In 1928, Manitoba’s own Nikolas “Nick” Wasnie began his NHL career. He would go on to play for five teams in seven years, scoring 57 goals in the process. But his true and lasting fame wasn’t his on-ice statistics, it was his legacy as the first Nick in NHL history.
He was followed by Nick Metz and then Hickey Nicholson and then 209 more Nicks of different stripes. Nicks, Nics, Niks, Nicolases, Nikitas, Nicklauses, Nicos, Nikolais, Nicholsons, Nikolishins — they all belong to a close-knit fraternity of people named, I guess, for the Greek goddess of victory, Nike.
But those initial seasons were lean years for Nicks. In the first two-thirds of the 20th century, Nicks weren’t nearly as common as they would become. The late 1970s brought an explosion in Nick births, I don’t know why, and in 2015 a record nine Nicks began their NHL careers.
No team in NHL history has laid claim to more Nicks than the Washington Capitals of recent years, but in their first few decades Nicks were few and far between. They had Paul Nicholson in the inaugural season (four goals, five assists, minus-29, thanks for coming out). In time they added Nick Kypreos and Andrei “Niko” Nikolishin, but the true Nick era didn’t begin until the drafting of Nicklas “Nicke” Backstrom in 2006.
Then, for no apparent reason, the Nicksplosion followed the Cup win. Nic Dowd and Nick Jensen joined the team, and completing the set: Nicolas-Aube Kubel.
With Nic, Nick, Nicklas, and Nicolas, not only did the Capitals lead the league in Nicks — but they did so without repeating a single spelling. Astounding.
Though having four Nicks on a single roster is the record, Washington was not alone in reaching such a lofty height. Columbus in 2013, Minnesota in 2012, San Jose in 2023, and Vegas in 2020 all matched the number. Except – except! – those Nicks were not nearly as critical to their teams, measured by games played.
The 2023 and 2024 Washington Capitals teams were the most Nickled teams in NHL history.
And now, with Aube-Kubel signing with Buffalo during free agency Jensen traded to Ottawa, and Backstrom very unlikely to play again, Washington’s Nick stock has suddenly crashed. Nic Dowd is the lone survivor.
Concerning: Among Pierre-Luc Dubois, Andrew Mangiapane, Jakob Chychrun, or any other offseason acquisition, not a one is named Nick.
Indeed, free agency was cruel to the Caps in the realm of Nickdom. Nikita Zaitsev went to Russia, Nikita Zadorov went to Boston, Nikolas Brouillard went to Seattle, and Troy Grosenick (maybe the biggest stretch of this whole bit) went to Minnesota. But don’t give up hope yet. Dominik Kubalik, Nic Petan, Austin Czarnik, and Nick Bonino don’t have deals yet. Marian Studenic doesn’t either, but honestly that one is going too far. And this isn’t a time to be whimsical, as the the Caps enter a Nick-crisis, losing their spot in history as the most Nicky team ever to exist.
End of article. Unless you want to talk about how Colin is technically a diminutive version of Nick, and there have been 21 Colins and 10 Collins and one Collings in the NHL, but I swear to god
