NHL Humor: 5 NHL Players Who Should Be Judges for "Dancing on Ice"

It doesn't take an Alex Ovechkin or Sidney Crosby to tell you that figure skating and hockey are two very different styles of skating.

But what about ice dancing?

Ice dancing takes figure skating to the next level.

Added to the Olympics in 1976, the sport of ice dancing has increased in popularity to the point that the show Dancing on Ice has now become a hit television series.

Each contestant goes out and tries their best, but ultimately only one is left standing at the end.

Now, if I were a marketer for Dancing on Ice, I'd try to scoop up a few NHL players to be on my panel of judges, just to increase the show's ratings.

But can NHL players appreciate skaters who don't use sticks, pucks or pads, yet still attract fans?

Would these NHL players be able act as judges and dole out scores based on who they thought the best performers were?

For the sake of a good laugh, the answer is yes.

Without further delay, here are the top five players I would choose as judges for Dancing on Ice.

1. Sean Avery

Sean Avery is a no-brainer decision for a judge.

The amount of trash that comes out of this guy's mouth rivals that of your local city dump.

Avery would be the harsh critic, picking out each little nitty-gritty thing skaters did wrong.

I can just imagine him falling out of his seat when someone messes up and falls on the ice.

Since Avery can't seem to keep out of trouble in the NHL, whether he's on the ice or not, this would be a great part-time job for him to fill.

2. Martin St. Louis

There are few forwards in the NHL who skate as well as Martin St. Louis.

Although figure skating is more about technique than speed, I can almost hear him yelling at the ice dancers to pick up their legs and skate faster.

He wouldn't be much for the technique, just how long it took them to execute their routine.

I can see him checking his watch now.

If the routine takes them more than a minute, he might have the contestants do a bag skate or go through a couple of his special workouts.

3. Alexander Ovechkin

Alexander Ovechkin brings more heart to the game than any other player in the NHL.

When this guy scores, the boards better brace themselves, because he's going to take a run at them.

When Ovi is not busy re-inventing an NHL version of the Lambo Leap, he will be busy yelling at contestants on Dancing on Ice for not skating passionately enough.

His English is still a work in progress, so maybe if he gets really frustrated we could see him throw in some Russian as well.

4. Colton Orr

Putting Colton Orr on a judges panel for Dancing on Ice would be like inviting Gary Coleman to dunk a basketball:

It wouldn't happen.

Colton Orr is not the most skilled hockey player in the world, but he drops the gloves to give the team a boost when he is asked to do so.

If he felt that a routine wasn't going as well as it should be, he would jump over the boards and drop the mitts with one of the contestants.

Now that would be some prime-time entertainment.

5. Nicklas Lidstrom

Nick Lidstrom is one of the more classy, respected players in the NHL today.

He plays the game with finesse and uses his hockey stick, rather than his body, to make plays on defense.

If there was anybody in the game of hockey that could appreciate fine arts, such as ice dancing, I would have to go with Lidstrom.

Lidstrom is usually soft spoken, but won't beat around the bush to tell someone the truth.

I would assume that the same would go if he were rating someone's performance in a reality television show.

For the reasons listed above, he would make a prime candidate for a judge on Dancing on Ice.

Honorable Mention: Sedin Twins

This doesn't really need to be explained, but having twins is a good thing to have anywhere.

Two of the best Swedish players to ever play the game sitting in the judges box?

That would attract some big-time television ratings.

Bring along their back-to-back Art Ross trophies and it creates even better television ratings for Dancing on Ice.

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