Among the Islander numbers that still circulate, the one that many fans think should be retired is #27, in honor of the contributions the original wearer of that sweater, John Tonelli, made to the Isles.
However, it has not been retired (nor for that matter has Tonelli been honored by the team's Hall of Fame), so #27 was available for Anders Lee. (Lee wore #9 at ND, but he was not going to get that here.)
Lee will become the 10th player to wear #27, previously worn with distinction by Tonelli, Derek King, and for a shorter period, by Michael Peca.
Hopefully Lee's Islander career will someday resemble one of those, and not Jeremy Colliton, Randy Robitaille, Matt Keith or Daryl Bootland who all briefly wore it.
Mark Parrish wore 27 for one season (and then switched to #37 when Peca arrived). The last player to wear 27 was Milan Jurcina, who played 111 games over the past two seasons.
Lee won't wear it tonight though -- he is not out for the pre-game skate and Capuano had stated earlier that he was not going to debut tonight.
However, it has not been retired (nor for that matter has Tonelli been honored by the team's Hall of Fame), so #27 was available for Anders Lee. (Lee wore #9 at ND, but he was not going to get that here.)
Lee will become the 10th player to wear #27, previously worn with distinction by Tonelli, Derek King, and for a shorter period, by Michael Peca.
Hopefully Lee's Islander career will someday resemble one of those, and not Jeremy Colliton, Randy Robitaille, Matt Keith or Daryl Bootland who all briefly wore it.
Mark Parrish wore 27 for one season (and then switched to #37 when Peca arrived). The last player to wear 27 was Milan Jurcina, who played 111 games over the past two seasons.
Lee won't wear it tonight though -- he is not out for the pre-game skate and Capuano had stated earlier that he was not going to debut tonight.
Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick, statistician on Islander home telecasts since January 21, 1982. Visit my blog: NYISkinny.com and follow me on Twitter @ehornick
No comments:
Post a Comment