Who wore number 12 in NHL?

The fortunate players who get to choose their own number often choose a lucky number, stick with the one they’ve always worn or wear a number in honor of a family member. Some players though, choose a number that’s cute or a deep and meaningful number.

Patrick Marleau

Patrick Denis Marleau is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. The San Jose Sharks drafted Marleau second overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, and Marleau has spent the vast majority of his NHL career with the franchise, becoming one of its all-time leaders in goals, even strength goals, power play goals, points, shots, and games played. Marleau is also the fourth player in NHL history to record 900 consecutive games played, reaching the mark one game after breaking the overall games played record.

Marleau is one of the few NHL players to play 1,400 with one team, and one of the youngest to reach both the 1,300- and 1,400-game marks. He was seven games short of becoming the youngest player to play in 1,500 games with one team before signing with his second team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, in 2017. After two seasons with Toronto, he returned to San Jose in 2019, and was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins before the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs. After failing to win a Stanley Cup, Marleau returned to the Sharks as a free agent for the 2020–21 season.

Internationally, Marleau won gold medals with Canada at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics. Marleau, one of the most important players of the Sharks for nearly 20 seasons, was known as one of the fastest skaters in the NHL and exhibits a high standard of playing ability combined with gentlemanly conduct. This has earned him two nominations for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy and has made him a popular player both among fans and his professional peers.

Jarome Iginla

Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. He played over 1500 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings.

As a junior, Iginla was a member of two Memorial Cup winning teams with the Kamloops Blazers and was named the Western Hockey League (WHL) Player of the Year in 1996. He was selected 11th overall by the Dallas Stars in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, but was traded to Calgary prior to making his NHL debut. Nicknamed “Iggy”, he led the NHL in goals and points in 2001–02, and won the Lester B. Pearson Award as its most valuable player as voted by the players. In 2003–04, Iginla led the league in goals for the second time and captained the Flames to the Stanley Cup Finals, leading the playoffs in goals.

A six-time NHL All-Star, Iginla is one of the Flames’ all-time leaders in goals, points, assists, and games played. Iginla scored 50 goals in a season on two occasions and is one of the few players in NHL history to score 30 goals in 11 consecutive seasons. He is also one of the few players in NHL history to score over 600 goals and is one of the few players to record 1,300 points in his career. He is a past winner of the Mark Messier Leadership Award and has been recognized by both the Flames and the league for his community work; while a member of the Flames, Iginla donated $2,000 to the children’s charity Kidsport for every goal he scored. His number 12 was retired by the Flames during a pre-game ceremony on March 2, 2019.

Internationally, Iginla has represented Canada on numerous occasions. He was a member of championship teams at the 1996 World Junior and 1997 World Championships as well as the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. He is a three-time Olympian and two-time gold medal winner, including at the 2002 Winter Olympics where he helped lead Canada to its first Olympic hockey championship in 50 years.

Iginla was selected for the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2020, during his first year of eligibility. Iginla is the fourth Black player inducted after Grant Fuhr, women’s hockey pioneer Angela James, and Willie O’Ree. Iginla and Fuhr are the first Black NHL players enshrined for their on-ice accomplishments, while O’Ree was chosen in the builder category in 2018 for breaking the league’s color barrier 60 years earlier.

In his prime, Iginla was considered to be one of the NHL’s most prominent power forwards. Upon entering the league, he tried to emulate players like Brendan Shanahan and Keith Tkachuk, hoping to match their combination of finesse and physicality. He is one of the most consistent scorers in the league; between 1998 and 2008, only Jaromír Jágr scored more NHL goals than Iginla. Even so, scouting reports have argued that Iginla’s lack of speed makes it easier for opponents to isolate him and restrict his ability to move if his teammates rely on him too much to lead the offence.

The abuse he faced at the hands of opponents early in his NHL career prompted Iginla’s coaches to work at developing his physical play. While he was not enthusiastic about fighting, Iginla accepted then head coach Brian Sutter’s arguments that he needed to adopt a more aggressive style to improve as a player. Iginla is most effective when he has room to manoeuvre, and to create that space, he had to intimidate his opponents. The lessons Iginla learned have carried throughout his career. “You’ve got a power forward who does it all,” said Craig Conroy. “I mean, he’ll fight, and hit, and score goals. Maybe it’s not the end-to-end rushes, but he does all those little things that win games and get things done.” His opponents also respect his play. Rob Blake said that while Iginla is not known for fancy play, “he’ll run you over. Or he’ll fight somebody. And then he’ll score a goal. He does pretty much everything you’d want a guy to do.”

