Everyone Is Invited to Hockey’s Christmas Party

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By now your Christmas tree should already be up and you’re counting down the days until you get to unwrap that PlayStation you have been begging Santa for.

The Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators are both shocking you with their ability to win games but what’s not shocking is how unenthused you are about this year’s NHL Stadium Series. Seriously, do we need so many?

Anyways, all of that doesn’t matter because the best part of Christmas is seeing what the great minor league hockey teams come up with for their annual Christmas themed jerseys. The jerseys are done for a good cause and are eventually auctioned off for charities but they give us something to smile and laugh about as well. In the past, we have been treated to great ones like the ECHL’s Toledo Walleyes’ version of what your grandma would knit for you every year. It even has a Santa hat on their mascot and multiple reindeer (or are they hockey stick wielding centaurs?) prancing about.

http://instagram.com/p/iHCvYAitXp/

Are you really surprised though? This is the same team that gave us this gem in their game against the Kalamazoo Wings. Somehow, they got the Wings to agree to be the villains.

http://instagram.com/p/gBnmaYCtWl/?modal=true

Not to be outdone, the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters also put their festive mood out on display for the hockey world to see. This time, the reindeer actually look like reindeer. Why not throw in a good teddy bear toss for good measure? Everyone has a blast at those.

http://instagram.com/p/q1uyYFskSs/?modal=true

We were so close to seeing these beauties in last year’s NHL Winter Classic but unfortunately for everybody, Red Wings goaltender, Petr Mrazek, was sent down to the AHL before unveiling his festive pads for the world to see. If Gary Bettman really wanted to get the attention of non-hockey fans, he should have made sure Mrazek and his pads made it onto national television. You missed a great opportunity, Gary.

Jerseys and pads are great to wear out on the ice to show your fans that even hockey clubs can get into the holiday spirit. What’s even better, is to create a video to make the memory even more eternal.

Alex Ovechkin is best known for being one of the best pure goal scorers in the league. Which is good for Alex, because he’s not that good at ringing a bell.

Good try though, Washington Capitals, but not only do the Chicago Blackhawks have more Stanley Cups in the last five years than you do in your entire franchise history, but they also don’t have a useless rhythm section.

So while you’re standing around the hors d’oeuvre table with your family and friends this year, just remember, hockey players are people too. Christmas means just as much to them as it does to us.

To quote the great Roberto Luongo (unconfirmed), “Merry Christmas!”