It takes a special kind of person to be a professional hockey player. It’s not enough to be physically gifted, or a quick thinker – you also need some serious testicular fortitude. Hockey is a bloodsport; even today’s family-friendly game can leave you picking splinters out of your face.

No wonder these alpha males end up dating at the deep end of the gene pool. Mike Comrie and Hilary Duff are rumored to be engaged. Jarrett Stoll and Rachel Hunter are ready to start a family. Dan Hinote and Amy McCarthy, sister of Jenny, got hitched last month.

The Stoll-Hunter romance has drawn extra attention, partly because the 38-year-old Hunter has been “romantically linked” to a long list of actors, singers (including a 16-year marriage to Rod Stewart) and, yes, fashion intern Sean Avery. So what if Hunter is 13 years older than Stoll? Alexei Yashin and Carol Alt have already blazed that trail.