Canucks: The best player to wear each jersey number
By Joshua Rey
21. Jyrki Lumme, 1990-1998
Jyrki Lumme is also one of the best defencemen in Canucks history. He was reliable in the defensive zone but he was best known for being an offensive defenceman with a quick wrist shot. Lumme’s best season was 1993-94 where he had 13 goals and 55 points. He is third all time in points for a Vancouver defenceman with 321.
22. Daniel Sedin, 2000-2018
Daniel Sedin was a no-brainer here. He is the Canucks’ franchise leading goal scorer, is second in points and the leader in power play and game-winning goals. Daniel won the Ted Lindsay Award and the Art Ross Trophy in 2011. He is one of only two Canucks to reach 1,000 points. (wonder who is the other guy?)
23. Thomas Gradin, 1979-1986
Thomas Gradin, like Smyl was a big part of the Canucks’ 1982 cup run. He scored 19 points in 17 playoff games that year and had 37 goals and 86 points in the regular season. Gradin’s 550 career points made him the franchise’s leading scorer at the time of his departure. He is now a scout for the Canucks.
24. Matt Cooke, 1998-2008
Matt Cooke was known for being a pest during his career and his time with the Canucks. He made big hits, wasn’t afraid to drop the gloves and was solid on the penalty kill and in the defensive zone.
Cooke’s best season in Vancouver was a 15-goal, 42-point campaign in 2002-03. Of course, we can’t forget his game-tying goal in the waning seconds of Game 7 in the 2004 Western Conference Quarterfinals against the Calgary Flames.
25. Orland Kurtenbach, 1960-1974
Orland Kurtenbach was the first captain in franchise history. His best season was 1971-72, where he had 24 goals and 61 points. Kurtenbach retired in 1974, and he later served as their head coach for two seasons (1976-77 to 1977-78). In October 2010, he was the first Canuck inducted in the Ring of Honour.
26. Trent Klatt, 1999-2003
Trent Klatt is best known as the Sedins’ first linemate. He was on their line for three of his five seasons in Vancouver. Klatt scored the overtime winner, set up by the twins in Game 1 of their second round series against the Minnesota Wild.
27. Harold Snepsts, 1974-1984, 1988-1990
Harold Snepsts was a defenceman who had a pretty cool moustache. He was (and still is in a way) a fan favourite in Vancouver. Snepsts was known for his physicality, toughness and grit and fans would often chant his name. Snepsts is fourth all time in penalty minutes with 1,446.
28. Luc Bourdon, 2007-2008
This is a heavy one. Luc Bourdon wore 28 for 27 games in the 2007-08 season. Sadly, he died in a motorcycle accident at the age of 21 on May 29, 2008.
As a result, the number 28 was taken out of circulation. We may never know how good Bourdon could have been, but he certainly displayed the potential.
29. Gino Odjick, 1991-1998
Gino Odjick was a winger who was tough as nails. The franchise leader in penalty minutes was an enforcer and a fan favourite.
In 1993-94, he scored 16 goals, a career high. Odjick’s most memorable moment was when he fought multiple players on the St. Louis Blues in a 1995 game. He wore 29 because that was his father, Joe’s registration number when he was in a residential school in Spanish, Ontario.
30. Cesare Maniago, 1976-1978
Now we are getting into goalie territory. Cesare Maniago (sounds like someone who would own a pizza place.) played the final two seasons of his career with the Canucks, posting 17 wins in 1976-77 and 10 the following year.