20180109-rankings-nicknames-thornton-dell

What's in a name? A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet. And in that case, hockey thrives: players are often known not just by their name, but by a nickname as well.
Prior to the season, we asked some Sharks players to vote for their favorite and least favorite nicknames. Here at sjsharks.com, we compiled those answers, found the mode averages, and created a list that serves as the officially unofficial rankings of nicknames.
Note: The players generally stayed away from the [Last name]-y convention that makes up 99% of the hockey nicknames in their rankings, because those obviously go straight to the bottom.

7. Pickles (Marc-Edouard Vlasic)
Vlasic was given this nickname in one of his first training camps with the team over 10 years ago, and it's stuck ever since. Apparently, that's despite some his teammates ranking it among the worst of the bunch.
Of course, that could be why the nickname "Eddie" has started being used more and more.
6. Donkey (Joonas Donskoi)
One of those nicknames that could be [Last name]-y if you turn your head and squint, "Donkey" was not thought of as a great nickname by the players.
No word on whether the dislike stems from the character of the same name in the movie Shrek.
5. Heeder (Tim Heed)
"Heeder" is one of those typical hockey nicknames (Last name plus "er") that could be mistaken as a unique nickname on first glance.
But we can only guess why "Heeder" was singled out out of all the less-creative nicknames.
4. Dell-icious (Aaron Dell)
Onto the names that the players ranked pretty highly! Dubbed by the man who's next in the nickname ranking, "Dell-icious" was one of the first nicknames given to Aaron Dell by Joe Thornton. And we have to agree with the players: this nickname is pretty dell-ightful.
3. Jumbo (Joe Thornton)
This nickname is legendary, just like the player who owns it. "Jumbo" and "Joe Thornton" are practically interchangable at this point. Given back in his Boston Bruins days because he's big and his name is Joe, "Jumbo" has managed to endure decades of use to become a timeless nickname.
2. Lala (Aaron Dell)
Not familiar with this nickname? Neither were we until we had the players take this survey. And it turns out, Aaron Dell gets two entries on this list - which shouldn't come as a surprise to many fans, as Aaron Dell is a man of many, many, many nicknames.
No word so far on what inspired this nickname.
1. Cobra (Chris Tierney)
Revealed to the world by Joe Pavelski during the #NHL17Pavelski campaign in 2016 playoffs, "Cobra" is - far and away - the Sharks players' favorite nickname on the team.