Pest (ice hockey)

In ice hockey, a pest is a player who attempts to antagonize opponents either by physical play or verbal incitement.

[3] The term has been used derogatorily to refer to a player who incites anger in the opposition but is unwilling to directly suffer the consequences of their actions by engaging in fighting, as would an enforcer.

George McPhee, former general manager of the Washington Capitals and president of the Vegas Golden Knights, said, "Pests are really the guys who have no courage.

They were: Bob Kelly, Matt Cooke, Esa Tikkanen, Tomas Holmstrom, Darius Kasparaitis, Ian Laperriere, Tyson Nash, Todd Harvey, Matthew Barnaby, Kris Draper, Bill Lindsay, Jamal Mayers and Steve Staios.

Their list included: Claude Lemieux, Steve Ott, Jordin Tootoo, Jarkko Ruutu, Matt Cooke, Alexandre Burrows, Chris Neil, Ian Laperriere, Darcy Tucker, Chris Simon, Matthew Barnaby, Theo Fleury, Pat Verbeek, Esa Tikkanen, Ken Linseman and Tiger Williams.

Brad Marchand is a notable pest in the current NHL; he is often referred to as "The Rat". [ 1 ]