My favorite story about Justin Williams‘ recent hat trick on Sunday had to be Chuck Gormley’s hit on CSN Mid Atlantic. That’s because we learned what Justin Williams’ nickname is: Stick.
Nope, it’s not Mr. Game Seven or Willy. It’s Stick.
Maybe that’s why Caps defenseman Taylor Chorney said he was willing to give up what would have been his first NHL goal in nearly five years to Williams, who got his stick on Chorney’s point shot for his first goal of the night.
For sure,” Chorney said. “Especially for a guy like ‘Stick.’”
So how did Williams get the nickname “Stick?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “We came up with something because there’s already a Willy (Tom Wilson) here and I didn’t want to take it. It’s slowly become ‘Stick’ and it’s slowly sticking, no pun intended.”
After further research, Gormley found out that Williams was first given the nickname during his time with the Los Angeles Kings. That’s because apparently it was confusing to call Williams “Willie” when there’s already a Willie on the team: Willie Mitchell.
The earliest story I could find about Williams’ nickname Stick was from Jon Rosen on the LA Kings Insider.
From Rosen’s story on March 4, 2013:
While discussing the Detroit game with Dustin Brown on Friday before leaving for Vancouver, I started to notice a new nickname for Justin Williams: Stick.
Following Saturday’s morning skate, Brown again referred to his linemate as “Stick”. I could be wrong, but I can’t remember him using this nickname in the year and a half I’ve covered the team.
After putting the microphone down, I asked Brown about the new nickname. Apparently, “Willie” can be confusing when there is another “Willie” or “Williams” around, and “Stick” can be an endearing hockey nickname for a skinny teammate.
So there you have it. The Caps’ two new acquisitions are Stick and Osh.
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