Top NHL.com Short Shifts stories for 2022

The NHL was back in full force in 2022.
The 2021-22 season was the first, full 82-game season since 2018-19; 2019-20 and 2020-21 were both shortened due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. And while that may seem like a long, long time ago now, we can assure you that the League packed a lot into this calendar year.
The year was, of course, filled with amazing goals, and slick assists, but for the purposes of this story we are going to focus on the moving, inspirational and downright funniest stories from around the NHL. Here is our list for Top 10 Short Shifts Stories of the Year in 2022.

1. Stelter Rallies, Inspires Oilers Fans
Fans fell in love with
Edmonton Oilers super fan Ben Stelter when the team hosted him during a game
back in March where he got to meet his favorite player Connor McDavid and join Zach Hyman during his postgame press conference. Ben cheered on the team throughout their 2022 playoff run where he
encouraged them to play their rallying song "La Bamba."
Weeks later, Leon Draisaitl made sure to
wish their number one fan a happy 6th birthday
. Former Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk also showed his support for Ben,
creating a special video
to help cheer the young fan on.
Ben lost his battle with cancer in August and was
honored by Oilers fans who lined the streets during a public memorial.
2. Carter Stamkos, Zamboni Enthusiast
Carter Stamkos, the young son of Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, had one very specific request at the 2022 NHL All-Star Game. He wanted
to see the Zamboni, please
.
A few weeks later
Carter got to ride an actual Zamboni
during a Lightning home game. In October,
Carter helped launch a special Zamboni toy
that he got to ride around on the ice.
3. Champs With A Bang
It didn't take the
Colorado Avalanche long to damage the Stanley Cup
after being crowned champions in June. About an hour after winning the trophy, forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel fell and dented the Cup while skating over for the group picture. His teammates reaction = priceless.
4. Cup Takes Wrong Turn
The Stanley Cup continued its eventful summer by
showing up to the wrong house.
Lord Stanley was on its way to Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog's house when it made a detour to a neighbor's house instead. The Keeper of the Cup got the houses confused which resulted in a special surprise for Gabe's neighbors and a good laugh.
5. In Memory of Colby
Seattle Kraken forward Ryan Donato
wore a tie that belonged to his late friend, former NHL forward Colby Cave,
before a game in January. Cave's widow, Emily, gifted Donato the tie to bring him "luck and safety." The tie proved to be a good luck charm when Donato scored the tying goal of the game and the first goal of the shootout to help lead the Kraken to the overtime win.
6. Islanders Fan Gets A Kidney
Ask and you shall receive. That's the lesson Madison Sanalitro learned this year.
The 26-year-old New York Islanders fan
brought a sign to a game
back in February asking for any possible matches willing to step forward and hand over a kidney. With a little help from Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech, Sanalitro got noticed at the game and, by June,
had found her match
. She had her kidney transplant in July.
7. Signed, Sealed, Stapled
Jeremy Davies had his pen ready and a contract offer, but no physical way to print it out and sign it. So he and his girlfriend headed out to Staples.
Davies and girlfriend Erin Lynch
headed to the office supply chain store
in order to ink his deal. And because they are young and this is 2022, she made a funny TikTok about it that made the rounds on social media much to the delight of hockey fans everywhere.
8. Aspiring Medical Student Saves Canucks Staffer
When Nadia Popovici, an aspiring medical student,
noticed a cancerous mole
on the neck of Vancouver Canucks equipment manager Brian "Red" Hamilton, she spoke up, finiding a freindly and eye-catching way to draw his attention to it. And it ended up saving his life.
While the first encounter was at the Seattle Kraken's first-ever home game in October 2021, the Canucks and Kraken found a way to reunite the two on New Year's Day 2022, where they awarded
Popovici a $10,000 scholarship
toward medical school.
A month later, Popovici was a guest at a Canucks home game where she was hosted by a grateful Hamilton, gifted a new jersey and unique hat and even met 2022 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Daniel and Henrik Sedin. She had, appropriately, seats behind the team's bench again.
9. Polar Blues Dress for Beach at Winter Classic
Cold? The St. Louis Blues fear no cold.
Before the 2022 Winter Classic, Blues players
stepped off the bus in beachwear
, complete with sunglasses and towels.
No big deal, right? Well it was January. In Minnesota.
Game-time temperature for Target Field was minus-8 Farenheit with a "real feel" of minus-22. And these guys legit came off the team bus in swim trunks and either light shirts or no shirt at all.
But it was worth it in the end. Said forward Vladimir Tarasenko: "We looked pretty good."
10. Captain Helping Captain
Getting asked to homecoming but the captain of the high school hockey team is pretty nice, but getting asked by one of the greatest players in NHL history is a whole other level of cool.
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby helped a North Hills High School student
ask his date to Homecoming
back in September.
The Homecoming proposal were creative enough to get a yes from the student who was asked. Just add another assist onto Crobsy's career total.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
- Never one to show emotion, Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin couldn't help but get choked up when his
son Nikita read the lineup in the locker room
before the game. That was only part of the fun as the entire team also mimicked his unique warmup routine.
- Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin reached rare air: 800 NHL goals. When the time came to document it for all to see at Capital One Arena,
his son Sergei did the honors
.
- We've never seen anything like when New York Islanders defenseman Sebastian Aho and Carolina Hurricanes forward
Sebastian Aho
each
scored goals just a few seconds apart
back in March. It was wild. Then the Kessel siblings, Vegas Golden Knights forward Phil Kessel and USA Women's Hockey forward Amanda Kessel
also went and did it
in December.
- Rick Jeanneret retired as the voice of the Buffalo Sabres back in April after 51 years on the air and
the team went all out to show their love
for "RJ," including an overtime win.
- The Arizona Coyotes started play in their temporary new home, Arizona State's Mullett Arena. Their
first fan giveaway was, appropriately, mulletts
.
- When he was with the Penguins during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, goalie
Louis Domingue
came off the bench to make 17 saves in a Game 1 overtime with against the New York Rangers after
devouring some spicy pork
. So naturally, when he signed with those same Rangers, he needed to
get some reccomendations on where to eat
.
- This one's all about the visual: Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom, master of the assist, was
pelted with apples by teammates
after notching his 1,000th career point. Don't worry, they were foam apples. Otherwise that could have hurt.
- The Seattle Kraken gave birth to Buoy, a furry, teal-heavy troll that became the
youngest NHL team's official mascot
in October. Buoy has done some things already, and
recently thanked Kraken fans
for taking a chance on a young troll.