J.J. Watt Is Pretty Good At Hockey, Because Of Course He Is

Former Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt was a menace on the football field. But he could have been equally formidable as a hockey player.

The future Hall-of-Famer has a lot more free time on his hands now that he’s not bulldozing o-lineman and demolishing quarterbacks. Most retired football guys hunt or fish in their spare time, or pick up old hobbies that they couldn’t focus on during their careers.

Watt did the latter, and in the process showed he’s a natural at a far different sport than football. Not only can he tear it up on the gridiron, the 34-year-old is pretty darn good at hockey too. 

Watt was an insanely talented football player. He has a lot of hockey talent too. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

He originally started playing the sport when he was three before eventually going all-in on football. That turned out to be a pretty good choice, as he accomplished pretty much everything in his career (except winning a Super Bowl). 

But his involvement in the sport was way in the past. Now that he's spent years away from the rink, you might suspect that his hockey skills have regressed to the point that he's no longer good at the game.

Think again.

He posted several videos of himself blasting one-timers, chugging down the full length of the ice, and practicing his stick-handling. Turns out, the guy knows what he's doing when he puts on the skates.

Can you imagine how insane Watt would be at the professional level?

He stands at 6’ 5" and weighs 288 pounds. I don’t care if he played forward or defenseman, that would be an intimidating human to play against. His shot is fantastic, and all of his hits would be crushing for opponents. Most NHL teams would drool over him.

Maybe there’s a way for him to work out a trade deadline deal with an NHL playoff contender. Lord knows my Boston Bruins could use an extra left-winger that would likely bring some physicality.