A new stick requires new gloves to hold it, right?
Gloves, it seems, were a big deal for a lot of aspiring pros.
Flyers defenseman Justin Braun always got hand-me-down gloves from his older brother, beat-up pairs that smelled like wet leather and had been rolling around in hockey bags for a couple of years.
Finally, Santa brought him a new pair that he could call his own.
"That was one that I really thought was cool; I was probably between 8 and 10," he said. "That was nice to feel real leather.
Teammate Jakub Voracek had a specific pair on his list when he was 9 or 10: blue-and-white Bauer gloves.
"I got them, and I was so happy, I wore them for three years," he said. "I loved them. That was my favorite hockey present that I've ever got."
Let's not forget about the goalies.
"What stands out still is when I got my first goalie mask," Calgary Flames goalie Cam Talbot said. "I think I was 10, maybe 11, and I was just using a [skater]'s mask with a dangler attached to it, so the first time I had a real goalie mask was definitely it."
For Flyers goalie Brian Elliott, it was a new catching glove.
"It made you feel like a real goalie instead of just picking equipment up at the local rink and throwing it on," he said. "I want to say I was 11 or 12; it was a Brian's -- black, red and white, my local team colors."
Sometimes, non-goalies were over the moon to get goalie equipment. Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Justin Holl said he got goalie leg pads for Christmas when he was 10.
"I'd been asking for them so we could dress someone up in net whenever we'd play pond hockey," Holl said. "I played a bit myself, I liked playing goalie. When we'd play street hockey in the summer, I'd play goalie."
Perhaps that gift could pay dividends for the Maple Leafs.
"Maybe I could jump in if we ever need an emergency goalie or something!" he said, smiling.
There is more to fuel a passion for hockey than just equipment.
Matt Nieto of the Colorado Avalanche grew up in California and loved hockey, particularly the Anaheim Ducks. He remembers getting tickets to go to a Ducks game when he was 8 or so.
"It was probably the most exciting gift I've ever gotten."
For Travis Dermott of the Maple Leafs, it was a PlayStation2 gaming system, one which allowed him to play the EA Sports NHL games.
"Santa hooked me up with that bad boy. It was NHL all the time for me, probably like NHL 04, I think," he said.
Sometimes Dermott says he would play with his dad, either the NHL game or a baseball game. No matter the sport, the games got heated.
"I'd just lose my mind," Dermott said. "I was so competitive as a kid and I was such a sore loser and hadn't learned how to just take it easy. Now he'll admit sometimes he had to let me win, otherwise I'd be crying and throwing the controllers."
For Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy, it was a bubble hockey game when he was in second or third grade.
"It was an unbelievable gift," Murphy said. "To this day, bubble hockey's unbelievable, but especially at that age, it seemed bigger."
Flyers forward Travis Konecny got a full-sized hockey net when he was a kid.
"I still had the net up until a couple years ago and it was pretty beat up," the 22-year-old said.
Teammate Morgan Frost talked about a plastic street-hockey stick he received when he was 3 or 4. He used it all the time until he was 8, wearing the blade to a sliver and his shots would always be elevated, often well over the net.
"My dad got that for me one Christmas and I used that forever," Frost said. "I think I still have it, I didn't throw it out. Once I started getting older, it was small but I loved it so much I didn't want to give it up."
Maple Leafs center Jason Spezza, 36, still has a bubble-hockey game he received when he was 5 or 6.
"I got the old Wayne Gretzky knob hockey game," Spezza said. "It was like the bubble hockey but just on the board where all the guys are in tracks, in slots. I actually still have it, it's probably an antique now!"
