Back again for part five of the best New York Islanders by sweater number series. The last list featured the best players from numbers 31-40. It featured some lesser-known players from Islander’s history. It also included possibly the best goalie in the team’s history Billy Smith. This list will focus on the next set of numbers 41-50. In this group of jersey numbers, we will find a handful of players from recent New York Islanders history. This list is including players who are currently on the team but had to change their number because of Lou Lamoriello and his jersey number rules.
Best New York Islanders by Jersey Numbered 41 through 50
#41- Jaroslav Halák
Jaroslav Halak was one of the best goalies the Islanders have had in the last 30 years. The Czechoslovakian born goalie played for seven different teams over his 17-year career. He was traded to the Islanders in 2014 where he would play his most games and record his most wins. In his time with New York, he played well and even broke a few records. In that same 2014 season, Halák earned 11 consecutive wins which broke a record previously held by Billy Smith. Then in February 2015, he set a new franchise record by recording 33 wins in a season. In his four seasons on the Island, he was 88-65 with with a .913 save percentage and a 2.69 goals against average.
Honourable mention: David Ullström (Centre) Two seasons with 49 games total played registering 13 points (six goals and seven assists).
#42- Scott Mayfield
The Islanders former second round pick from the 2011 NHL draft has played all 10 seasons of his career with the team. He currently wears the number 24 but when he was drafted he wore 42. He wore that number 42 from 2013 to 2018 when Lou Lamoriello took over as general manager and implemented his jersey rules. Only seven players have worn 42 and even after changing numbers Mayfield is the best to wear this one. In his ten years with the Islanders he’s played in 469 games scoring 116 points (25 goals and 91 assists).
Honourable mention: Dylan Reese (Defencemen) Three seasons with the New York Islanders playing 74 games and recording 17 points (three goals and 14 assists).
#43- Trent Hunter
Of the 11 players who have worn 43, none of them have worn it for even more than one season. Hunter, who wore 7 for the majority of his Islander tenure, did wear 43 when made his NHL debut in the 2002 playoffs with the Islanders. While he only wore the number for a very short time, he was a solid player and a fan favourite in the mid 2000s and deserves to make the list in some capacity. In his eight seasons with the team, Hunter played in 459 games scoring 229 points (99 goals and 130 assists)
Honourable mention: Martin Biron (Goalie) Backstopped the Isles in one season with the club for a 9-14 record. He carried an .896 SV% and a 3.27 GAA.
#44- Calvin de Haan
A name that should be familiar to fans of the New York Islanders is next on our jersey number list. The Islanders took the defenceman in the first round in the 2009 NHL draft. He went on to play six solid seasons on the Islanders blueline. During his arbitration year he suffered a lower-body injury that forced him to miss the entire season. He went on to accept a deal from the Carolina Hurricanes that offseason. If he didn’t deal with injuries during his time with the team there’s a chance he would still be on the team today. In his six seasons he played in 304 games scoring 81 points (12 goals and 69 assists).
Honourable mention: Jean-Gabriel Pageau (Centre) Five seasons and 290 games played for the Isles with 142 points (58 goals and 84 assists).
#45- Arron Asham
A player who bounced around from a couple different teams but found his best play with the Islanders. He played six different teams in his 15 year career. In 2002, Asham was traded from the Montreal Canadiens to the Islanders. Not wasting any time Asham had his career-best season in his first year with the team. That year he scored a career-high 15 goals and 34 points in the 2002-03 season. He became a mainstay in the Islander lineup for the next four years, playing in 300 career games with the team. In those four seasons and 300 games he scored 105 points (47 goals and 58 assists).
Honourable mention: Anders Nilsson (Goalie) Two seasons in net for the Islanders posting a 9-9 record with an .898 SV% and a 3.05 GAA.
#46- Matt Donovan
A little used number in the history of the Islanders with only eight wearers. The nod goes to a former fourth round pick of the Islanders in the 2008 NHL draft. He didn’t play for a long time with the team and had a season where he was a healthy scratch for 70 of the 82 games. Donovan did however wear the jersey the longest out of all the players who had it and is a name that some fans could recognize. Donovan wore uniform number 46 in honour of Oklahoma being the 46th state. In three seasons, he played 67 games scoring 19 points (two goals and 17 assists).
Honourable mention: Scott Howson (Centre) Two seasons with the club appearing in 18 games recording eight points (five goals and three assists).
#47- Rich Pilon
A number that has even fewer wearers than 46, number 47 has only been worn by five players. One of the toughest players to ever lace them up for the New York Islanders, Pilon is one of those five wore number 47 on their jersey. He was a former seventh round pick by the Islanders in the 1986 NHL draft. Not a big point scorer Pilon still played for the Islanders for 12 years and appeared in over 500 games with the team. He was a mainstay on the Islanders blueline in the 90s, playing over 2,300 on ice minutes. In the 12 seasons and 509 games Pilon scored 60 points (Six goals and 54 assists).
Honourable mention: Andrew MacDonald (Defenceman) In six seasons, he had 295 games played and totaled 89 points (17 goals and 72 assists).
#48- Claude Lapointe
Lapointe wore this number for a stretch of his Islander career before switching to 13 which he wore for much longer. He deserves to be on this list and the competition for this number 48 is not strong. In his time with the team, Lapointe received many honours such as many NYI Fan club MVP awards and three Bob Nystrom awards for leadership, hustle, and dedication. He was also named an assistant captain for the Islanders, while being top three in faceoff win percentage for 15 years in a row.
Honourable mention: Samuel Bolduc (Defenseman) Two seasons and 51 games played with eight points (four goals and four assists).
#49- Eric Godard
Godard was known as an enforcer who regularly dropped the gloves to fight. His nickname is “the Hand of God” which is a play on his last name and also touches on his style of play. He was undrafted and picked up by the Florida Panthers, although he never played at the NHL level for them. Then in 2002 he was traded to the Islanders where he would make his NHL debut. He would bounce back and forth between the Islanders and the AHL Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Then, in the 2005-06 season he got his extended run with the main team. He would score his first career goal and reach 100 penalty minutes for the first time. In three seasons, he played 107 games scoring five points (two goals and three assists).
Honourable mention: Vladimir Országh (Right wing) He was there for three seasons and 34 games scoring five points (three goals and two assists).
#50- Adam Pelech
To wrap up the list is one of the best defenceman on the current Islanders team. He wears number three now because of Lou Lamoriello and his number rules. When the former third-round pick in the 2012 NHL draft made his debut in 2015 until 2018, he wore this number 50. Pelech has gotten better every year and gone from an underrated player to now playing on the Islanders top defensive pairing. He is one of three players to wear this number in team history. Between the other two they combined to play three games. In his nine seasons with the team he’s played in 500 games scoring 140 points (26 goals and 114 assists).
Honourable mention: None
In Conclusion from this Group of Our Jersey Series for the New York Islanders
In the numbers 41-50 you will find a lot of familiar names. Players from recent history who don’t play here anymore but still hold a place in fans hearts (Halák, Hunter, and De Hann). Along with current players who continue to make an impact and further cement their names in the Islanders history (Pelech and Mayfield). What cannot be denied is that all the players on the list both past and present had an impact on the team and it’s history, they will all be remembered. This rounds out the best players from the numbers 41-50.
Main photo: Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports
