From fans to players and coaches, there are superstitions in many sports – but it seems ice hockey takes it to greater heights.
Superstitions in our game even take on a theological identity for some: “The Hockey Gods.” Like Gordie Howe snaps his fingers and a puck takes the exact right bounce off the boards, or Jacques Plante wills a goaltender to make a save they shouldn’t have.
Related: The Strangest Superstitions in NHL History
Maybe it has something to do with the out-of-control nature of the game; a way of explaining the otherwise unexplainable bounces of the puck or why a certain player scores on a particular occasion. It could be we’re all nuts for falling in love with this sport.
Regardless, there’s an aura around the game – at least for some of us – that the players of yesterday are still with us today. They’re part of the ice, part of the blades, part of the puck and part of the sweater.
The sweater.
Ted Green
No. 6 is an interesting number in the Boston Bruins’ storied past. It’s the only single-digit skater’s number (not No. 1) that hasn’t been retired and it’s one that’s been worn by 28 different players since 1950.
After Bronco Horvath, a member of “The Uke Line” with Johnny Bucyk and Vic Stasiuk, wore No. 6 from 1958 to 1961, Ted Green took the honor. He is arguably the best Bruin to make it his trademark, doing so from 1961 to 1972.
Green established himself as an important part of the Bruins’ core during the Bobby Orr era. In 621 games in a B’s sweater, the 5-foot-10, 200-pound defenseman registered 48 goals, recorded a total of 902 shots on goal, and 206 assists. He also won a Stanley Cup in 1970, courtesy of Bobby Orr’s famous flying goal.
While remaining a member of the Stanley Cup champion Bruins during the 1971-72 season, Green missed the entire regular season and playoffs, and his name is only etched on the Cup for the 1970 triumph.
Gord Kluzak & Joe Thornton
Gord Kluzak – a recognizable name by multiple generations, having worn No. 6 from 1983 to 1991 and then appearing as a color commentator and an analyst for the B’s from 1995 to 2015, the 1982 first-overall pick was a Bruin during his entire seven-season stay in the NHL, retiring at the age of 26.
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