Islanders' Ho-Sang wears No. 66 to honor Lemieux
Bruce Bennett / Getty Images Sport / Getty
By wearing No. 66 on the back of his jersey, New York Islanders rookie forward Joshua Ho-Sang is honoring and not disrespecting the great Mario Lemieux.
That's how he sees it, at any rate, in advance of his NHL regular-season debut Thursday in Dallas.
Joshua Ho-Sang will be just the 6th NHL player to wear No. 66 in a game. That was a topic of discussion this morning: pic.twitter.com/M4W89sDzyA
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) March 2, 2017
Only five players have worn No. 66 in NHL history, and only one - T.J. Brodie of the Calgary Flames in 2011 - since the Pittsburgh Penguins great retired in 2006.
The number hasn't been retired by the NHL, though, meaning anyone is free to choose it.