I’ve only recently started watching hockey, so the first time I heard about Canadian player P. K. Subban was when he announced his retirement a few months ago.
He’s not the only player I know of who goes by his initials. One of the Colorado Avalanche players is called J. T. Compher, for instance. But I’d say P. K. has the most intriguing set of initials. (In contrast, the combo “J.T.” is so common that some parents simply register “JT” as a legal name.)
So, what do Subban’s initials stand for?
Here’s the answer, courtesy of Sports Illustrated:
P.K. stands for Pernell Karl. When he was born, his mother, Maria, thumbing through a movie magazine in her hospital bed, spotted a story about actor Pernell Roberts. The name clicked. Pernell for Adam Cartwright from Bonanza. Karl for his father.
When he was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 2007, P. K. was asked what his initials stood for, and he cheekily replied: “Penalty-killer.” (In fact, you do hear hockey announcers say “PK” — an acronym for “penalty kill” — during televised games sometimes.)
P. K. Subban has four siblings: two older sisters and two younger brothers. Both brothers are also professional hockey players with hyphenated names:
- Nastassia (pronounced nah-STAH-zee-ah)
- Natasha
- Pernell-Karl, or “P. K.”
- Malcolm-Jamaal, or “Malcolm” (drafted in 2012 by the Boston Bruins)
- Jordan-Carmichael, or “Jordan” (drafted in 2013 by the Vancouver Canucks)
I have to imagine that Malcolm’s name was somehow inspired by actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who played Theo on The Cosby Show, though I haven’t found any proof of this yet.
What are your thoughts on these names? And, have you spotted any interesting sets of initials recently?
Sources:
- Farber, Michael. “Montreal’s Mighty Mouth.” Sports Illustrated 20 Dec. 2010.
- Feschuk, Dave. “P.K. Subban’s NHL dream.” Toronto Star 24 Dec. 2007.
- Hickey, Pat. “Habs pick brimming with confidence.” Montreal Gazette 25 Jun. 2007.
- P. K. Subban – Wikipedia
Image: Screenshot of the 2013 NHL Draft telecast
I’m surprised to see Nastassia and Natasha as sisters! Those names are way too similar to me, I would never use them together. It’s also a little funny to me that it feels like the sisters have two versions of the same name, but the brothers each have two very distinct names. I wonder if their parents just had more boy names that they liked?
I was surprised about that as well. I wish we knew the stories behind their names.
I always find it interesting, or sometimes even odd, when parents name non-twin siblings why very similar names. The actor who played Eldin on Murphy Brown named his two daughters Gianna and Giannina – I can’t recall his name, but I guess theirs have stayed with me purely because of curiosity.
Oh wow, he basically used the same name twice. I wonder why. It just seems like that would make things confusing.
(Looks like the actor’s name was Robert Pastorelli.)