Iginla has recorded several Gordie Howe hat tricks – a fight, a goal and an assist in the same game – and as it is not an official statistic, The Hockey News estimated that as of 2012, he was the active leader with nine. His fights, including one with Tampa Bay Lightning star Vincent Lecavalier in the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals, have had a motivating effect on his play and that of his teammates. Iginla has suffered injuries as a result of his fighting, including a broken hand from a 2003 fight with Bill Guerin of the Dallas Stars. His physical style of play also leads to a greater risk of persistent injuries and penalties. Iginla’s truculent style of play has gained approval from hockey commentator Don Cherry. In 2008 during a ceremonial handshake initiated by Iginla to Trevor Linden in his last game, Linden told Iginla he was the best player in the game at that time.

He commands the respect of his peers, and has been known to stand up to the coaching staff to defend a fellow player. Former teammate Andrew Ference — a former Bruins player himself, before Iginla’s arrival on the Boston team’s roster — once described following Iginla as like “following a friend.” Preferring to lead by example, Iginla is not regarded as a vocal captain. He likes to speak with players individually, and tries to ensure that all of his teammates are comfortable. He was named the recipient of the Mark Messier Leadership Award in 2009.

Yvan Cournoyer

Yvan Serge Cournoyer is a Canadian former professional hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens from 1963 to 1979. Cournoyer was born in Drummondville, Quebec. He was nicknamed “The Roadrunner” due to his small size and blazing speed, which he credited to longer blades on his skates. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982. In 2017 Cournoyer was named one of the ‘100 Greatest NHL Players’ in history.

Dickie Moore

Richard Winston “Dickie” Moore was a Canadian professional hockey player, successful businessman and community philanthropist. He twice won the Art Ross Trophy as the National Hockey League’s leading scorer and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Moore spent much of his career with the Montreal Canadiens, but also played briefly with the Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues. In 2017 Moore was named one of the ‘100 Greatest NHL Players’ in history.

Peter Bondra

Peter Bondra is a Soviet-born Slovak former professional ice hockey player. He was the general manager of the Slovakia national team from 2007 to 2011. A two-time 50-goal scorer, Bondra became the 37th player in National Hockey League (NHL) history to score 500 NHL goals. He has the fewest points among all players who reached that milestone with 892. Bondra scored the most goals in the NHL in two seasons, 1994–95 and 1997–98. He is one of a few players who scored five or more goals in one game in NHL.

Sid Abel

Sidney Gerald Abel was a Canadian Hall of Fame hockey player, coach and general manager in the National Hockey League, most notably for the Detroit Red Wings, and was a member of three Stanley Cup-winning teams in 1943, 1950, and 1952. In 2017 Abel was named one of the ‘100 Greatest NHL Players’ in history.

Keith Acton

Keith Edward Acton is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), with the Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota North Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders between 1980 and 1994. In his NHL coaching career he has been an assistant coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Philadelphia Flyers, the New York Rangers, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Edmonton Oilers, who released Acton and fellow assistant Craig Ramsay on June 4, 2015.

Micah Aivazoff

Micah Aivazoff is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. His junior career was spent with the Victoria Cougars, in the Western Hockey League, and he was selected in the sixth round of the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, 109th overall, by the Los Angeles Kings. He went on to play with the Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, and New York Islanders of the NHL, as well as with various minor league and European teams.

Jesse Belanger

Joseph Jesse Dave Bélanger is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League from 1991 to 2001.

Ken Belanger

Kenneth Norman Belanger is a Canadian retired ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders, Boston Bruins, and Los Angeles Kings from 1994 to 2006.

Peter Ambroziak

Peter A. Ambroziak is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former coach. He played one season in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Buffalo Sabres, and several seasons for minor league professional teams. After his playing career finished, Ambroziak became a coach. Ambroziak is also known as an executive in the Ottawa Senators organization, as head of hockey development for the Bell Sensplex hockey facility in Ottawa, Ontario.

Niclas Bergfors

Niclas Bergfors is a Swedish professional ice hockey right winger known for playing with Djurgårdens IF of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He was drafted by the National Hockey League (NHL)’s New Jersey Devils in the first round, 23rd overall, at the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, playing for the organization for four-and-a-half seasons before joining the Atlanta Thrashers 2010, Florida Panthers in 2011 and Nashville Predators via free agency in 2011. He later joined the KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan in late 2011 before signing with Severstal Cherepovets. In 2013, he joined Admiral Vladivostok, where he played for three seasons before joining Amur Khabarovsk in a mid-season trade.

Craig Berube

Craig Berube is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is known as the head coach for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed “Chief”, Berube played 17 seasons in the NHL for the Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Washington Capitals and New York Islanders. Also, Berube was a national team scout hired by Doug Armstrong for team Canada’s 2016 World Cup of hockey team. As an interim coach in 2019, Berube led the Blues to become the Stanley Cup champions.