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The Most Popular Pittsburgh Penguins Sweater Number

By Samual Campbell

PITTSBURGH, PA - JUNE 08: Pittsburgh Penguins jerseys are seen hanging in the locker room before Game Five of the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Final between the Nashville Predators and the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on June 8, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennslyvannia. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - JUNE 08: Pittsburgh Penguins jerseys are seen hanging in the locker room before Game Five of the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Final between the Nashville Predators and the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on June 8, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennslyvannia. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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A storied franchise like the Pittsburgh Penguins has seen hundred of players don the black and gold.

The latest addition to the Pittsburgh Penguins lexicon of roster names was Zach Aston-Reese. ZAR made his debut on Feb. 3rd at New Jersey.

Whether you’re just a nerd or obsessed with being contrarian with your Pens Predictor choice, you were probably curious as to what number Aston-Reese was wearing on his sweater.

Turns out the American forward wore #46. Not since Dominik Uher in 2015 had #46 seen the ice. In total it has been on the back of six different Pittsburgh Penguins.

It got me thinking. What’s the most popular number in the team’s history? And I’m not talking in terms of jersey sales. Which number has been worn by the most players?

It’s a bit ironic. The most popular number means it has been worn by some unpopular guys. #66 was Mario’s number for 20 years, then it was retired. #16 has been worn for close to 50 years, but has been under 29 different names (Fehr, Sutter, Bissonnette, Olczyk, etc). And #16 isn’t even the most popular.

Some numbers are just reserved for role players, AHL call ups, rentals, would-bes and has-beens. When you get the call up, usually you can expect a mustard stain of a number like 38 waiting in your stall.

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Pittsburgh Penguins

The Most Popular Number

#23 is the most popular sweater number in the history of the Pittsburgh Penguins. It has been in use since 1968, and has been on the back 34 different Pens jerseys.

HockeyReference.com is the amazing site that has compiled all this info. Here is a full list of players that have donned the number.

Mel Pearson 1968
Jean-Guy Lagace 1969-1975
Doug Barrie 1969
Rick Kessell 1970-1971
John Stewart 1971
Eddie Shack 1972-1973
Bobby Leiter 1972
Nelson Debenedet 1975
Larry Bignell 1975
Ed Gilbert 1976-1977
Jim Hamilton 1978-1983
Rod Schutt 1979-1981
Gary Rissling 1982-1983
Doug Lecuyer 1983
Andy Brickley 1984-1985
Wally Weir 1985
Randy Hillier 1986-1991
Kjell Samuelsson 1992
Paul Stanton 1993
Chris Joseph 1995-1996
Fredrik Olausson 1997-1998
Domenic Pittis 1997
Stephen Leach 2000
Dan Trebil 2001
Steve McKenna 2001-2004
John Jakopin 2002
Shane Endicott 2006
Eric Boguniecki 2006
Alexei Ponikarovsky 2010
Ryan Craig 2011
Trevor Smith 2013
Chris Conner 2014
Steve Downie 2015
Scott Wilson 2016-2018

Next: Should the Penguins retire #68?

This number has been swapped more than spit at a prom. And it make sense. No one has truly made it their own. When I think of #23, a few things come to mind:

  • That weird Jim Carrey movie
  • Miley Cyrus’s cringeworthy music video
  • Michael Jordan

And that’s pretty much it. It’s the number of the invisible man. I forgot Scott Wilson was even on the roster this year to be honest. Among other notable players to rock the #23 are a gentleman named Rick Kessel (no relation), Alexei Ponikarovsky, and the epitome of “guy I love to have on my team, but hate to play against” Steve Downie.

So was it what you expected? Which number would you wear if you played for the Pens?

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