15 Tongue-Twisting Hockey Player Names (and How to Properly Pronounce Them)
Updated: Sep. 28, 2018
Even if you’re a longtime fan of the good old hockey game, the names of the new players can be serious tongue twisters. Here’s a phonetic guide to pronouncing some of the toughest hockey player names in the NHL.
How to Pronounce Canada’s Most Tongue-Twisting Hockey Player Names in 5 Minutes (or Less)
You don’t have to be new to the good old hockey game to find yourself tongue-tied naming off some of the rising stars of Canada’s NHL teams. To help us all keep up to date with the hockey chatter—and decode those watercooler conversations—the experts at language learning app Babbel have created this handy guide to pronouncing 15 of the most challenging hockey player names from Canada’s NHL teams.
Aleš Hemský (Czech Republic) – Montreal Canadiens – (al-esh hem-skee)
Byron Froese (Canada) – Montreal Canadiens – (buy-run fraze)
Dmitry Kulikov (Russia) – Winnipeg Jets – (de-me-tree kool-yih-kov)
Eemeli Rasanen (Finland) – Toronto Maple Leafs – (ey-meh-li ras-sah-nen)
Elias Pettersson (Sweden) – Vancouver Canucks – (eh-lee-us peh-tur-shon)
Erik Burgdoerfer (USA) – Ottawa Senators – (air-rik burg-door-fur)
Jonah Gadjovich (Canada) – Vancouver Canucks – (yo-nuh gad-yo-vitsh)
Jussi Jokinen (Finland) – Edmonton Oilers – (yew-see yo-kee-nen)
Karl Alzner (Canada) – Montreal Canadiens – (karl alz-nur)
Matt Taormina (USA) – Montreal Canadiens – (mat ta-or-mee-na)
Michael Sgarbossa (Canada) – Winnipeg Jets – (my-kuhl sgar-bo-sa)
Patrick Wiercioch (Canada) – Vancouver Canucks – (pat-rik weer-kosh)
Timothy Liljegren (Sweden) – Toronto Maple Leafs – (tee-mo-thee lil-ye-gren)
Ty Rattie (Canada) – Edmonton Oilers – (tie ra-tee)
Yohann Auvitu (France) – Edmonton Oilers – (yo-han oh-vee-too)
Want to learn more sports lingo in your favourite languages? Try learning with Babbel!
Check out the Ultimate Guide to Canadian Hockey Slang!
