Who Wore it Better?: #17

In an effort to make the offseason more bearable, we here at Avaholics Unanimous are committed to bringing you Avs related stuff to read. This could come in the form of senseless drabble, or things that are actually interesting to read. We hope these "Who Wore It Better" segments fall under the latter category.

For the Avs organization, #17 has been passed around more than T.J Hensick. Because he isn't very good and can't hold down steady employment on a hockey team. Out of all the #17's for the Avs, none really stand out. Most wear it for one year, then move on to either a new number or new team. Ever since 2012 a new player has worn #12 every year. Now, because of the foul of Joe Sakic and company, Brad Stuart gets to wear it for 2 more years. So who is the worst? Who is the best? Which one of the rest is more irrelevant?

The Best: Radim Vrbata. Talked about a lot on this blog when dealing with bad trades, or Bates Battaglia. Vrbata spent a season and a half with the Avs, scoring 29 goals and 60 points in 118 games. Apparently that wasn't good enough for a Czech rookie, so the Avs shipped him off for Battaglia, who was only good in Carolina because he played a few years with Rod Brind'Amour. Vrbata is still going strong, with 2 30 goal seasons and 3 20 goal seasons under his belt. And Battaglia, he won the Amazing Race. Did you know his legal first name is Jonathan?

The Worst: Brad Stuart. Two reasons. First, Nobody played a big enough role or enough games as a number 17 to warrant the title of the worst. Second, and lastly, Stuart was not good last year. This player is pretty current, so we will remind you of his failures is a few short words: Skating, shooting, defending, penalty killing. Enjoy the press box next year. Can someone pay us millions to eat junk food and watch the Avs?

Mr. Irrelevant: Christian Matte already won the award for Mr. Irrelevant on #14, so we'll give the honor to another player; Landon Wilson step right up. Wilson played 9 games as #17 for the Avs scoring a goal and 2 assists. He would go on to play for the Coyotes, Bruins, and Penguins up until 2004, before making an NHL comeback in 27 games with the Stars in 2009. He only scored more than 10 goals once in his career but his longevity in the league with those numbers takes a nod to his defensive, 2 way game he played.

Other 17's:

Jari Kurri: Kurri ended his illustrious career with the Avs, managed to score his 600th career goal in an Avs sweater.

Christian Matte: Mr. Irrelevant of #14, and runner up for #17 and #27 (spoiler alert).

Jim Cummins: Cummins retired in 2001-02 only to make a comeback to play for the Avs in 2003-04. Cummins was a tough guy amassing 1538 penalty minutes.

Jaroslav Hlinka: Winner of the "How to misuse European talent award"

Chuck Kobasew: He was always sort of around.

Aaron Palushaj: Yet another hot US College prospect that struggled to make the jump to the NHL. Remember Hobey Baker winner Kevin Porter?


Steve Downie: Also wore #27, and injuries unfortunately cut his time short before being traded for Max Talbot.



Also in the Series:

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