Black Cats? Ladders? Broken Mirrors? Good Luck Charms? This week we dive into the bizarre world of player superstitions. Tessa got to read 2 peoples masters theses and Jaz gets to unfortunately learn how many players don't wash their gear. We not only discuss the superstitions themselves, but why players may have them!

Works Cited:

https://www.sportsish.com/thenews/https/wwwsportsishcom/nhlsuperstisions

https://www.milehighhockey.com/2010/11/23/1832668/theyre-not-superstitious-theyre-just-hockey-players

https://premiersportpsychology.com/2015/01/28/what-is-the-story-behind-superstitions/

https://bolavip.com/en/nhl/the-most-bizarre-nhl-superstitions-wild-rituals-players-swear-by

https://thehockeywriters.com/the-strangest-superstitions-in-nhl-history/

https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-stars-superstitions-pregame-traditions-296669560

Ptacek, Taylor Jon, "The Relationship Between Superstition and Confidence in Sport" (2016). Theses and Dissertations. 742. University of North Dakota

Catsoulis, Stamata. “Black Cats and Hockey Tape: Investigating Routines and Superstitions Among Professional Hockey Athletes: A Qualitative Study” (2011). York University

Dömötör, Z., Ruız-Barquın, R. & Szabo, A. “Superstitous Behavior in Sport: A Literature Review” (2016) Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 57 368-382

This one is a bit different! Tessa did not do a bunch of in-depth research with citations galore. Instead, today Jaz and Tessa expose how nerdy they are by discussing fandom culture, RPF (Real People Fiction) and separating the idol from the person!

Last week we talked about fighting, this week we expand on the physical dangers to hockey. In an episode with a more serious note than usual, Tessa warms up her long burried research and communication skills to highlight some of the dangers of hockey.

!!Content warning!! This episode contains mentions of severe bodily harm and suicide

Works Cited:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67264536

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6822215/

https://canadasafetycouncil.org/hockey-our-most-dangerous-game/

https://www.npr.org/2024/12/04/nx-s1-5214628/ice-hockey-nhl-cte-head-impacts-concussions

https://www.brainfacts.org/diseases-and-disorders/neurodegenerative-disorders/2025/protecting-the-game-how-hockey-can-prevent-brain-injury-among-players-042225

https://publichealthpost.org/mental-behavioral-health/fighting-hockeys-deadly-toll/

https://www.nhl.com/info/player-safety

Anderson, G., Melugin, H., Stuart, M. (2019) “Epidemiology of Injuries in Ice Hockey” American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine Volume 11, Issue 6.

Markowitz, Jeffrey S. (2025) “Mortality and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Among Enforcers and Non-Enforcers in the National Hockey League (NHL)” Frontiers in Neurology

Abdolmohammadi B, Tuz-Zahra F, Uretsky M et al. (2024) “Duration of Ice Hockey Play and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy”. JAMA Network Open 7(12).
Morrissette C, Park P, Lehman R, Popkin C. (2020) “Cervical Spine Injuries in the Ice Hockey Player: Current Concepts in Epidemiology, Management and Prevention”. Global Spine 11(8).