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Rocky II: A Hockey Family

When it came time for Walter Thompson to name his middle son who was born in 1977, he drew inspiration from his favorite boxer, Rocky Marciano.

Tyme, True, Rocky, Tyr, Taze and Elizabeth Thompson.

But when Rocky Thompson and his wife, Elizabeth, teamed up to name their four children, they didn’t take athletics into consideration – but they did take alliteration into account.

Rocky and Elizabeth are the proud parents of Tyr, Tyme, Taze and True – and most of the family will be moving to the Chicago area as Rocky takes over as head coach of the Wolves. That’s the focus of this Rocky II Q-and-A:

Q: How did you come up with the names for your children?

A: My wife, Elizabeth, is of Icelandic heritage, so that inspired our older son’s name. Tyr is the god of bravery in the Norse mythology. Tyme was born in the year 2000. Taze’s name means exercising God’s grace. And True? We’re a Christian family and her name is True Grace. Tyr will be 19 in September, Tyme is 16 and going into Grade 11, Taze is 15 and going into Grade 10 and True is 10 going into Grade 5.”

Q: How many of your children play hockey?

A: Three of our children play. Tyr plays junior hockey back in Alberta (he has produced 36 goals and 48 assists in 116 games for the Olds Grizzlys in the Alberta Junior Hockey League).

He’s signed to play at the University of Alabama-Huntsville. Taze plays and True plays as well.

(Note: Rocky didn’t mention that Taze has shown so much promise and delivered so much production while playing for the Little Caesars club in Canton, Mich., that she already has committed to play at Harvard, even though she won’t be headed to college until 2020).

Q: With all of those names beginning with T, somebody like Tage Thompson, who played for the Wolves for the final two months, would be a perfect fit, right?.

A: “I’ve known Tage Thompson since he was 2 years old! Brent Thompson (Tage’s father and Bridgeport Sound Tigers head coach) and I are like brothers. He grew up four blocks away from where my grandma lived in Alberta.”

Q: What was your childhood like?

A: “I had two brothers – one older and one younger. My older brother, Jeremy, played pro hockey, too. He was a tough guy.”

Q: So was it a case of him beating up on you and then you beating up on your younger brother?

A: “No, it was him beating up on me and me protecting my little brother.”

And, on at least one occasion, it was a case of the Thompson brothers teaming up on the opposition.

 

Header image credit: Dennis Pajot/Getty Images