photo: Andre Ringuette/IIHF
There are 16 teams and nearly 400 players at the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, and every player has to wear a number. Some numbers tell stories; some don’t. But regardless, there are patterns that emerge.
Number 1, for instance, used to be the traditional number for goalies. Every team had a number 1. Not any more. In 2025, only three teams among the 40 or more goalies have a puckstopper who wears the lowest available number—Hungary’s Bence Balizs, Kazakhstan’s Jelal-ad-din Amirbekov, and United States’ Jeremy Swayman.
So what numbers do goalies wear? Apart from 1, there is a range from 20 to 88, but the biggest cluster is in the 30-35 range. Six goalies wear 30 and five wear 33, while four wear 31, 32, and 35. Only one wears 34 (Stephane Charlin).
At the other end, there are two skaters who wear 98, the highest available number—Czechia’s Martin Necas and Slovakia’s Andrej Golian.
In another sense, the Americans are the most traditional of teams. Six players have single digits, while Denmark doesn’t have even one player who wears 1-9. Germany and Latvia have only one player with a single digit.
Every team has at least one player who wears a number in the 90s, except Norway, whose highest number is the 78 of Emil Lilleberg. Austria, meanwhile, has four players who wear 90-98.
Some numbers are iconic, and that can mean two things. No one wears number 99 because to wear that number would be to say, “I’m as good as Gretzky.” What’s the European equivalent of 99? Without question it’s Jaromir Jagr’s 68. And yet…and yet!...one player is wearing that number this year—Hungary’s Bence Horvath. He, no doubt, is wearing it as a gesture of appreciation and admiration.
Among active players, there is likely no number more identifiable with one person as Sidney Crosby’s 87. But there are plenty of players around the world who wear that number, in the NHL and in IIHF competition. This year, there is Slovakia’s Pavol Regenda, Hungary’s Gergo Ambrus, and Kazakhstan’s Adil Beketayev.
Crosby is doubly lucky with his number 87. It represents both his date of birth (August (8) 7) and his year of birth (1987). Other players have to choose one or the other. Sweden’s Mika Zibanejad, for instance, wears 93 because he was born in 1993. And then there are the Bozon brothers. Tim, born in 1994, wears number 94, and Kevin, born 1995, wears, yes, you guessed it, 95.
As for birth date, Denmark’s Nicholas B. Jensen was born on April 8 and wears 48, while Zeteny Hadobas of Hungary, born March 2, wears 23.
All in all, there's a number for every story and a story for every number. Well, almost.
Number 1, for instance, used to be the traditional number for goalies. Every team had a number 1. Not any more. In 2025, only three teams among the 40 or more goalies have a puckstopper who wears the lowest available number—Hungary’s Bence Balizs, Kazakhstan’s Jelal-ad-din Amirbekov, and United States’ Jeremy Swayman.
So what numbers do goalies wear? Apart from 1, there is a range from 20 to 88, but the biggest cluster is in the 30-35 range. Six goalies wear 30 and five wear 33, while four wear 31, 32, and 35. Only one wears 34 (Stephane Charlin).
At the other end, there are two skaters who wear 98, the highest available number—Czechia’s Martin Necas and Slovakia’s Andrej Golian.
In another sense, the Americans are the most traditional of teams. Six players have single digits, while Denmark doesn’t have even one player who wears 1-9. Germany and Latvia have only one player with a single digit.
Every team has at least one player who wears a number in the 90s, except Norway, whose highest number is the 78 of Emil Lilleberg. Austria, meanwhile, has four players who wear 90-98.
Some numbers are iconic, and that can mean two things. No one wears number 99 because to wear that number would be to say, “I’m as good as Gretzky.” What’s the European equivalent of 99? Without question it’s Jaromir Jagr’s 68. And yet…and yet!...one player is wearing that number this year—Hungary’s Bence Horvath. He, no doubt, is wearing it as a gesture of appreciation and admiration.
Among active players, there is likely no number more identifiable with one person as Sidney Crosby’s 87. But there are plenty of players around the world who wear that number, in the NHL and in IIHF competition. This year, there is Slovakia’s Pavol Regenda, Hungary’s Gergo Ambrus, and Kazakhstan’s Adil Beketayev.
Crosby is doubly lucky with his number 87. It represents both his date of birth (August (8) 7) and his year of birth (1987). Other players have to choose one or the other. Sweden’s Mika Zibanejad, for instance, wears 93 because he was born in 1993. And then there are the Bozon brothers. Tim, born in 1994, wears number 94, and Kevin, born 1995, wears, yes, you guessed it, 95.
As for birth date, Denmark’s Nicholas B. Jensen was born on April 8 and wears 48, while Zeteny Hadobas of Hungary, born March 2, wears 23.
All in all, there's a number for every story and a story for every number. Well, almost.