Hurricane Season

The name of any sports team says something about the nature of the game being played. It's revealing to note, then, that the NHL has more teams named after natural disasters than any other pro sport: the Flames, the Lightning, the Avalanche, and perhaps most indicative, the Carolina Hurricanes. These names alert fans that they're watching, not a game of slow precision or deliberate grit, but of collective fury and fast-paced skill.

Caught in the "eye," if you will, of this NHL storm are athletes brave enough to hit the ice in what is predominantly considered a rough-and-tumble sport. (Evidence: It's the only sport in which fighting is unofficially condoned.) Though, for Christian Hurricanes Cam Ward and Matt Cullen, the sport's toughness is merely the way to play the game.