This poster presents on work done for the speaker’s undergraduate thesis on the phonological patterns of ice hockey player nicknames. Specifically, this poster focuses on naming and classifying the different available forms of attested nicknames, nicknames that have been used by hockey players for their teammates. These forms include derived hypocoristics, or nicknames derived from the original name (e.g., Schroeds from Corinne Schroeder); suppletives, or nicknames not related to the original name (e.g., Beast from Denis Hildeby); initials (e.g., MPP from Marie-Philip Poulin); and compound clippings, or nicknames formed from combining parts of both the first and last names (e.g., Rosco from Ross Colton). Compound clippings are further split into initial-syllable (e.g., KHam from Kate Ham) and syllable-syllable or Rosco-type forms. 

The poster will further discuss some of the wordplay elements involved in the formation of nicknames, particularly those of the suppletive or Beast type. Differences between fan-created and teammate-created nicknames, particularly along wordplay and form lines will also be noted. These are most visible in the suppletive or Beast and compound clipping or Rosco type. Ultimately, the poster will discuss the general requirements for the forms of hockey nicknames, classify the most common available formats, and reflect on the social value and linguistic creativity such nicknames display. This work extends the current nicknaming literature outside of solely a suppletive or Beast-type focus (in the onomastic literature) and hypocoristic or Schroeds-type focus (in the phonological literature) by offering a typology of the many different hockey player nickname forms available.