Numbers Game 2009: Bertuzzi and the Prospects

345

Two things have come up since my look at possible Red Wing sweater numbers for the 2009-10 season on Sunday, the Wings signed Todd Bertuzzi and the team’s prospect tournamant roster was announced on Red Wings Central.

If the roster on the Red Wings’ newly-redesigned web site is to be believed, Bertuzzi will be wearing #44 for Detroit this season. He’s also listed as wearing #7 on his player profile page (which he wore last season in Calgary and is retired in Detroit) so that might not be a trustworthy source.

Should Bertuzzi indeed be wearing #44, Patrick Eaves will be searching for a new number and the #9 and #7 he’s previously worn are unavailable. Should Bertuzzi leave the #44 to Eaves, the #4 he wore in Anaheim is an option (though I personally think #4 is not a forward’s number, no matter what Jean Beliveau and Vincent Lecavalier say) as is the #27 he wore with the Vancouver Canucks while Dave Babych had #44.

At the prospect tournament three players will be wearing new numbers for the Red Wings.

Francis Pare will be switching from the #57 he wore when he was invited as a Grand Rapids Griffin last season to #59. Travis Erhardt moves from the #63 he wore as a free-agent try out last fall to #45. Brian Lashoff, who was also a free-agent last year, moves from #65 to #49.

Of course the number a player wears as a prospect isn’t always tied to what they’ll wear should they make the big club. Tomas Kopecky wore #27, #44 and #32 before finally breaking into the league wearing #28 (and switching to #82 for his sophomore season).

http://www.detroithockey.net

Clark founded the site that would become DetroitHockey.Net in September of 1996 with no idea what it would lead to. He continues to write for the site and executes the site's design and development.

Comments are closed.

Shares