Why the Blackhawks wear their numbers: 2024-25 end-of-season edition
There's been a lot of change to the Chicago Blackhawks roster since our season-opening story on why their players wear their numbers.
Of the 20 players who were in the Blackhawks lineup on Thursday, 10 didn't start the season with Chicago. Some were in AHL Rockford. Some were on other NHL teams. Some were in college.
With so much change, it seemed worthwhile to provide an updated version of why everyone wears their number, in their own words.
Connor Murphy, 5: There's a couple (of reasons). Nick Lidstrom was always my favorite player. And then my dad (Gord Murphy) wore No. 5. He played 14 years in the NHL and always wore it, so I followed that. Last Blackhawks player to wear 5: David Rundblad.
Sam Rinzel, 6: I just came in and they had it. My second year of juniors I had it. No reason behind it. I like 6. I like a single digit. I'm not really a double-digit guy. Especially a defenseman, I like that it just looks clean and good. Obviously, 2 is unavailable. I like 4. Being part of this team, there's so much rich history. You got to respect the culture that guys past that have brought the numbers to what it is. You just got to create your own. Last Blackhawks player to wear 6: Jake McCabe.
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Ryan Donato, 8: I was 9. Joshua 1:9 is my favorite Bible verse. There weren't many options when I came here. They were low, and I'm not really a high-number guy, so I picked 8. I'm fine with it. Last Blackhawks player to wear 8: Jack Johnson.
Oliver Moore, 11: Watching Casey Mittelstadt growing up, he was always No. 11 for Eden Prairie. I watched him play my cousins and I just thought he was a good player, cool number. Zach Parise, too. Other than that, I feel like the number's kind of followed me around everywhere I've been. It's been available everywhere I've been. I've just kind of worn it. It's been nice. Last Blackhawks player to wear 11: Taylor Raddysh.
Kevin Korchinski, 14: Parchy (Blackhawks equipment manager Troy Parchman) texted me and said, 'Do you want 14?' Because I always had that number. I was like, of course. I liked 55, but I never wore it before. As a young guy, you're just given a number. I'm happy that I'm 14 now. It just feels pretty cool since I grew up wearing it. It's nice. Arty (Artyom Levshunov) got 55. It's funny, whenever I see gear that says 55, I sometimes forget it's not mine anymore. I feel bad, I know last year, some people asked, hey, are you going to stick with 55? I was like, I don't know. It's not my decision. I feel bad for those people who maybe got a 55 Korchinski jersey. They can rip off Korchinski and put Levshunov now. Last Blackhawks player to wear 14: Boris Katchouk.
Jason Dickinson, 16: I was happy giving (No. 17 to Nick Foligno). I want him to wear something he's comfortable with, something that meant something to him. It was a no-brainer for him; 17 meant nothing to me personally, so it was just a number. If he has a connection to it, I'm happy to oblige. Me and Fliggy kind of look the same, similar build, we've got the similar helmet. He's got the Bauer version, I've got the CCM version. We've both got the beard. Sometimes I see myself on clips, I'm like, 'Oh, I'm not 17 this year.' Last Blackhawks player to wear 16: Jujhar Khaira.
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Nick Foligno, 17: My dad (Mike Foligno) wore it. I was always wearing 16, actually, growing up — my mom's favorite number. I was a mama's boy. But then 71 was given to me in Ottawa, obviously with his time with the Leafs, and the trainers were laughing, and I was just happy to have a number, so I kept it. It's kind of nice to be able to pay tribute to him, obviously wearing it, my brother and I both. … Seventy-one was a lot easier (to get). I didn't wear 17 until I went to Boston, and Taylor Hall didn't clue in that I wore 71 until halfway through the year. Kind of ticked me off. I'm not too superstitious. It's cool I get to get that number. I appreciate Dickey (Dickinson) making the move to 16. It's special to be able to wear it. I think it's more for my family, my kids. They recognize the number, so it's special in the household. Last Blackhawks player to wear 17: Jason Dickinson.
Philipp Kurashev, 23: When I was young, I always wanted No. 13. Then, the first chance we got, I was 9, 10 years old, maybe even younger, we got to choose our number. And I told my friend because he wanted 13, like, I want 13. I even bought him some candies or something. He said he's not going to take it. He got to choose first, and he took 13. So I was one of the young guys, and there were like three numbers left, and 23 was one of them. I just chose it. Since then, I try to take it every time I have a chance to. Last Blackhawks player to wear 23: Brandon Manning.
Alec Martinez, 25: Twenty-seven and 23 weren't available. I've worn 23, 27. Twenty-five was available. It's somewhere in between. Hopefully the birth year of my first child. Beyond that, I don't really put much thought into all that. Last Blackhawks player to wear 25: Jarred Tinordi.
Spencer Knight, 30: I grew up in southern Connecticut, grew up a Rangers fan. Obviously, (Henrik) Lundqvist was the guy when I was growing up. I think he was the guy I really looked up to. I would always go to Rangers games and, you know, watching him, it's where I took after. That's basically why I wear 30, because of Lundqvist. Last Blackhawks player to wear 30: Jaxson Stauber.
