Who wore number 26 in NHL?

Choosing a jersey number sometimes has a philosophy of its own. Each NHL player has his own number logic and usually keeps this number for the rest of his career if possible.

Blake Wheeler

Blake James Wheeler is an American professional ice hockey player known as captain of the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round, fifth overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Wheeler was born in Plymouth, Minnesota, but grew up in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. After failing to come to terms on a contract with the Phoenix Coyotes, he signed with the Boston Bruins as a free agent.

Peter Stastny

Peter Šťastný, also known colloquially as “Peter the Great” and “Stosh”, is a Slovak-Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1980 to 1995. Šťastný is the second-highest scorer of the 1980s, after Wayne Gretzky. During his time with the Quebec Nordiques, Šťastný became a Canadian citizen. From 2004 to 2014, he served as a Member of the European Parliament for Slovakia. During his NHL career, he played with the Quebec Nordiques, New Jersey Devils, and St. Louis Blues.

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2017, Šťastný was named one of the ‘100 Greatest NHL Players’ in history. He is the father of Paul Stastny known as Winnipeg Jets forward.

Patrik Elias

Patrik Eliáš is a Czech former professional hockey winger who played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New Jersey Devils. Eliáš is one of the franchise’s all-time leaders in points, goals and assists. Eliáš won the Stanley Cup twice with the Devils, in 2000 and 2003. Internationally Eliáš represented the Czech national team in multiple tournaments, including four Winter Olympics and four World Championships, winning one Olympic bronze medal and two more at the World Championships.

Mats Naslund

Mats Torsten Näslund, nicknamed “Le Petit Viking”, is a Swedish former ice hockey player. He played as a left wing. He’s the Member of the Triple Golden Club: Olympic and world champion with the Swedish national team and Stanley Cup winner with the Montreal Canadiens. Näslund spent 9 seasons in the National Hockey League.

Brian Propp

Brian Phillip Propp is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 until 1994.

Propp was born in Lanigan, Saskatchewan, and grew up in Neudorf, Saskatchewan.

Jere Lehtinen

Jere Kalervo Lehtinen is a Finnish former professional ice hockey forward. A right winger, he was drafted in the third round, 88th overall, in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota North Stars. Lehtinen played his entire 15-year National Hockey League (NHL) career with the North Stars/Dallas Stars organization. A two-way forward, Lehtinen is perhaps best known for his defensive responsibilities, for which he won the Frank J. Selke Trophy three times as the NHL’s top defensive forward. After his retirement, he has served as the general manager of the Finnish national ice hockey team.

Bryan Adams

Bryan William Adams is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger known for playing with EHC München of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany.

Adams played a total of eleven games in the National Hockey League for the Atlanta Thrashers over two seasons (1999–2000 and 2000–01) scoring no goals, one assist, one point, and recording two penalty minutes.

He has found greater success in the DEL than the NHL. He joined the Iserlohn Roosters in 2003 and scored 39 goals and added 52 assists for 91 points in 131 games. He later joined Kölner Haie in 2006 where he scored just 9 goals in 50 games, but made 24 assists for 33 points. In 2010, he joined newly-promoted EHC München and stayed for three seasons before retiring.

Mark Arcobello

Mark Robert Arcobello is an American professional ice hockey right winger known as captain of HC Lugano of the National League (NL).

Ken Baird

Kenneth Stewart Baird was a professional ice hockey player who played 332 games in the World Hockey Association and 10 games in the National Hockey League between 1971 and 1978. He played for the NHL’s California Golden Seals, then spent six seasons in the WHA with the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Cowboys. In 1978 Baird joined Duisburger SC in West Germany, and spent four seasons there before retiring in 1982. Baird later moved to Snow Lake, Manitoba, and died there in December 2016.

Riley Barber

Riley Barber is an American professional ice hockey forward known for playing with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). Barber was selected by the Washington Capitals in the sixth round (167th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. He is the son of former NHL player Don Barber.

Robin Bawa

Robin N. Bawa is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent parts of four seasons in the National Hockey League between 1989 and 1994.

Steve Bégin

Joseph Denis Stéphan Bégin is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played in 13 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons. He was a second-round selection of the Calgary Flames, 40th overall, in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, and played with the Flames, Montreal Canadiens, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins and Nashville Predators in his NHL career. After missing a full season due to injury, Bégin made a successful comeback by rejoining the Flames in 2012–13 before another injury forced his retirement.

Bégin played junior hockey with the Val-d’Or Foreurs where he was a member of their Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) championship winning team in 1998. He also led the Saint John Flames to the American Hockey League (AHL)’s Calder Cup championship in 2001 and won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs. Bégin adopted a role as a defensive specialist and grinder in an NHL career where he has played over 500 games.

Bégin’s father taught his son that his best chance of making a career in hockey was as a defensive specialist and impressed on him the need for a strong work ethic. He was raised to follow role players like Mario Tremblay, Guy Carbonneau and Bob Gainey rather than stars such as Guy Lafleur or Wayne Gretzky. Bégin has played the majority of his career as a grinder, willing to play a physical game. His style often results in bruises and injuries, a part of the game he relishes. Speaking of his comeback with the Flames in 2013, he said, “What I missed the most was the pain of playing hockey. The pain from blocking shots, getting hit, hitting people… I missed it a lot”. That attitude impressed his coaches; Bob Hartley argued that players like Bégin are a valuable commodity: “Players with the commitment of Steve Bégin, I really believe that there’s not enough (of them) in the NHL. I always admired the way that he played. I look at the spirit, the leadership. Pretty amazing what he’s done for us”.