Who wore number 56 in NHL?

Whether we’re talking about jersey numbers or using stats in sports arguments, numbers have and will always have a place in sports in a variety of different ways. Players are recognized by their numbers and they are part of a player’s legacy.

Erik Haula

Erik Haula is a Finnish professional ice hockey center known for playing with the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Minnesota Wild, Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and Nashville Predators. Haula was selected by the Wild in the seventh round, 182nd overall, of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Sergei Zubov

Sergei Alexandrovich Zubov is a Russian professional ice hockey coach and former defenceman. He is also known as the head coach for the Dinamo Riga of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

Zubov played for the Dallas Stars, New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League as well as SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL. One of the best offensive defensemen in NHL history. He won the Stanley Cup twice: with the Rangers in 1994 and the Stars in 1999. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2019.

Marko Dano

Marko Daňo is an Austrian-born Slovak professional ice hockey right winger known for playing under contract with HC Oceláři Třinec of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). He was originally drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round, 27th overall, at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft and made his NHL debut in 2014. Prior to playing in the NHL, Daňo played professionally for Slovan Bratislava of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for two seasons.

Daňo’s father, Jozef Daňo, was also an ice hockey player, and played for the Slovak national team at the 1994 and 1998 Winter Olympics.

Marcel Cousineau

Marcel Cousineau is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 26 games in the National Hockey League.

Cousineau was selected by the Boston Bruins in the third round of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft.

As a rookie, Cousineau was named to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League All-Rookie Team.

Cousineau played professionally for the Toronto Maple Leafs (1996–98), New York Islanders (1998–99), Los Angeles Kings (1999-2000).

Between his starts in the NHL, Cousineau played in the American Hockey League, International Hockey League, Quebec Senior Hockey League, Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey) and the Kontinental Hockey League.

André Deveaux

Andre Deveaux is a Bahamian-born Canadian former professional ice hockey player who last played for the Hamilton Steelhawks in the Allan Cup Hockey League (ACH). He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Rangers, as well as HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). He was selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the sixth round (182nd overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Deveaux was born in Freeport, Bahamas, but he is a naturalized Canadian citizen who was raised in Welland, Ontario.

Kevin Fiala

Kevin Fiala is a Swiss professional ice hockey player known as the left winger for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). He spent one season with the Malmö Redhawks junior team, then joined HV71, splitting a season between their junior team and their senior team in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL), being selected by the Nashville Predators 11th overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Fiala started the following season with HV71 before moving to North America halfway through, splitting two seasons between the Predators and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals.

Internationally Fiala has played for the Swiss national team at several tournaments, both at the junior and senior level, and has appeared in World Championships.

Ryan Huska

Ryan Huska is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the NHL. He was drafted in the 3rd round, 76th overall, in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. In 1997–98, he played his only NHL game with the Blackhawks against the Calgary Flames. He played 5:51 in 8 shifts. As a junior player with the Kamloops Blazers, he won 3 Memorial Cups in 1992, 1994, and 1995.

He has spent the last several seasons as an assistant coach with the WHL Kelowna Rockets and was named the Rockets seventh head coach in history in the summer of 2007, when former coach Jeff Truitt was named an assistant with the AHL Springfield Falcons. In 2009, with Huska coaching, the Rockets won the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions, and advanced to the Memorial Cup, where they lost in the final to the Windsor Spitfires. Huska was re-appointed for his fifth year in charge prior to the 2011–12 season.

On June 23, 2014, Huska was named the head coach of the Adirondack Flames of the American Hockey League, the affiliate of the Calgary Flames in the NHL. He stayed on as coach when the Adirondack franchise was relocated to become the Stockton Heat in 2015. In 2018, he was hired by the Calgary Flames as an assistant coach.

Nikita Kucherov

Nikita Igorevich Kucherov is a Russian professional ice hockey player known as the right winger for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). Regarded as one of the best players in the world, Kucherov won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player, Art Ross Trophy as the league’s leading scorer and the Ted Lindsay Award as the best player voted by fellow NHL players, for the 2018–19 season.

Kucherov won the back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021, leading the playoffs in scoring both times.

Matt Pelech

Matt Pelech is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenseman/forward who played for and captained the Belfast Giants of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). He formerly played with the Calgary Flames and the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Pelech was a draft pick of the Flames, selected in the first round, 26th overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft and made his NHL debut in 2009 as a defenceman with the Flames. He has since switched to right wing and become known as an enforcer. His brothers, Michael Pelech and Adam Pelech, also play professionally.

Sheldon Rempal

Sheldon Rempal is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger known for playing with the Abbotsford Canucks in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Prior to turning professional, Rempal played two seasons with Clarkson University where he was named to the NCAA (East) Second All-American Team, NCAA (ECAC) All-Tournament Team, and NCAA (ECAC) First All-Star Team.

Kole Sherwood

Kole Sherwood is an American professional ice hockey right winger known for playing with the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL).

When Sherwood made his NHL debut during the 2018–19 season, he became the first player from central Ohio to play for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Prior to turning professional, Sherwood played in the Ontario Hockey League with the London Knights, Flint Firebirds, and Kitchener Rangers.

Tyler Wotherspoon

Tyler Wotherspoon is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman known for playing with the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was selected by the Calgary Flames in the second round, 57th overall, at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Wotherspon played four seasons of junior hockey for the Western Hockey League (WHL)’s Portland Winterhawks and was a member of the team’s Western Hockey League championship team before turning professional in 2013.

Petr Schastlivy

Pyotr “Petr” Vasilievich Schastlivy is a Russian professional ice hockey player known for playing with HSC Csíkszereda. He played a total of 129 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Ottawa Senators and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, as well as several minor league professional teams.

He got married to the Latvian long jumper Ineta Radēviča.

Stéphane Robidas

Joseph Pierre Stéphane Robidas is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman, also known as director of player development for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Robidas played over 900 games in the NHL, most of which came within the Dallas Stars’ organization. He also played for the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, Anaheim Ducks and the Maple Leafs.