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Calgary Flames rookie has a hilarious nickname inspired by 'Seinfeld'

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
|
Oct 9 2026, 6:05 pm
Calgary Flames rookie has a hilarious nickname inspired by 'Seinfeld'
@NHLFlames/X

Hockey players are notorious for their nicknames, and there may not be a better one than what the Calgary Flames have for Jonathan Castagna.

Castagna, who made his NHL debut on Thursday night against the Colorado Avalanche, is referred to by his Flames teammates as “George.”

The nickname is inspired by Seinfeld, and more specifically, the fictional character George Costanza.

The nickname wasn’t revealed by Castagna himself. In fact, there was likely some confusion on his end when he first heard the nickname, as head coach Ryan Huska revealed that the 21-year-old hasn’t watched the show.

“We call him George, you can probably understand why,” a grinning Huska told reporters on Wednesday. “He didn’t, actually, when we first started calling him it. He said he never watched Seinfeld, if you can believe that. But that is his nickname now.”

Castagna, or should we say George, had a memorable NHL debut despite the Flames suffering a blowout loss once again.

With his mom, dad, and girlfriend watching from the crowd, Castagna recorded his first NHL assist on a first-period goal from Adam Klapka.

flames-castagna

Sergei Belski/Imagn Images

“Before the game, everyone was telling me to soak it in. You can only do it once,” Castagna said afterward. “I tried to do that as much as possible.”

When asked about that first NHL assist, Castagna couldn’t help but smile.

“That was crazy. Really happy that [Klapka] did that. I didn’t have to do much for it. To get that off my back is really cool, but kudos to [Klapka]. That was unbelievable.”

Though Castagna still has plenty to learn in what is his first pro season, he certainly made the most of his limited ice time on Thursday.

Given the Flames’ lack of centre depth, there is a real opportunity for Castagna to remain part of this roster going forward, should he continue to play as he did against the Avalanche.

And, if he does remain with the Flames going forward, his new nickname is going to quickly become a very popular one with the fan base.

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