A Series: Looking into Avalanche and Nordiques Player Numbers: Number 46

Since the 1951 season there have been 91 players to have worn the number 46 in the NHL. Two guys have worn it while in the Quebec Nordiques jersey and two guys have sported the number with the Avalanche on his chest. All four of these guys were drafted by the organization.

Curtis Leschyshyn (89): Curtis was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques 3rd overall in the 1988 draft. He stayed with the Quebec-Colorado organization until he was traded during the 2002 season. Curtis won two Stanley Cups with the Avalanche, however, he only wore the number 46 for his first season. Before the start of the 1990 season he made the switch to his preferred number 7. In 1989 the defenseman played 71 games, had 4 goals, 9 assists and 71 penalty minutes. He was a -32, for comparison's sake he was +32 in 1996 when the Avalanche won their first Stanley Cup.

Niklas Andersson (93): Niklas was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques in the 4th round of the 1989 draft. He played 3 games for the Nordiques. He had no goals, 1 point, and had two penalty minutes. He left Quebec and as a free agent and signed with the New York Islanders when he couldn't crack the lineup for a longer time.

Yuri Babenko (01): Yuri was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2nd round of the 1996 draft. He played three regular season games for the Avalanche in 2001, he had no points, no penalty minutes... and was a +/-0. These would be only games he played in the NHL.

Stefan Elliott (12): Stefan was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2nd round of the 2009 draft. During the 2012 season the defenseman played 39 games for the Avalanche. He had 4 goals, 9 assists, 8 penalty minutes and was a +2.