Who Wore It Best: Number 46
We’re getting into some of the more lightly used numbers now and 46 has only been worn for 97 Avalanche games. The cast for today’s show:
Yuri Babenko
Babenko was the Avs 2nd round pick in 1996 out of Russia. He popped over to North America to play in the OHL in 1997 then spent the next 4 years with the Hershey Bears. During the run to the 2nd Stanley Cup he played 32 minutes over 3 games for the Avs. In 2002 he returned to Russia for a long career that ended in 2013.
Stefan Elliott
Big Stef was also a 2nd round pick, this time in 2009. He turned pro in 2011 after making Duncan Siemens look awesome in Saskatoon. His rookie season found him in the NHL right off the bat but was demoted to the AHL mid-season for 2009 3rd rounder Tyson Barrie and that foreshadowed the rest of their Avs careers.
Patrick Roy didn’t seem to cotton to his style so he played 1 game in the miracle season of 2014 then 5 more the next and that’s all she wrote. Right before 2015 training camp opened he was traded for our next 46er. Final tally: 63 games, 6 goals and 18 points. He played a few games for the Coyotes and Predators then headed to Europe.
Brandon Gormley
Gormley was in the same situation with Phoenix that Elliott was in Colorado so the teams swapped problems early in the 15-16 season. He was a year younger and nowhere near as offensively talented but the Avs gave it a shot. He made it 26 games with 1 assist and the staff cut bait and sent him to San Antonio. He clearly did not want to be there unfortunately. The next season he left for the Devils AHL team and was traded to the Sens mid-season but never saw NHL ice.
AJ Greer
Although Greer now wears the #24, his rookie season was spent in the #46 which he wore for 5 games over a couple of callups.
(JC Beaudin)
Beaudin will hopefully be the next to wear the 46 with the Avs, taking over for his teammate in Rouyn-Noranda and San Antonio.
By sheer volume if nothing else, Stef Elliott is the frontrunner here. What say you, dear reader? Who wore #46 best?
[qsm quiz=79]
