Teams across the National Hockey League have exclusive clubs embedded within them. The privilege of joining those clubs requires a level of tenure, panache, and⊠well⊠hair product.Â
Curious about the unwritten rules of ditching the helmet in warmups, we asked the members of the Seattle Kraken chapter of the No-Bucket Warmer-Upper Club (thatâs what we call it here at Sound Of Hockey) how they decide whether to protect their noggins or let the locks flow. Their answers taught us a lot and gave us some good laughs along the way.
Hereâs what we learned about the longstanding NHL tradition of the bucketless warmup.
Itâs all about the hair, for most
Vince Dunn and Adam Larssonâtwo frequent but not entirely consistent members of the NBWUCâshared similar sentiments about deciding whether to don a helmet or not. For the defensive partners, itâs actually quite simple.
âFor me, itâs how good my hair looks,â Larsson said.
âYeah, me too,â added Dunn. âItâs how fresh my haircut is.â
Brandon Tanev is the most committed member of the club and one of the Seattle chapter’s founding members. We canât recall a time when weâve seen him wear a helmet in warmups. In fact, in a game early last season, he took a puck to the forehead and hustled off the ice to get stitched up before the opening face-off. The following game, he was right back out there without a helmet, forehead stitches and all.
Tanev, coincidentally, has perhaps the best flow on the team. But he says it isnât so much about letting his hair down, rather a privilege that comes with tenure and experience. âThe more games you play in the league, youâre able to do it, so you do it.â Fair enough.
Alex Wennbergâs approach is a bit more nuanced. âThe warmup is to get prepared mentally,â he said. âIt still doesnât change the way you play at all, so every now and then you switch it up. And I mean, sometimesâ itâs not like youâre superstitious, but sometimes it feels like the routines are working and sometimes you want to switch it up.â
Product is paramount
As Larsson and Dunn suggested there are external factors to consider, namely what hair products are available to the players on a given night. Larsson, for example, says he doesnât travel with product, so what he uses is reliant upon what is provided in the locker room. If thereâs no gel to give him the âwet lookâ that he prefers, you better believe heâs wearing a helmet that night.
Dunn also noted that Larssonâs gameday grooming routine can factor into the Swedish defensemanâs decision. âI know for Lars, if he conditions his hair, heâs probably not going to go no bucket because his hair is too soft; itâs not styled enough.â For the record, Dunn’s product of choice is paste.
And although Wennberg leans on how heâs feeling on a particular night, he too admits product can play a role in the decision. “I will say that if I donât have any product in the hair, there is no way Iâm going out without a bucket.â
The case against joining the NBWUC
Those that are not regular members of the NBWUC have their own reasons to stay helmeted. Morgan Geekie tried it once, but it was under specific circumstances. âMy buddy was in town, and he bet me 20 bucks that I wouldnât do it.â So, that was easy money for Geekie.
The one-time payout wasnât enough to prod Geekie into the club permanently, though. He says growing up, he thought one of the coolest things about the NHL was seeing guys warm up without helmets on, yet even for him, the decision to typically stay helmeted comes down to follicles. âI donât have nice enough hair to not wear it,â he said. âEarlier last year, I maybe could have when I had long hair, but Wenny, Tanev, all those guys that do it with no helmet, you can tell thereâs a reason why they do it.â
A privilege reserved for veterans
It was borderline shocking to see Shane Wright take his traditional rookie lap Wednesday without a bucket, though that action was likely demanded by Seattleâs veterans to add to the moment. Aside from that situation, in which veterans are mandating a bucketless warmup, it would be unheard of and unacceptable for a rookie to try to join the NBWUC.
To determine when a player can begin shedding his protective lid, Tanev doesnât have a specific point in mind for when that would be tolerable. âItâs at the discretion of the older guys,â he says. âThe older guys when I was playingâ when I was younger, you have a certain amount of games, and youâre able to do it, and thatâs about it.â
Larsson and Dunn thought the threshold was a bit more cut and dried, putting the minimum for NHL service time at somewhere between 200 and 250 games played.
Wennberg, meanwhile, didnât try it until he was with the Florida Panthers and playing his 400th career game. âThis is just how I came into the league,â he said. âWhen youâre a rookie or a couple years in, youâre not really going out without a bucket. It feels like more of a veteran thing, and in Columbus we werenât allowed, so for me, I tried it first in Florida when I had the opportunity.â
A decision rarely discussed in advance
You might think the decision to show the hair would be something that gets discussed nightly by players in the dressing room, but that isnât the case. Itâs typically an under-the-radar, personal decision that is made quietly.
âIâm more of a guy who shows up, and when you walk the line [to go onto the ice] and you donât wear your bucket, thatâs when people will see it,â explained Wennberg. For him, itâs almost like a surprise reveal.
He adds, though, that there are rare occasions when teammates push each other to ditch the dome.
âIf a bunch of guys on the team are saying, âItâs got to be a no-bucket night for you, your hairâs on point,â yeah. I get that comment every now and then, but I donât really spread the word.â
interesting piece. thanks
Well, now they are the written rules of the no-helmet warmup in the NHL.
You are answering some of the questions that have haunted me, and I love you for it.