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Hockey Number 12s

The Greatest NHL Skaters to Wear Number 12
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Hall of Fame and Retired Number 12s

Our mission to preserve the history of pro hockey through the sweater uniform numbers players wear is to objectively come up with a list of the greatest players at each number based on their career performance. This look is based on facts and statistics gathered as of 1/1/2022.

Let us start our journey on identifying the greatest number 12s in NHL/WHL history by looking at the players that wore the number that are in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

  • Sid Abel
  • Bryan Hextall
  • Jean Beliveau
  • Dickie Moore
  • Ace Bailey
  • Andy Bathgate
  • Yvan Cournoyer
  • Phil Esposito
  • Fern Flaman
  • Marcel Dionne
  • Dale Hawerchuk
  • Adam Oates
  • Jarome Iginla

Our next bit of recognition is of the players who have had the number retired by clubs that they played for along with the date of the number being officially retired. For the number 12 they are:

  • Sid Abel    Detroit Red Wings    April 29, 1995
  • Yvan Cournoyer    Montreal Canadiens    November 12, 2005
  • Jarome Iginla    Calgary Flames    March 2, 2019
  • Dickie Moore    Montreal Canadiens    November 12, 2005
  • Stan Smyl    Vancouver Canucks    November 3, 1991

Jarome Iginla

Born July 1, 1977, in Edmonton, Alberta, was Hockey Hall of Fame Right Wing Jarome Iginla. This legend was a four-time NHL All-Star, winner of the Messier Award, Ted Lindsay Pearson Award, King Clancy Memorial Trophy, Art Ross, and two-time winner of the Maurice Richard Award. Iginla scored 1300 points during his 22-year career that saw him on the rosters of the Calgary Flames, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, and Los Angeles Kings.

Yvan Cournoyer Montreal Star HOF RW

Born November 22, 1943, in Drummondville, Quebec, was Hockey Hall of Fame Right Wing Yvan Cournoyer. This legend was a four-time NHL All-Star on some Montreal Canadiens teams that won eight Stanley Cup Championships. Cournoyer also claims fame for scoring the tying goal in the deciding game eight of the Canada-USSR series with seven minutes remaining in 1972. This lamp lighter led to Team Canada winning the game and series on a Paul Henderson Goal with only 34 seconds remaining. Cournoyer was honored in 2017 as one of the 100 players chosen as the Greatest in NHL History.

Phil Esposito

Born February 20, 1942, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, was Hockey Hall of Fame Center, Phil Esposito. This legend was an eight-time NHL All-Star who won five Art Ross, two Ted Lindsey Awards, and two Hart Memorial Trophies. Esposito is best known for his time with the Boston Bruins; however, he started his NHL journey with the Chicago Black Hawks. On the other side of his career, after playing in Beantown, he was a member of the New York Rangers. Esposito's career was so impactful that he was honored on the NHL's 100th Anniversary - 100 Greatest Players.

Greatest Sweater Number 12s in NHL WHL History

I am not going to lie, hockey is a tough sport to identify who the top players in history are. The modern statistics using Fenway and Corsi percentages are great but they only apply to players since 2008. The challenge is how do you group players from all positions on the ice throughout NHL and WHL history all together to find the best at a certain number? I am not sure there is any one way to do so correctly but here is our stab at it for this number using stats like; goals, assists, points, plus/minus, saves and bonus points for years wearing the sweater number and Hall of Fame. We also had to give Defensive line players a little boost based on their plus/minus stats. It is not perfect but here is our statistical call on the top 15 greatest NHL/WHL players wearing the number 12.

  1. Phil Esposito
  2. Marcel Dionne
  3. Adam Oates
  4. Jarome Iginla
  5. Jean Beliveau
  6. Dale Hawerchuk
  7. Yvan Cournoyer
  8. Patrick Marleau
  9. Andy Bathgate
  10. Wayne Cashman
  11. Peter Bondra
  12. Eric Staal
  13. Pat Verbeek
  14. Brent Sutter
  15. Dickie Moore

Stats and Figures of the Top 25

Here is a look at our stats, years played with the uniform number and calculations on the top 25 number 12s pro hockey players:

So what do you think? Send us your feed back to PigskinDispatch@gmail.com

Credits

Special thanks to the banner photo above from an unknown photographer and contributor to the public domain of Wikimedia Commons. The Pic is of Photo of Phil Esposito as a member of the Boston Bruins. circa 1969.

Of course we also could not have done the above stat research without the assistance of Hockey-Reference.com and Stathead.com resources.

We would love to get your feedback! Please send what you are thinking to PigskinDispatch@gmail.com

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