Final Words Hi original proposer here I see there s pretty much no way of winning this one and bow to the overwhelming concensus I almost give up I like Kevlar67 s suggestion regarding the spelling in articles about the NHL or any other US centric ice hockey article I checked around and the spellings are defencemen in the NHL article and probably many other places that might have a better arguement for it there I will raise the question again in the future after I find out how Defens ceman is spelled or if it is in the inscription on the James Norris Memorial Trophy