Pest (hockey)

In ice hockey, a pest is a type of player who attempts to annoy, anger, or distract opposing players in order to reduce their effectiveness or cause them to take a penalty. Pests are also sometimes referred to as "agitators".

Pests can employ legal, illegal, or borderline tactics to accomplish their goals. Some common tactics include trash talk or slashing and hooking while referees are not looking. Also, they may employ the tactic of goading opponents into a fight but then backing off in order to draw a penalty against the opponent. Some pests may not only use these tactics against opposing skaters, but opposing goaltenders as well.