Throughout the summer and into the fall, we’ll be counting down the days until the Edmonton Oilers begin their 2023-24 season with a daily trip down memory lane.
We’re now 69 days away from the start of the season. Nice.
The Oilers have never had a player rock No. 69 for them before, though minor-leaguer Gregg McKegg did so during the 2011-12 pre-season while with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Only two players have ever worn No. 69 during a regular-season NHL game. Mel Angelstad did so with the Washington Capitals in 2003-04 and Andrew Desjardins did so with the San Jose Sharks in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
Desjardins wasn’t wearing the number to be funny or as an ode to Doug Glatt from the movie Goon. He just rolled with the training camp jersey he was given by the team.
“I actually didn’t pick that number,” admitted Desjardins. “It was given to me as a camp number. I eventually made [the Sharks] but as a young guy, I wasn’t able to change numbers and I played a few years with that number. Then, when I was able to change numbers, I changed it to 10.”
It was a similar case for Angelstad, though he recognizes that wearing No. 69 made his name go down in history.
“The reason I wore 69 was simple,” Angelstad said. “The worse you are in camp, the higher the number you wear, unless you’re on the team and have an assigned number. So this should illustrate just how lofty my skills were.“I think it’s just my destiny. I got two games in the show and I end up in the record books for eternity as the first player to wear No. 69 in a regular season game.”
SEASON COUNTDOWN PRESENTED BY BETWAY
Previous days
- 99 Days Until The Season Begins — Wayne Gretzky
- 98 Days Until The Season Begins — Jesse Puljujarvi
- 97 Days Until The Season Begins — Connor McDavid
- 96 Days Until The Season Begins — Jayden Grubbe
- 95 Days Unit The Season Begins — The 1995 Draft
- 94 Days Until The Season Begins — Ryan Smyth
- 93 Days Until The Season Begins — Petr Nedved
- 92 Days Until The Season Begins — Tomas Jurco
- 91 Days Until The Season Begins — Magnus Paajarvi
- 90 Days Until The Season Begins — The 1990 Stanley Cup
- 89 Days Until The Season Beings — Mike Comrie
- 88 Days Until The Season Begins – Brandon Davidson
- 87 Days Until The Season Begins — Rendez-vous ’87
- 86 Days Until The Season Begins — Nikita Nikitin
- 85 Days Until The Season Begins — Petr Klima
- 84 Days Until The Season Begins — Oscar Klefbom
- 83 Days Until The Season Begins — Ales Hemsky
- 82 Days Until The Season Begins — Jordan Oesterle
- 80 Days Until The Season Begins — Ilya Bryzgalov
- 79 Days Until The Season Begins — The WHA-NHL Merger
- 78 Days Until The Season Begins — Marc-Antoine Pouliot
- 77 Days Until The Season Begins — Adam Oates
- 76 Days Until The Season Begins — Bryan Young
- 75 Days Until The Season Begins — Jacques Plante
- 74 Days Until The Season Begins — The Edmonton Gardens
- 73 Days Until The Season Begins — Vincent Desharnais
- 72 Days Until The Season Begins — The Alberta Oilers
- 71 Days Until The Season Begins — Lubomir Visnovsky
- 70 Days Until The Season Begins — Curtis Hamilton
