Arda Öcal's best, funniest fantasy hockey team names

Every year that I do this list for ESPN fantasy hockey , I dig for inspiration.

Some names lend themselves naturally to puns or pop culture references, which creates a solid, standard Fantasy name such as "A Jack Hughes Brothers Film" or "Auston Matthews McConaughey").

The secret sauce, though, is to play with more challenging names; that's where you find your diamonds in the rough.

Once in a while a name comes along that defies all fantasy team handle conventions.

Throws the rule book completely out the window.

Makes you question everything you've ever known.

That name? Rutger McGroarty.

Play Fantasy Hockey for Free Create or join a fantasy hockey league on ESPN.

Your championship run starts today! Sign up today! This wonderfully goated name (and former University of Michigan player who was selected 14th overall by Winnipeg in the 2022 NHL draft and is now with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but that's not the focus for this particular piece) is both a blessing and a curse in terms of naming your fantasy team.

If Rutger McGroarty didn't exist as a hockey player in the NHL, inventing that moniker for your team would still turn heads and spark a few questions.

If you were hearing the name for the first time, you'd be excused if you thought Rutger McGroarty played against Babe Dye and Newsy Lalonde in the 1920s.

But Rutger McGroarty is an S-tier fantasy hockey team name in itself, no clever modification or linking needed.

It does the work for you.

It is the Mona Lisa or the Raygun of fantasy names; 10/10, no notes.

Speaking of work, that's what I did so you don't have to.

Enjoy the fourth annual ESPN Fantasy Team Name List, bigger and more Rutger McGroartier than ever.

Football hockey names RJ Ui-Umberger-Lei Lester Patrick Mahomes Ryan Christian McCaffReaves Brandon AiyUtah Hockey Club Justin HerBertuzzi Dak PreScott Stevens Zack Martin St.

Louis Deebo Samuel Girard Jalen Ramsey Abid Wrestling names Brutus LaBarbera Beefcake (This was former goaltender Jason LaBarbera's actual hockey nickname and it's one of the best hockey names in history!) The People's Elbo Room Dale Hunter Hearst Helmsley Michael Cole Caufield Corey Adam Graves Jim Ross Colton Damian Cody Rhodes Rhea Mike Ridley Darby Allan Bester Paul Swayman Movies and television Editor's Picks Draft these forwards ready for their breakout season 13h Sean Allen From prep to draft to trades: How to win your league 4d Victoria Matiash I'm Just Ken Holland Andrew Coppenheimer OppenReimer RuhwedelJuice RuhwedelJuice Tyson Jostbusters It Ends With Gustavsson Ted Brazeau Cobra Kai-Le Okposo Only Kurvers In The Building Schmid Game Yegor Shoresy-ngovich The Briere Succ-Sissons How I Met Your Montour The Andrew Soproglianos Memes Very Demers, Very Mindful Let Him Matt Cooke Dansk Like No One's Watching Life Happens.

Paul Coffey Helps Nate Schmibidti Rasmus Rizz-Tolainen Just Put The Knies In The Bag, Bro Deluluongo Want a challenge? Sign up for an ESPN+ league and face off against the best of the best! Music Good Luck, Babe Dye! Not Like Rust Hello Bowness My Old Friend Kendrick Lamundqvist All I Want For Christmas Is Hughes Hit The Post Malone Justin Bieber's All-Star Jacket Drop It Like It's Trotz Mr.

Shortside Bardown With The Sickness Star Wars It's your league.

Run it how you want.

Choose your league size, customize the scoring and set the rules you want to create the fantasy hockey league you want to play in.

Create your custom league for free! The Nate Mack-Olyte Filoni The Goalie Never Tell Me The Todds Bertuzzi George Lucas Raymond Grand Henrymal Thrun Kay Vess-ilevskiy Master Cole Caufield Luke Nathanwalker Boston 7th Fleet Minnesota Frosty Sulphate Montreal Vic Vankoh New York Thala-Sirens Ottawa Seismic Charges Toronto Spectre Cell Skeleton Crew Lamoriello Kaiden Gro-Guhle If you want to hear Arda talk about a galaxy far, far away, check out ESPN Presents: Never Tell Me The Odds , a podcast about all the latest Star Wars news and reviews.

Food Andrew Cobb Sa-Ladd Scrambled Greg McKeggs London Poile Baba Ghanugent-Hopkins Hamburglar And Fries In our hearts Johnny Hockey Forever <3 You can find Arda Ocal hosting The Drop , SportsCenter, and more.

Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @Arda .

Starting your own league is easier than ever! Set your league size, select your keepers, and invite your friends to start playing.

Sign up for free today and be the commish!.

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