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 15s in NHL/WHL history by looking at the players that wore the number that are in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
- Martin St. Louis
- Bill McCreary
- Brett Hull
- Glenn Anderson
- Glen Sather
- Bert Olmstead
- Alex Delvecchio
- George Armstrong
- Ted Lindsay
- Maurice Richard
- Milt Schmidt
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 15 there is but one:
- Milt Schmidt of the Boston Bruins who retired this legend's number 15 on March 13, 1980.
Milt Schmidt
Born March 5, 1918, in Kitchener, Ontario, was Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame center Milt Schmidt. Milt was part of the Stanley Cup Champion teams of 1939 and 41 of the Boston Bruins. He also was the coach/GM for the Stanley Cup Champion 1970 and 72 Boston Bruins teams.
Bert Olmstead
Born September 4, 1926, in Sceptre, Saskatchewan, was Hockey Hall of Fame Left Wing, Bert Olmstead. This legend was part of the Stanley Cup Champion Montreal Canadiens 1953, 56, 57, 58; Toronto Maple Leafs 1962. Olmstead began his career with the Black Hawks in 1949. In December 1950, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens via Detroit.Olmstead was a physical player who was known for his hard-nosed style of play. He was also a skilled scorer. Bert played in 11 Stanley Cup Finals in his 14-year NHL career, winning five times. He retired with 181 goals and 421 assists for 602 points in 848 games. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985.
