Sweater numbers are synonymous with players. Most hockey fans can instantly tell you a great player by the number they wear on their back. There are many different stories about how players became associated with the famous numbers. Many odd and interesting facts surround these numbers as well. As we count down the start of the 2023-24 NHL season, we take a look at the story behind the numbers. Today we continue with sweater number 56. Keep up to date with the series everyday until the start of the 2023-24 NHL season.
Behind the Sweater Number: 56
The First 56s
According to Hockey Reference, 85 players have worn sweater number 56. The website lists Ken Priestlay of the Buffalo Sabres as the first player to don the digits. Priestlay first wore the number in the 1988-89 season after switching over from 12. The Richmond, British Columbia native had the number for 50 games before moving onto the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Brent Thompson would be the next to take the number with the Los Angeles Kings in the 1991-92 season. Thompson wouldn’t hold onto sweater number 56 for that long because he’d switch to three. Alexander Andrievski wore the number with the Chicago Blackhawks for the one NHL game he played in. Boston Bruins left wing Darren Banks took the number for 16 games in the 1992-93 season.
The Hall of Famer
There would be a handful of players that would wear sweater number 56 in the early 1990s. However, one Russian defenceman would be the man most known for the number. Sergei Zubov already won a Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers, but he wore 21. Zubov would go to Pittsburgh in the 1995-96 season and start of with three. However, he’d switch to 56 in the same season.
Players are often superstitious creatures and so was Zubov. The Russian blueliner told the Dallas Morning News that he broke his finger twice and needed to change something. Zubov went with 56 and the rest was history. He went into further depth in Scott Morrison’s book By the Numbers about why he took 56. There were numbers available that ended in six. The Moscow native chose the highest number and that was 56.
His switching numbers seemed to work out as sweater number 56 has been retired by the Dallas Stars. The eventual Hall of Famer played a hand in giving Dallas its only Stanley Cup championship. There’s no doubt that Zubov is the best 56 in NHL history.
Others and the Future
A good number of players have also taken sweater number 56 in their careers. Perpetual Carolina Hurricanes hater Erik Haula has worn the number at every stop in his career. Erik Gustafsson has worn the number for most of his career. Kailer Yamamoto has worn the number with the Edmonton Oilers, but it’s uncertain what he’ll take with the Detroit Red Wings.
The number already has a bigger legacy than some of the other higher digits that have appeared on the countdown. Zubov has a great history and is one of the best Russian players to ever make his way to North America.
Main photo by: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
