Ward! Welcome back to Calgary!

Ed: "Wow. Somebody noticed I got traded!"

Friend: "What are you talking about? You went to the All Star Game!"

Edward Ward. NHL Allstar and one of our best all time names.

[Fire in the disco]

Doug Gilmour by far is one of the sweetest people I have met. He was living in Deer River Estates and would come and play hockey with my buddies and I on the street. Once in Panorama I had fallen off my bike, was probably 8 years old. Dougy came by the condo we were renting and had some beers with my parents
And played a game of Dr Mario (Nintendo) with me. He then invited my family out to a baseball game I believe in Invermere. It was basically the entire Flames team, and all were crazy nice to me and my family. I've run into him several times since then, and he has always remembered me, and been nothing short of a class act

[EM11]

Lanny McDonald is hands down the nicest man I have ever met. Met him both as a kid and an adult and he was a gentleman every single time.

Never met him, but my aunt met Harold Snepsts near the end of his career while he was with the Blues. She recognized him in a bar in Mexico. She told him that she had a nephew who loved hockey, and he took down her address. A few months later a signed picture arrived in the mail. I thought that was the coolest thing because he had no real reason to carry through with it.

[Street Pharmacist]

Shane Doan was very nice and polite the during the short encounter I had with him

[STeeLy]

Ran into Chris Butler at an airport once... he's a pretty nice guy.

Haven't had too many run-ins with other NHLers.

[Cheese]

Nicest - Gordie Howe

Worst - Bobby and Brett Hull

[Puppet Guy]

Originally Posted by trublmaker

showing my age but had beers with pete mahovlich after an old timers game and he was just super to talk with, my wife loved bobby hull because he called her gorgeous, eddie shack was friggin hilarious.

There was a bunch of NHLers and not a rude one in the bunch.

guy I used to know through work once told me that when he was a kid in the '70s the Canadiens had part of their training camp in New Brunswick, and he and his dad were having lunch at some roadside place when the Habs' bus pulls up. He went up to their tables to ask for an autograph, and Mahovlich pulled him over, put his arm around his shoulder and he sat with the team the whole time they were there. Made a fan for life out of my friend.

[MelBridgeman]

Ran into Lanny at National on 17th - Yup class act he is

Never met Gordie Howe but he was dining at a restaurant I was working at. When the table of 12 of older men I was serving told me they were all from Detroit - I made the dumb mistake of saying "Oh really Did you know Gordie Howe is on the other side of the restaurant". They all proceeded to get up and seek pictures and autographs, which of course Mr. Howe obliged

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

Carcillo, nice? Does...not...compute.

Yup super nice - loved his smoke breaks