Ethan Del Mastro, 38: That was just given to me at camp. I had two different numbers for that. They switched me and then switched me again and then gave me 38, and now it's what I've been using. I actually don't mind it at all. I'm probably just going to stick with it for now unless something changes. Last Blackhawks player to wear 38: Brandon Hagel.
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Arvid Söderblom, 40: They just gave me 40, and I was like, that's kind of a cool goalie number. I kind of like it and keep wearing it ever since. There's no meaning at all to it. Last Blackhawks player to wear 40: Robin Lehner.
Wyatt Kaiser, 44: I came here, they gave me 44 and I like it, so I'm staying with it. I've been 5 growing up, but I like wearing 44. Last Blackhawks player to wear 44: Calvin de Haan.
Louis Crevier, 46: It was a training camp number assigned. Didn't pick it. Last Blackhawks player to wear 46: Lucas Carlsson.
Artyom Levshunov, 55: I had options and just picked 55 because I had 5 on the back last season. The option to pick 55 was available. I think it works for me. Why not? It works for me. Last Blackhawks player to wear 55: Kevin Korchinski.
Tyler Bertuzzi, 59: Just training camp (as a rookie), nothing special. I've been 59 the whole time. I just didn't want to change it and stuck with it. Last Blackhawks player to wear 59: Rob Klinkhammer.
Alex Vlasic, 72: I was at development camp, and I went into the equipment room, and one of the guys just said, 'I got some bad news, (Colin) Blackwell wants your number.' I was like, all right. And then I had a couple weeks to kind of figure it out and look at some of the options. … I was looking at the options, 72 looked pretty good. It was my first-ever number, as well, so a little connection to that. But nothing that drew me to it, except that I like the number. Last Blackhawks player to wear 72: Artemi Panarin.
Lukas Reichel, 73: (The Blackhawks) texted me in the summer, and they're like, it'd be good if you changed your number, and I said, yeah, no problem. I'm 22 (years old), so I didn't really know (Jeremy Roenick), but I knew he was a great player. That's why he's in the Hall of Fame now. You got to respect that. For me, 27 wasn't really my number. I'm not superstitious with numbers. I think 73 looks cool. I actually feel bad for Luyps (Jalen Luypen) that he didn't have a choice to choose a number, but he has 43 now. I said, sorry, man. Seventy-three, I had with the national team. My dad was born in 1973, so that's why I had it in the national team. That's why I have it here. Last Blackhawks player to wear 73: Brandon Pirri.
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Patrick Maroon, 77: My favorite number is seven. Fourteen was taken. I just try to do anything with sevens. I wore No. 77 in London (Ontario in juniors). I think it's just my favorite number, seven, and I try to get a number that adds up to seven. No (reason why I love seven), I just always chose it. I thought it was a cool number. Last Blackhawks player to wear 77: Kirby Dach.
T.J. Brodie, 78: I was No. 7 for a long time in Calgary. Going to Toronto, obviously, it's retired there, same with here. I had to pick a new one. I didn't really care that much. So I picked 78 because I couldn't think of many guys who had worn it. It's also kind of a couple of special birth dates, but that's pretty much it. I've never really been superstitious or stuck with one number. Last Blackhawks player to wear 78: None.
Landon Slaggert, 84: Just the number that was in my stall when I got here. Nothing specific. When I grew up, I was No. 19, so that one was taken here. I've actually really liked it. It's grown on me for sure. Eighty-four is not a bad number at all. Last Blackhawks player to wear 84: Alexandre Fortin.
Teuvo Teräväinen, 86: Whenever I got the chance in Finland to pick my number, I was trying to pick something and just ended up picking 86. Nobody really had that too much, I felt like, so I just ended up with that one. It's been sticking ever since. Last Blackhawks player to wear 86: Mike Hardman.
Joe Veleno, 90: I was always a big No. 9 growing up. So everywhere I've been, I was either 9, 19 or 91. I was No. 9 in St. John (Sea Dogs in juniors) my first two years and got traded to Drummondville. I had a good buddy of mine who was wearing No. 9 and he was the captain also, so I didn't really want to interfere with that. I came up with the No. 90, and it's kind of stuck with me ever since. Last Blackhawks player to wear 90: Tyler Johnson.
Frank Nazar, 91: Obviously grew up in Detroit, was a big Sergei Fedorov fan, obviously a ton of speed with him, a lot of skill, I thought he was a great player. Then a few of my buddies wear 91. Just really like the number. Going from NTDP (U.S. National Team Development Program) to college, kind of watch to switch it up, do something different, like the number a lot and it was open so just went with it. Last Blackhawks player to wear 91: Anthony Beauvillier
Ilya Mikheyev, 95: Just in Chicago, 65, it's (important) and I respect everything. When they asked me if I could change, it was no problem for me. We just turned six up on its side and it's nine. Last Blackhawks player to wear 95: Dylan Sikura.
Connor Bedard, 98: I just picked it when I was like 6 years old, liked it, and no one had it at the time in the NHL, so I thought that was kind of cool. Yeah, I think when I was young, drew the higher number, and it stuck with me. Last Blackhawks player to wear 98: None.
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