Sunday, January 26, 2020

Pro Set Pronunciation Guide

30 years ago this year, I was introduced to the NHL through the inaugural (and eror-filled) set of Pro Set hockey cards. I knew almost nothing about the sport, other than Wayne Gretzky was great and the Hartford Whalers were lousy. 

Without seeing or hearing a single minute of NHL action, this is how I pronounced some of the players' names when I was 10 years old:

 Moe-ginn-lee


 Turr-ginn
(and sometimes Peter Tur-ginn)


Yes-sir-man


Jerry Curry 


 
 Doo-chez-nee
 (as in Kenny Chez-nee)


Luck Robe-italy


Roy


Duh-nee-ko
(as in Nico Hischier)


Cha-churn


 Bear-uh-so
 (but not Bear-ass-o)


 Lem-me-uks


 
 Laff-ler


 
 Less-chai-shine


 Damp-house


Jai-ricky Lum-me


Series II

 
Roo-zee-ka
(rhymes with musica)


Pear Juice
(actually that's correct)


Lines-min


 Breeze-in
 (not to be confused with Breeze-by)


 Duh-mayo


 
 Peter-angelo
 (I didn't know this was wrong until Alex Pietrangelo entered the NHL)


Woe-lin-in


Mah-ree-o Mah-ree-os


 Snep-its


 Smile


Can-cucks
(I thought there was an extra 'c' in there)


Jerr-o-mur Jag-er


Sun-din


Lay


tee hee Ass he hee*

*this was also how I reacted to certain baseball player's names. 




Thanks for reeding!



 
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10 comments:

  1. I always enjoyed this set. I still have an unopened box of this stuff in my card closet. I will be making an attempt to build the set (with errors) in the near future. So many great rookies in this release.

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  2. Funny post! Man, it's tough to get pronunciation correct off paper.

    Imagine if Dustin Byfuglien was in the league then!

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  3. I've always thought the cards should include "How-to-pronounce" blurbs on card backs. Perhaps some people might think this offensive, but it would be very handy for those just learning a sport, like you were.

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    1. Upper Deck tried that out for a year or two in their Victory set; here's the J-S Giguere card (my guess was Jigg-u-air-e when he was a Whaler)

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  4. Fun look back at that set. More than a few of probably would pronounce those the same way.

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  5. I think everyone has pronounced Patrick Roy's last name phonetically at least once.

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  6. Hilarious post, and I say that because I was getting into hockey around the same time and also had a lot of learning to do. For instance, I pronounced Robitaille as Robe-a-telly. Good times.

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  7. I truly enjoyed this post. Jyrki Lumme was the one that always got me. Along with Teppo Numminen (sp?). I loved seeing all these cards I used to own and most likely mispronounced..haha

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  8. I see that my adult self has been pronouncing many similar names incorrectly. I have a friend named "Robitaille" and knew "Roy" wasn't... Do I gets points for that?

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