An Ode to the Hockey Playoff Beard

Playoff Beard on a Belle River Canadiens player - Photo by Ian Kennedy

It started decades ago as a team building idea during the New York Islanders playoff hayday, and since, has developed into one of Canada’s most recognizable tradition…the playoff beard.

A lot of people don’t get it. They don’t understand what that beard means. There is something to appreciate, celebrate and love about a playoff beard. It’s a sign of success, a coming of age for young hockey players across North America. Mix in some blood, sweat, and a toothless smile with that beard, and you’ve got a thing of beauty.

It doesn’t even matter if the beard comes out looking like Sidney Crosby’s, or whether it is full and gray like Scott Niedermayer’s. A playoff beard is a symbol of unity, it’s a tradition that means you’ve made it to a new rhelm of hockey, that a season of hard work has paid off. More than that, it’s a symbol that you’re now a new person, ready to face new challenges and to battle for a championship. In the playoffs, it’s like putting on a warriors mask.

Wheatley Sharks Playoff Beard - Photo by Ian Kennedy

When the New York Islanders decided to grow beards in the early 80’s, I don’t think they had any idea of the trend, now tradition, it would create in not only hockey, but throughout professional and amateur sports. The Isles won 4 consecutive Stanley Cups while shunning their razors, and now, athletes across the globe are hoping to find a little piece of that magic as they grow their playoff beards.

Call it a superstition if you may, but at a time of year when even the smallest advantage in team cohesion and togetherness could mean the difference between winning and losing, between elimination and a title, growing a beard seems like a logical team bonding experience.

It’s almost as if each member of the team is shedding their individuality for the months they battle together through the playoffs, and rather, choose to hide behind similar grizzlied beards. Even at younger age groups, teams have started dying their hair, or shaving their heads prior to the playoffs. They don’t do it to be unique or “cool,” they do it to show their teammates that they are all in this together, win or lose.

In a society where conflict is far more prevelant than unity, the playoff beard, whether it is grown at the NHL level, or in a small town in Southwestern Ontario, is a sign that some brotherhood between men still exists. Sure, I might be taking this too far, I might be reading a little too deep into the meaning of a playoff beard, but for the thousands of hockey players across the globe who currently find themselves somewhere on the spectrum from scruffy to beastly, I would wager they would agree with each statement I’ve made.

The next time you travel to a local rink, or turn on your television and see a playoff game underway, don’t look at the beard and giggle at the huge tuft of facial hair, or perhaps the uneven scruff of twisting twine that decorates a hockey player’s face; think about what it means. Think about the 20 men who are showing their support and dedication to each other to reach a lifelong dream, and to achieve a common goal.

That beard is a symbol of what so many young boy’s across the globe dream of. It goes hand in hand with the opportunity to win a Stanley Cup, and to play in the NHL. If reading the 646 words of this article hasn’t convinced you about the importance of, and tradition behind the beard, just look at the smiles framed by the grizzled beards in any championship photo this spring…you’ll find all the proof you need in those faces.

Let the games begin.