Playoff beards: Scruffy tradition a hit with the Tri-City Americans

It’s that time of year.

Yep, the playoff beards are coming to a hockey rink near you.

The Western Hockey League playoffs began Thursday with the first game of the Tri-City/Kelowna series, and you could already see the tufts of fur sprouting on the faces of the players — some more than others.

Growing one’s beard in the playoffs has become a tradition of sorts with hockey teams.

The New York Islanders have been credited with starting the trend during a run that produced four Stanley Cups from 1980-83.

Former Islanders player Bob Nystrom told ESPN last year that he wasn’t sure how it all began, but said once you start winning, you don’t change a thing. He was quick to add: “We still showered, though.”

From there, other teams and sports followed suit. A sign of respect, if you will.

The tradition has filtered down the hockey food chain over the years.

Americans coach Mike Williamson, who played for the Portland Winterhawks (1991-94), and later coached in Portland and Calgary before landing in the Tri-Cities, said he can’t remember he and his teammates partaking in the ritual.

“I don’t really remember anyone doing it, or being able to,” said Williamson, who is sporting a neatly trimmed beard. “There aren’t a ton of guys who can at this age. We have some guys with a bit of facial hair, but there’s usually a pretty big range. Remmer (Nolan Yaremko) had a head start. He’s kind of what playoffs, playoff hockey and hockey players are all about.”

Embracing the beard

“It’s a great tradition that has been a playoff thing for hockey for years,” Tri-City veteran forward Jordan Topping said. “We all want to do it.”

Topping’s beard is two weeks in the making, and he’s hoping to keep his razor on the shelf a bit longer.

“Hopefully, I can grow it some more,” he said. “The last couple of years I’ve been able to get it pretty thick.”

But no one can touch Yaremko, 19, who arrived at training camp with a full beard and a mop of long, curly hair, which hasn’t been cut in more than 18 months.

“I like it,” Yaremko said. “I grew attached to it. I just thought I would come in with a different look. My mom (Tammy) doesn’t like it, but she still loves me. I think.”

At Halloween, Yaremko was pretty convincing as Jesus (sorry, there are no photos). Media personnel in Kelowna also commented on his look last weekend.

After scoring three goals in Game 2, maybe he does walk on water.

Fellow forward Parker AuCoin also has quite the beard. He too let it grow in the fall, but shaved it off in December.

When he returned after the holiday break, he started over.

“I feel like I have a baby face when I shave,” he said. “I can grow a nice one. It needs a little trim, but I can’t do that now.”

Americans goalie Patrick Dea has a little scruff around his jaw line, but not much else. A fresh-faced comment drew a response.

“I’ve been growing this for 21 years,” he said with a smile while rubbing his chin.

Rookie forward Sasha Mutala joins Dea in the “have not” column of facial hair.

“I’m pretty young and they are older,” said Mutala, who will turn 17 in May. “And, it’s probably in their genes. Not so much in mine. I’m half Korean and half Canadian. That could be holding me back.”

Despite the slow growth, Mutala likes the fun.

“Every team has their thing they do,” he said. “Makes them different from the other teams and brings them together.”

Yaremko and AuCoin getting a head start on their beards may have something to do with the Ams 2-0 lead over Kelowna in their first-round series.

“We just need to keep it up here at Toyota Center,” Yaremko said.

The series

After taking the first two games in Kelowna, the Americans will host the Rockets for Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Thursday at Toyota Center. Both games are at 7:05 p.m.

If necessary, Game 5 will be Friday in Kelowna.

Though they lead the series 2-0, Williamson said there is no level of comfort.

“Kelowna has a good team,” he said. “Both of those games were close and could have gone either way. The start they had and the opportunities they had in Game 1, Patrick played well for us before we got our skates under us and started playing. Game 2, the way that went back and forth, we were fortunate when the clock stopped that we were up. Both teams were scoring a lot. It was crazy.”

▪ Morgan Geekie and Michael Rasmussen each have seven points in the series for Tri-City, while Isaac Johnson has five. Geekie and Rasmussen lead the WHL in playoff goals with four, while Dylan Coghlan is second with four assists.

▪ The Americans are 5-for-6 (83.3 percent) on the power play over two games to lead the playoffs. Kelowna is 3-for-8 (37.5) and ranked sixth.

This story was originally published March 27, 2018 at 5:09 PM with the headline "Playoff beards: Scruffy tradition a hit with the Tri-City Americans."