If Whitney Houston played hockey: right wing, rated 78

Whitney Houston as a hockey player: scouting report

Whitney Houston would play right wing, and she would play it the way she sang the national anthem before Super Bowl XXV in 1991: with total control and a sense of the moment. That performance is still treated as the standard for the anthem at a big game, and a player who can deliver like that on the biggest stage belongs on the ice when the score is tight. Her passing is one of the two best parts of her card, built on the same feel for timing that let her hold a note exactly as long as the song needed.

She grew up singing in the choir at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, and choir singers learn to listen to everyone around them before they lead. That is how she would play the flank: aware of every teammate, finding the late man in the slot rather than forcing a shot. Her best single grade is goaltending, which matches the composure of an artist who strung together seven straight number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, a record. Her shooting and skating are solid and her defense is honest.

Physical play is the one weak spot. She is not the winger to send into the corners to fight for pucks along the boards. Goalie is a strong second spot and center a workable third. Use her as the creative winger on a skilled second line, pair her with a hard working left winger and a shooting center, and give her the puck on the power play, where her vision and calm matter most.

Plays like A winger with a soft touch who can hold any big moment

Put Whitney Houston in your lineup

8 rolls, a starting six and a bench, 82 games. Can you go 82-0? Free, no account.