One of the first Survey Says features I did last season was asking Penguins players who their favorite hockey player was growing up. And that led to some interesting and diverse answers.
I wanted to stick to similar fandom questions for this survey, so I went around the locker room and asked Penguins players about their favorite non-hockey players. There are definitely some names that have been popular answers, but there are also some different names for athletes and different sports.
Here are the answers from Penguins players (and former Penguins players too):
Sidney Crosby: I like Novak Djokovic. I think he's still at a pretty high level for his age and he's had a lot of wins. I was a big fan of Roger Federer and so was Rafael Nadal. But (Djokovic) doesn't slow down and still seems to find a way to win.
Marcus Pettersson: When I was at Real Madrid, I was Cristiano Ronaldo. Well, probably Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz.
Sam Poulin: Derek Jeter and Michael Jordan. I watched both of their documentaries, The Last Dance and The Captain. I love the way they think, I love the way they play, I love the competition they have. I mean those two.
Jansen Harkins: Kobe Bryant. I just loved him when I was younger. I've never had much of an interest in basketball, but I find basketball players to be some of the more fun athletes to follow. I liked his motivation and his personality. He had a really cool personality.
Michael Bunting: Probably Roger Federer. I just love tennis and I grew up watching him a lot. The match between him and Nadal was a very cool match, I've always been a fan of Federer. He's an all-around class guy.
Radim Zohona: Oooooo, Many people like athletes. Ronaldo and other soccer players. And tennis players – Federer, Nadal.
Kris Letang: Michael Schumacher. I love F1 and he is one of the best of all time. I grew up watching him with his father.
Jack St. Ivany: Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Good spirit, “Mamba” spirit.
Ryan Shea: So the obvious one from Boston is Tom Brady. But if he had to choose anyone else, I like Rafael Nadal. I don't want to say Bryce Harper when he's with the Phillies and I'm playing in Pittsburgh.
Jonathan Gruden: I loved the Tigers when I was a kid, so I loved Miguel Cabrera.
Emil Bemström: Leo Messi. He is the best football player of all time.
Valtteri Puustinen: I think Messi. He's very skilled and everything he does is unbelievable. I'm not a big soccer fan, but if I watch soccer, I watch Messi.
Riley Smith: Tiger Woods, that's just how good he is.
Erik Karlsson: Roger Federer, I grew up watching him play tennis.
John Ludwig: Probably Stephen Curry. He's just a perfectionist. He has worked very hard and has had a great story with the Warriors winning every title. I respect him very much.
Drew O'Connor: Eli Manning. I'm a Giants fan and he won several Super Bowls.
Colin White: That. was Tom Brady, but he's not playing anymore. I think Patty Mahomes is pretty cool.
Rickard Raquel: Michael van Gerwen. He's a darts player, the best darts player I've ever played with.
Magnus Helberg: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, he's a great athlete that I've been following for a long time.
Jake Guentzel: Tiger Woods or LeBron James. I think what they did was pretty remarkable. If you look at what LeBron has done throughout his career, I think it's pretty unique. He reminds me of Sid. He and Sid are doing this together and they age it like fine wine. Father Time doesn't really understand them. So it's pretty remarkable to watch.
Chad Ruhwedel: Kobe or Tiger. Obviously, I've seen a lot of Kobe growing up. And Tiger, the more I started playing golf, the more I appreciated him. they are both great.
Tristan Jarry: Whether it's LeBron or Michael Jordan, they're just playing their game and practicing. Even Kobe, all those guys were on a different level.
Lars Eller: Hmm…I don't know.
Jesse Puljujarvi: When I was younger, I was Usain Bolt. I thought he was really cool, Usain Bolt for sure.
Jona Kopanen: I think Usain Bolt. It was fun to watch him break all the world records.
Noel Acciari: You have guys like Tiger and Michael Jordan. Just a competitor. I mean, look at Tiger. I think it's probably him because no matter how old he is, everyone turns on the TV to watch him. It's so cool to see what he's done in his career and what he's still doing.
Ryan Graves: Tiger Woods. I'm a huge golf fan, so I grew up watching Tiger. There's something about athletes that always gives them their all when push comes to shove. Like, you knew he was going to charge. He's very exciting and there are very few athletes like him in the world.
Brian Rust: Tiger Woods. His passion for the sport and how he changed it. I think for older people it was seen as a little more stifling and with more rules. Then after he came in and showed a bit of dominance and showed a little bit of respectability, a little bit of confidence, a little bit of personality, I think he got a lot more young people into the game and because of that, a lot more people. I think golf made me want to get better.
PO Joseph: Can I say a couple? Tiger Woods is definitely in there. Michael Jordan was there. I'm a big (Roger) Federer fan and I really liked him. We watched a lot of tennis and he was definitely someone I looked up to as a person. Him and Serena (Williams) playing tennis. I can keep going forever. I've watched so many sports and played so many sports that I feel like I have a lot to say about those athletes.
Alex Nedeljkovic: oh, I don't know. (Me: Isn't that Joe Flacco?) Hey! easy There. lebron james.
Previous editions of Survey Says can be found here.
