Who wore number 11 in NHL?

11 is obviously a number close to our hearts in Buffalo. It can give you a streamlined and tall look on the ice. It’s clean and dynamic.

Anze Kopitar

Anže Kopitar is a Slovene professional ice hockey player known as the centre and captain for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). The 11th overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Kopitar became the first Slovene to play in the NHL upon making his debut in 2006. Kopitar has spent his entire NHL career with the Kings, has led the team in scoring in all but two seasons and is fourth in franchise history in points, goals, and assists, scoring his 1,000th career point in 2021. Following the 2015–16 season, he was named the Kings’ captain. Noted for both his offensive and defensive play, Kopitar was awarded the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward in the NHL in 2016, as well as the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for gentlemanly play the same year. He won his second Selke trophy in 2018.

Kopitar played junior hockey for his hometown team HK Acroni Jesenice before moving to Sweden at age 16 to play in a more competitive league. He spent one season with the junior teams of the Södertälje SK organization, and then with the senior team of the top-level Elitserien. He moved to North America to join the Kings in 2006, one year after he was drafted, and finished fourth in the Calder Memorial Trophy voting for the league’s top rookie. Kopitar’s offensive talent was immediately apparent when he joined the Kings, though his defensive style developed in later seasons and he has become recognized for his two-way play, being a finalist for the Selke Trophy 3 times, winning twice.

In 2018 he was a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy. Praised as one of the best players in the League, Kopitar won the Stanley Cup championship with the Kings in 2012 and 2014, leading the playoffs in points on both occasions (tied with teammate Dustin Brown in 2012). Internationally, Kopitar has represented the Slovenian national team in several junior and senior tournaments, as well as at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. He also played for Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Kopitar is known in the NHL as one of the most effective two-way forwards, in that he is effective both as an offensive and defensive player. He won the Frank J. Selke Trophy, which is given to the best defensive forward in the NHL, in 2016, after being a finalist for the award in both 2014 and 2015. He is known for being skilled at taking faceoffs, with one of the highest averages in the league during his career. He is also skilled at offence, and known for leading the Kings in team scoring for many seasons.

Mark Messier

Mark John Douglas Messier is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre of the National Hockey League (NHL). His playing career in the NHL lasted 25 years (1979–2004) with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, and Vancouver Canucks. He also played professionally with the World Hockey Association (WHA)’s Indianapolis Racers and Cincinnati Stingers. He was the last former WHA player to be active in professional hockey, and the last active player who had played in the NHL in the 1970s. After his playing career he served as special assistant to the president and general manager of the Rangers.

Messier is considered one of the greatest ice hockey players of all time. He is one of the leaders on the all-time career lists for playoff points (295) and for regular season games played (1756) and regular season points (1887). He is a six-time Stanley Cup champion — five with the Oilers and one with the Rangers — and is the first player to captain two teams to Stanley Cup championships. His playoff leadership while in New York, which ended a 54-year Stanley Cup drought in 1994, earned him the nickname “The Messiah”, a play on his name. He was also known, over the course of his career, as “The Moose” for his aggression and strength. He twice won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s most valuable player, in 1990 and 1992, and in 1984 he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player during the playoffs. He is a 15-time NHL All-Star. In 2007, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, in his first year of eligibility. In 2017 Messier was named one of the “100 Greatest NHL Players” in history.

On June 30, 2017, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada by Governor General David Johnston for “contributions to hockey as an outstanding player and captain, and for his leadership in encouraging children to take up the sport.”

Mike Gartner

Michael Alfred Gartner is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Washington Capitals, Minnesota North Stars, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Phoenix Coyotes. He also played one season in the defunct World Hockey Association for the Cincinnati Stingers. In 2017 Gartner was named one of the ‘100 Greatest NHL Players’ in history.

Daniel Alfredsson

Daniel Alfredsson is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player. He spent 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), 17 with the Ottawa Senators and his 18th with the Detroit Red Wings.

Alfredsson was the long-time captain of the Senators, serving from 1999 to 2013. With the Senators, Alfredsson usually played on the first line, which was formerly nicknamed the “CASH” or ‘Pizza’ line with centre Jason Spezza and left winger Dany Heatley, before Heatley’s trade to the San Jose Sharks. He had traditionally been the fourth forward on the ice in the role of pointman on Ottawa’s powerplay. He was one of the league’s top two-way players. He had played for Sweden internationally 14 times, including the 2006 gold medal and 2014 silver medal-winning Olympic teams. He was the 75th player to reach 1,000 career points in the NHL, doing so after scoring three goals in a win over the Buffalo Sabres on 22 October 2010. Alfredsson holds an Honorary Degree from Carleton University.

Gilbert Perreault

Gilbert Perreault is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played for 17 seasons with the National Hockey League’s Buffalo Sabres. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990. Known for his ability to stickhandle in close quarters, he is regarded as one of the most skillful playmaking centres of all time. He was the first draft pick of the Sabres in their inaugural season in the NHL. He is well known as the centre man for the prolific trio of Sabres forwards known as The French Connection. In 2017 Perreault was named one of the ‘100 Greatest NHL Players’ in history.

