Who wore number 65 in NHL?

What number you wear can often be a big part of a player’s hockey identity. Some players care more than others about the number they don, but even for those who are indifferent to them, those numbers help connect players with young fans and can even have sentimental value. Like it or not, numbers are a big part of what can make this game great.

Erik Karlsson

Erik Sven Gunnar Karlsson is a Swedish professional ice hockey player known as the defenceman and alternate captain for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Karlsson was drafted in the first round, 15th overall, by the Ottawa Senators at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, with whom he spent his first nine NHL seasons. Karlsson is a winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s best defenceman, winning the award in 2012 and 2015.

Karlsson’s performance has been widely acclaimed by current and former ice hockey players, head coaches and the media. He is well known for his speed, such as his ability to lead a rush and be the first man to return to defend, and for making plays. In 2012, Bobby Orr praised Karlsson for his fast skating and performance, comparing him to former defencemen such as Larry Robinson and Paul Coffey, while Coffey himself praised Karlsson as an “elite player” and one of the best players in the NHL. Ken Hitchcock praised Karlsson for his skating skill and reading of plays, saying that he is “ahead of the curve everywhere”. Henrik Lundqvist also called Karlsson “one of the best players in the game”, complimenting his skating skills and vision of the game. Despite his performance, he has also been criticized for not playing a more defensive role as a defenceman.

Karlsson is known as being a more offensive defenceman. He has earned more than 70 points in four different seasons and is the second defenceman in league history to lead his team in scoring in four consecutive campaigns.

Karlsson has also shown his grit and toughness as he has played in numerous games and playoff series with very noticeable injuries. In the Ottawa Senators playoff run in 2017, Karlsson was reported to have played on a broken heel which he had to get a surgery the following off season. Karlsson also rushed himself back from a groin injury in the 2019 NHL playoffs to help with the San Jose Sharks playoff run which also ended in the conference final series. Karlsson is recognized for using Snus, a Swedish form of dipping tobacco, during the games.

Andrew Shaw

Andrew Shaw is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player known for playing with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Blackhawks in the fifth round (139th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. During his 10-season NHL career, Shaw played for the Blackhawks and the Montreal Canadiens. He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Blackhawks (2013 and 2015). Shaw ended his playing career in 2021 after suffering multiple concussions.

Shaw developed a reputation as an agitator for his aggressive play and verbal instigation while playing for the Chicago Blackhawks. He compared his playstyle to Boston Bruins player Brad Marchand, saying “We’re both agitators. We both play physical and we’re always chirping.” Joel Quenneville, who coached Shaw in Chicago, praised Shaw by stating, “You’re not going to find the same ingredient that Shaw provides, whether it’s the game-to-game consistency of being an agitator, net-front presence on your power play, good in the room, good on the bench, good on the ice, smart hockey player, makes plays, brings that nastiness you appreciate and comes ready to play every game”. Shaw has also gained the nickname “Mutt” from some of his teammates and fans regarding his rough style of play.

Shaw also performs an intricate warm-up ritual which he has practiced before every period since 2009. As part of his routine, Shaw strikes his shin pads approximately seven times with his hockey stick, practices fore and back-hand face-off draws, twirls his hockey stick in his hands, plants the knob-end of his stick onto the ground, and then walks in a circle around it.

Ron Hainsey

Ronald Martin Hainsey is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played seventeen years in the NHL for the Montreal Canadiens, Columbus Blue Jackets, Atlanta Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets, Carolina Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators, playing over 1,100 career NHL games.

Hainsey played in the NHL for nearly 16 years (907 games) before playing on a team that made the playoffs. He then won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in his debut playoff appearance, finishing second in ice time for the playoffs in place of the injured Kris Letang.

Mark Napier

Mark Robert Napier is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played over a thousand professional games between the National Hockey League and World Hockey Association.

Derek Joslin

Derek Joslin is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman known for playing with EC Red Bull Salzburg of the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL).

He has played in the National Hockey League for the San Jose Sharks, with his NHL debut coming during the 2008-09 campaign, Carolina Hurricanes and the Vancouver Canucks. The Sharks drafted him in the 149th overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. Joslin played major junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the Ottawa 67’s. During his time in the OHL he was an All-Star and represented Canada in the Subway Super Series. After finishing his OHL career he played in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the Worcester Sharks, where he was also an All-Star.

Victor Oreskovich

Victor J. Oreskovich is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. Selected 55th overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche, he played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) and Kitchener Rangers of the major junior Ontario Hockey League (OHL) before deciding to turn professional. After signing a contract with the Avalanche in 2007, he was assigned to the team’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, but chose not to report and spent two years away from hockey.

In 2009, he signed with the Florida Panthers and spent the subsequent season between the NHL and the team’s AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. The following off-season, he was traded to the Canucks, joining the team in 2011 on their run to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the Boston Bruins. In October 2011, he was waived by the Canucks and assigned to the Chicago Wolves, the Canucks’ AHL affiliate. Oreskovich retired from hockey in 2012, and returned to university in 2015. He completed a Master of Business Administration degree, and joined the Royal Bank of Canada.

Emerson Etem

Emerson Albert Spratlen Etem is an American former professional ice hockey right winger, also known as the co-owner of the Long Beach Shredders of the USPHL. He was originally selected in the first round, 29th overall, by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. He has also played for the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. He retired in 2020 and became the head coach and general manager of the Missoula Jr. Bruins in the North American 3 Hockey League. In 2021, he purchased a junior team and became the head coach of the Long Beach Shredders in the United States Premier Hockey League.

André Burakovsky

André Burakovsky is an Austrian-born Swedish professional ice hockey player known as the forward for the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL). He had previously played for the Washington Capitals, who drafted him 23rd overall in 2013. Burakovsky won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Capitals in 2018.

Yanni Gourde

Yanni Gourde is a Canadian professional ice hockey player known as the forward and alternate captain of the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). An undrafted player, Gourde signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning as a free agent in 2014. Gourde won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Lightning in 2020 and 2021.

Brett Harkins

Brett Alan Harkins is an American former professional ice hockey left wing, who played for 18 years. He played in the National Hockey League in four stints with the Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, and Columbus Blue Jackets between 1994 and 2002. As of January 2020, Harkins had served as a college-level scout for the Boston Bruins for over four seasons.

Harkins is also the younger brother of Todd Harkins, who played for the Hartford Whalers and Calgary Flames.

Tim Hunter

Timothy Robert Hunter is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and head coach. He was the head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League (WHL), having previously served as an assistant coach in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Washington Capitals. Chosen in the 3rd round of the 1979 NHL Entry Draft (#54 overall) by the Atlanta Flames, Hunter went on to a 16-season playing career with the Calgary Flames, Quebec Nordiques, Vancouver Canucks, and San Jose Sharks.

Ben Lovejoy

Benjamin N. Lovejoy is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played for the Dallas Stars, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Anaheim Ducks and the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL).

His nickname “The Reverend” comes from The Simpsons character Reverend Lovejoy.

Vladislav Namestnikov

Vladislav Yevgenievich Namestnikov is a Russian-born American professional ice hockey center known playing with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected 27th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, and has previously played in the NHL with the Lightning, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche.

Danny O’Regan

Daniel O’Regan is a German-born American professional ice hockey forward known for playing with the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). O’Regan was selected by the San Jose Sharks in the fifth-round (138th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. He is the son of former professional ice hockey player Tom O’Regan.