So, you think you can be a hockey player? Do you know how to skate? Can you shoot the puck? How good are you at passing it? Are you capable of taking a hit? Can you deliver one yourself? These are just some of the questions you need to know the answer to if you wish to play hockey.

But why are we asking them? Well, by now, you’ve surely seen the video that garnered loads of attention over the weekend of former star NFL QB, Tom Brady learning how to ice skate. Is Brady thinking of trying to play hockey? No. Or, at least, we’re pretty sure the answer’s no. You never know what’s going on in his head. But, it did get us thinking, which of today’s non-hockey-playing New York athletes do we think could make the transition to the frozen game? 

Yes, this is a hypothetical situation we’re talking about. We don’t actually expect any current New York MLB, NFL or NBA players to suddenly announce that they’re trying out for The NHL, but let’s have some fun with it anyway. 

So, here’s the rules. We are going to attempt to fill out a hockey lineup of three forwards, two defensemen and a goalie. Our pool to select from is all current players on the rosters of the Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets, Knicks and Nets. (To be clear, since baseball season is over, we will consider all players who suited up for the Yankees and Mets during the 2024 season). 

We are only allowed to choose one player from each team. We need six total players and we have six teams to choose from. Back in August, Blittner’s Blue Line attempted a similar exercise in which we took current New York/New Jersey NHL players and tried to fit them into the other sports. Now it’s time to do the reverse and see how good of a hockey lineup we can put together. 

GOALIE

Like any good hockey GM, we need to build from the net out. So, who will we choose to be our goaltender? We need a player who can block a small, round object that is coming in from many different angles, at various speeds and is prone to changing direction at the last second. They need to be able to control the puck, either by freezing it in their glove or by directing the rebound out of harm’s way. They have to be able to do all of this while having people in front of them who are trying to prevent them from having a clear shot at stopping the little rubber biscuit. 

We need New York Mets Catcher, Francisco Alvarez. Is he the best defensive catcher in baseball today? Not even close. Is he the best in New York, also, no. But he’s young, slightly above average and has plenty of room to grow. He at least has the fundamentals down of trying to stop a speeding object that can change direction at the last possible moment. Alvarez’s fielding percentage in 2024 was .993, which is .001 better than The League average. So we’ll take that and hope he improves in the coming years. 

DEFENSE

Since we’re taking a slight gamble on our goaltender, we need to make sure to support him with a couple of sturdy defensemen who will help keep the opposition out of his way. 

Let’s start with New York Jets Defensive End, Will McDonald IV. This 25-year-old second-year defender fits perfectly with what we want to do on the blue line. In nine games for the Jets this year (seven starts), he’s combined for 16 tackles (12 solo). He’s also accumulated seven tackles for a loss, hit the QB 14 times and has registered eight sacks. Oh, did we mention? He’s 6-foot-4 and weighs 236 lbs. 

That’s a big guy, one who can move and get after the opposition. Hockey players in today’s NHL aren’t used to going up against somebody of his size. With his ability to hit and stop attackers from getting through, he’s going to be a big-time asset on our blue line. 

Next, we’ll pair McDonald with one of the only current New York athletes who can make him look small. And that man is The Captain of the Yankees, Center Fielder, Aaron Judge. 

Judge is 6-foot-7 and weighs 282 lbs. Plus, he can run very well for a man of his size and has no issue running into an outfield wall to make a catch, so we know physicality won’t be an issue for him on the ice. Given how good Judge is offensively in the game of baseball, we envision him as being an offensive-minded defenseman. He’s somebody who can join the rush, make plays happen and still get back to his own zone to prevent the opponents from scoring. 

FORWARDS

Now for our offense. We went for size on the blue line in order to make sure our team wouldn’t be surrendering too many goals. But now we need to figure out who is going to be scoring goals for us. We’ve already used up both MLB teams and one of our NFL teams, so we’re currently left with a player pool of New York Giants, Knicks and Brooklyn Nets. 

Let’s start with our Center. He should be slick, able to see all around the ice, think five steps ahead, be able to pass when necessary and also take the shot when the situation calls for it. This sounds like a job for somebody who currently plays Point Guard.

Jalen Brunson, come on down. The Captain of the Knicks is an All-Star Point Guard (yes, we know he does play some Shooting Guard) and an excellent facilitator on offense. Brunson is 6-foot-2 and weighs 190 lbs, so he should be fine from a size standpoint. As a Point Guard, he has to have excellent vision all over the court and that will come in handy on the ice as he sets up plays for his linemates. 

With Brunson at the pivot, we need to give him two solid wingers. At Left Wing, we want somebody with speed, who can shoot the puck, can be creative and has the confidence in themselves to get the job done, even if they’ve failed before. 

We want Giants rookie Wide Receiver, Malik Nabers. He’s just 21-years-old, but he can fly like a gazelle and even though he’s had some issues with dropping passes, he picks himself up and still has the confidence to get the job done the next time he’s targeted. 

Nabers doesn’t have much of a track record yet, but you can see that explosive potential and if he can harness that, then watch out. Pairing him with a guy like Brunson makes us believe this will be a very effective goal-scoring line. But we still have one more spot to fill and it’s Right Wing. 

Our Right Winger should be reliable, doesn’t need to be too flashy, steady, can be defensively sound and also capable offensively. We’re talking about Brooklyn Nets Center, Nic Claxton.

Claxton is 6-foot-11, 215 lbs, and plays a solid game. He doesn’t often go for the “home-run” play, often settling for a simple field goal and there’s nothing wrong with that. It proves he knows his game and how to optimize his skillset. He’s a capable rebounder both offensively and defensively and is also pretty decent at stealing the ball away from his opponents. Oh and he blocks shots too. His assist numbers are not great, but he’d be a solid compliment to his linemates, Brunson and Nabers. 

So, here’s how our lineup shapes up.

Malik Nabers–Jalen Brunson–Nic Claxton

Will McDonald IV–Aaron Judge

Francisco Alvarez

That’s a pretty solid lineup. The team’s overall defense should be strong. They won’t allow many shots on goal and can play a physical game to grind down the opposition. Offensively, they’re not going to blow out other teams, but they should consistently put up three goals per game, which, given their defensive ability, should be enough to win them the game on most nights. As long as they stay within themselves and their system they should be a playoff team. They’ll get into trouble if they try to open things up too much and get into a track meet with their opponents, so, hopefully, they’ll stay disciplined and good results will follow. 

What do you all think? Can you come up with a better lineup following the rules we spelled out at the beginning of this exercise? Feel free to reach out to @Sportsology or @MatthewBlittner on Twitter/X with your hypothetical lineups.