{"id":351783,"date":"2025-12-17T20:08:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T20:08:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/351783\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T20:08:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T20:08:07","slug":"how-nhlers-end-up-with-their-jersey-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/351783\/","title":{"rendered":"How NHLers end up with their jersey numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Drew Doughty<\/a> had the same digit stitched on his back since junior.<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Kings<\/a> defenceman got No. 8 to match his birthday when he joined the Ontario Hockey League\u2019s Guelph Storm and kept it after making the NHL. Doughty, a two-time Stanley Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medallist, wore the same number 19 combined seasons \u2014 until he didn\u2019t partway through his 20th.<\/p>\n

Cale Makar<\/a> was an early inclusion for Canada\u2019s roster at last February\u2019s 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. The Colorado Avalanche<\/a> defenceman also wears No. 8. <\/p>\n

Doughty, who turned 38 on Dec. 8, also eventually made it to the team. Locker-room seniority meant he should have gotten first pick, but there was a problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould have been a conversation,\u201d Doughty said with that trademark toothless grin of the coveted threads. \u201cBut they had already started selling (Makar No. 8) jerseys when I got named.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doughty instead donned No. 89 for the showcase that Canada won in dramatic fashion over the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cI talked to (Makar),\u201d he said. \u201cIf I make the (Olympic) team, we gotta stick with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

NHLers land on their jersey numbers a variety of different ways. <\/p>\n

Sometimes there\u2019s a family or personal connection. Other players are given numbers when they get to the league and never switch. And some are forced into hard choices when coming to a new team.<\/p>\n

Oilers winger Zach Hyman<\/a> had sported No. 11 since childhood when he signed with Edmonton in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s obviously retired for Mark Messier<\/a>,\u201d he explained. \u201cMy oldest son was going to turn one on Dec. 18 that year, so an easy transition to No. 18.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> defenceman Kris Letang<\/a> had always pulled on No. 58 before getting handed No. 49 at his first training camp. After making the team, he had some bad news for a grinding forward now among hockey\u2019s most recognizable media personalities.<\/p>\n

\u201cPaul Bissonette had 58,\u201d Letang said with a smile. \u201cI had to tell Paul, \u2018I\u2019m gonna have to take your number.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks<\/a> winger Tyler Toffoli<\/a> asked if he could switch off No. 73 \u2014 a number he still wears \u2014 after hoisting the Stanley Cup with Los Angeles in 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a training camp number,\u201d said Toffoli, who had No. 16 in junior. \u201cI wanted to change, but (Kings general manager) Dean Lombardi didn\u2019t let me.\u201d <\/p>\n

Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> centre John Tavares<\/a> wore No. 19 in minor hockey before his future best man, former NHLer Cody Goloubef<\/a>, forced him into a decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t want to give it up, so I just flipped it around,\u201d Tavares said. \u201cThere were a few guys wearing (No. 91). Sergei Fedorov<\/a> was probably the biggest NHLer at the time \u2026 stuck with it since.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay captain Victor Hedman<\/a> wore No. 41 in Sweden, just like his brothers, but goaltender Mike Smith<\/a> had it when he joined the Lightning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a big Colorado Avalanche<\/a> fan growing up and watched Ray Bourque do his thing,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I picked No. 77.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacob Fowler<\/a> had to go outside the box with the Montreal Canadiens<\/a> when he picked No. 32 in honour of a fellow U.S.-born goaltender.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing through the picking-a-number process, and you look at every number a goalie has worn,\u201d he said of the storied franchise. \u201cPretty much all of them are retired, or if not, going to be retired very soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never worn 32, but growing up, Jonathan Quick<\/a> was always the best American goalie.\u201d<\/p>\n

St. Louis Blues<\/a> captain Brayden Schenn<\/a> sports No. 10 because of his favourite player growing up.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously me and Pavel Bure<\/a>\u2019s games don\u2019t go hand-in-hand,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I loved him as a kid. I loved his skill, I loved his flash.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maple Leafs blueliner Morgan Rielly<\/a> had No. 4 in junior and doubled it up out of necessity when he got to Toronto.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad encouraged me to wear numbers that were associated with the defenceman,\u201d he said. \u201cSmall curves and low numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a> goaltender Elvis Merzlikins<\/a>, meanwhile, tripled up in the NHL.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always had No. 30 \u2026 and No. 90 was when I was drafted,\u201d he said. \u201cThey gave me 90 for development camp. And then when I came over here, I was like, \u2018Why not? New chapter, new adventure.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

Nashville Predators<\/a> centre Ryan O\u2019Reilly always donned No. 9 until he got to Colorado, where Matt Duchene<\/a> had dibs.<\/p>\n

\u201cMike Modano<\/a> went to Detroit from Dallas and wore No. 90,\u201d he said. \u201cOne of my favourite players to watch. I thought the zero with O\u2019Reilly would look nice. <\/p>\n

\u201cBigger number makes you look a little thicker out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

WORLD JUNIOR MEMORIES<\/p>\n

Canada is holding its training camp in Niagara Falls, Ont., ahead of the world junior hockey championship in Minnesota. Connor McDavid<\/a> played at the event twice, including a 2015 gold-medal victory on home soil in Toronto and Montreal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe hype was huge,\u201d recalled the Oilers captain. \u201cIt can be a lot for these young guys. It\u2019s a lot of expectation. The pressure\u2019s on for them, but it\u2019s such a great experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

-With files from Daniel Rainbird in Montreal.<\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 17, 2025.<\/p>\n

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Drew Doughty had the same digit stitched on his back since junior. The Los Angeles Kings defenceman got…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":351784,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-351783","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=351783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/351784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=351783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=351783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=351783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}