Perreault was a standout junior hockey player who went on to become a nine-time NHL All-Star, two-time official NHL All-Star Team (second team centre) selection, a Calder Memorial Trophy winner, a Lady Byng Trophy winner and a Hockey Hall of Famer. He played his entire 17-year career with the Buffalo Sabres and continues to be one of the all-time franchise leaders in career regular season games played, goals, assists, points, game-winning goals, and shots on goal, serving as the team’s captain from 1981 until his retirement in November 1986. He led the team to 11 consecutive playoff appearances ending with the 1984–85 season.

Over the course of his 17-season career he accumulated 512 goals and 814 assists in 1191 games. Among his career highlights was the game-winning goal in overtime of the 1978 National Hockey League All-Star Game played at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. Perreault once totaled seven points in a single game. He also recorded the first power play goal and the first hat trick in the team’s history. He is the only Buffalo Sabre to wear number 11, with the number being retired in his honor.

Bill Quackenbush

Hubert George “Bill” Quackenbush was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League. During his 14-year career, he was the first defenceman to win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy. He won the award after playing the entire 1948–49 season without recording a penalty. The penalty-less season was part of a total of 131 consecutive games he played without being assessed a penalty. Quackenbush, considered to be an elite offensive defenceman during his career, was named to the NHL All-Star Team five times, played in eight NHL All-Star games and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1976.

Following his retirement from professional ice hockey, he spent 18 years as head coach of various teams at Princeton University. Quackenbush coached men’s golf, and both the men’s and women’s ice hockey teams, at various times. He won eight Ivy League Championships with the men’s golf team and three with the women’s ice hockey team.

Quackenbush was an offensive defenceman who carried the puck up the ice, making use of his stick handling, passing skills and ability to read the play. Over the course of his career, he was considered one of the elite rushing defenceman in the NHL. He was a solid checker, but relied more on positioning and discipline than physical play. This is evident by his low yearly average of penalty minutes and the fact that he was assessed only one major penalty throughout his NHL career.

Defensively he made use of poke checks to take the puck from his opponents and excelled at getting to loose pucks and clearing them out of the defensive zone. He was adept at keeping opposing forwards from creating offence from behind the net.

Brian Sutter

Brian Louis Allen Sutter is a Canadian former ice hockey forward and former head coach in the National Hockey League (NHL). Brian is the second oldest of the famous Sutter brothers and the oldest of the six that played in the NHL. He is also the first one to have his number retired by an NHL team.

Gerry Abel

Gerald Scott Abel was an American professional ice hockey left winger. He is the son of Hockey Hall of Fame member Sid Abel and the uncle of former goaltender Brent Johnson.

Kevyn Adams

Kevyn William Adams is an American former professional ice hockey center, also known as the general manager of the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League. During his career, Adams played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Columbus Blue Jackets, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Phoenix Coyotes and the Chicago Blackhawks, and was also a former associate coach for the Sabres.

Blair Betts

Blair Betts is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, and Philadelphia Flyers. Betts was born in Edmonton, Alberta, but grew up in Sherwood Park, Alberta.

Jack Bionda

John Arthur James “Jack” Bionda was a Canadian lacrosse and hockey player. He was a lacrosse superstar, dominating the sport throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. In hockey he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League between 1955 and 1959, mainly spending his career in the minor American Hockey League and Western Hockey League.

Fred Boimistruck

Frederick (Fred) Michael Boimistruck, Jr. is a Canadian retired ice hockey defenceman. He played in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Born in Sudbury, Ontario, Boimistruck grew up in Capreol, Ontario. He played junior ice hockey for the Cornwall Royals, playing twice for the Memorial Cup. He was selected by the Maple Leafs in the 1980 NHL Draft, 43rd overall. He joined the Maple Leafs directly from junior, playing 57 games for Toronto, scoring two goals and eleven assists. The following season, Boimistruck played part of the season with Toronto, but mostly with their farm team in St. Catharines. After one further season at St. Catharines, Boimistruck tried playing in Europe, played some games for Fort Wayne and finished his playing career in 1985–86 with the Flint Spirits. After his playing days, Boimistruck moved to Hornepayne, Ontario and became a locomotive engineer.

Bruce Boudreau

Bruce Allan Boudreau is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach known as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks. He previously served as head coach of the Washington Capitals, Anaheim Ducks, and Minnesota Wild. As a player, Boudreau played professionally for 20 seasons, logging 141 games in the NHL and 30 games in the World Hockey Association (WHA). He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Chicago Black Hawks of the NHL and the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the WHA. Boudreau won the Jack Adams Award for the NHL’s most outstanding head coach in the 2007–08 NHL season during his tenure with the Capitals. Boudreau is owner of the United States Premier Hockey League’s Minnesota Blue Ox and the Hershey Cubs.

Niklas Andersson

Niklas Per Andersson is a Swedish former professional ice hockey left winger. In his career, he spent time with several National Hockey League (NHL) teams as well as various minor professional teams in North America, but mostly played for Frölunda HC in the Swedish Elitserien. He is the younger brother of former hockey player Mikael Andersson and the father of Lias Andersson.

On 9 March 2011, Andersson decided to retire completely from hockey, having played 763 games for Frölunda. He is also known as an amateur scout covering Europe for the Los Angeles Kings.