Why do fans throw hats on the ice.
The 30-second answer
A hat trick is when one player scores three goals in a single game. Fans celebrate by throwing their hats onto the ice. Seeing them raining down while the ice crew scrambles to collect them is one of hockey’s best traditions.
The slightly longer version
The phrase “hat trick” actually comes from cricket in the 1800s, where a bowler who took three wickets was awarded a hat. Hockey borrowed the term, and the hat-throwing tradition grew from there with the most-told origin story credits a Toronto hat-shop owner in the 1940s who promised a free hat to any player who scored three, then started the toss himself. Two fun variations: a “natural hat trick” is three consecutive goals by the same player with nobody else scoring in between, and a “Gordie Howe hat trick” is unofficial slang for a goal, an assist, and a fight in the same game. Road players get hats thrown for them too, respect is respect.
What to watch for:
- The rain. After the third goal, watch the stands as hats come flying. The ice crew collects them while play waits.
- The wave-off. Sometimes the third “goal” gets reviewed and overturned. The hats were already thrown. Awkward for everyone.
- The souvenir. Traditionally the player keeps one of the hats. The rest often get donated or given to fans.
- Playoff hattys. A hat trick in the playoffs is rarer and louder and the building absolutely erupts.
Say this out loud
- “Hatty! He got the hatty!”
- “Throw your hat!”
- “That’s a natural hat trick, three straight.
