Nicklas Backstrom Felt Wrong on Wearing Wayne Gretzky's No. 99 -NHL Update
Even though he is currently playing in Russia, Washington Capitals Nicklas Backstrom knows that respect and discipline has to be maintained wherever he goes. For him, it was just wrong to wear No.99 on his jersey after joining the Dynamo Moscow of the Russian,
Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), which is why he will be getting No. 69 now.
No.99 is widely respected in the world of hockey, since it is the number of ‘The Great One’ and hockey legend, Wayne Gretzky.
“It was wrong,” Backstrom told HockeyExpressen.se, via Google Translate “I had not so much to choose from when I came here [Oct. 19] and wanted to have a number with a 9. So I got the 99th. But even before the first match, I asked to change, it felt wrong
simply. Ninety-nine is Gretzky’s number.”
His number with the Washington Capitals is 19, but that was not available on the team since fellow teammate on the Moscow team, Denis Kokarev, is already wearing it, but after a request made to the team, Dynamo has decided to award Backstrom No. 69.
“But Dynamo said that the number [99] is already registered, and therefore I must have it in two games. Then it will be a new number. … I'll take anything but that,” Backstrom added.
Backstrom is a centre position player for the Washington Capitals and is currently playing in Russia, along with Capitals captain, Alex Ovechkin, due to the lockout. He was drafted as the fourth overall back in round-one of the 2006 National Hockey League
(NHL) Entry Draft and has been a part of the squad ever since.
In five seasons with Washington thus far, the Swedish player has established himself to be one of the best leading forwards on the team. He has 365 games under his belt for a total of 367 points (101 goals, 266 assists) and 184 minutes in penalty time.
The 24-year-old is also under contract with the Washington Capitals, to a 10-year, $67 million deal which he signed with them prior to the 2010-2011 regular season following the end of his entry level contract with them.
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