Islanders Best Player To Wear Number 14

Continuing our best of series, today we will look at the best player to wear number 14 for the New York Islanders in their history.

Since the Islanders have come into the league, 19 players have worn the number 14. The first to ever do it was Brian Marchinko in 1973-1974. Some other notables are Tom Fitzgerald, Derek Armstrong, Chris Campoli, Trevor Gillies, and Thomas Hickey.

Of the other notables, I’d argue that Thomas Hickey should be the honorable mention. Hickey is a former fourth overall pick by the Los Angeles Kings who never played a single game for them. Garth Snow was able to find Thomas Hickey on waivers before the 2012-2013 season.

From 2012 through the first half of 2018-2019 Hickey was a regular part of the defensive core. His best year came in 2017-2018 when he had 25 points (5 goals, 20 assists) in 69 games.

Hickey was known as Mr. Overtime as he scored numerous big goals for this club including the playoff clincher in 2016, and the game-winner in Game 3 of the Florida Panthers series.

While Hickey should be remembered fondly, the second player to ever wear number 14 for the Islanders is our winner today, Bob Bourne. For 12 seasons, Bourne wore the number proudly for the Islanders.

In 814 career games with the Islanders, he had 542 points (238 goals, 304 assists). He was acquired by the Islanders via trade before the 1974-1975 season and immediately became a mainstay at 20 years old.

Bourne’s best year came in 1980-1981 when he had 76 points (35 goals, 41 assists) and finished fifth in Selke voting. He scored 30 goals or more with the Islanders on three separate occasions.

Bob Bourne was on all four Stanley Cup-winning teams and boy did he save his best for the playoffs. In 1980, he had 10 goals and 20 points in 21 games, in 1982 he had 16 points in 19 games and then in 1983 he was at a whopping 28 points in 20 games.

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In 2006, Bourne was inducted into the Islanders hall of fame. When thinking of number 14 and the Isles, Mr. Bourne is the first person that comes to mind.