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Islanders: Best Player To Wear Number 47

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 04: Andrew MacDonald #47 of the New York Islanders in action against the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center on February 4, 2014 in Washington, DC. The New York Islanders won, 1-0. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 04: Andrew MacDonald #47 of the New York Islanders in action against the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center on February 4, 2014 in Washington, DC. The New York Islanders won, 1-0. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Continuing our best of series, today we will look at the best player to wear number 47 for the New York Islanders in their history.

While only five players have worn the number 47 for the Islanders, the number is a little bit kinder to them then what we went through yesterday with 46. The first player to wear the number was Rich Pilon.

Dick Tarnstrom, Marc-Andre Bergeron, and Leo Komarov are also some notables to wear 47 for the Isles. Of that group, Rich Pilon will be our honorable mention for today.

In 1986, the Isles drafted Pilon in the seventh round. Two years later, he made his debut and had the most productive season of his career. In 62 games he put up 14 points (all assists). The following year he played in just 14 games for the Isles.

He would wear the number through the 1996 season, before switching to number 2 for the remainder of his time with the Islanders. In 12 years, and over 500 games, Pilon had just 60 points but over 1,500 penalty minutes.

Our winner today will be Andrew MacDonald. In 2006, the Isles landed MacDonald in the sixth round of the NHL Draft. Two years later, he’d make his NHL debut (wearing 43)  playing in just three games.

The following year he earned a little bit more playing time, getting in 46 games and putting up seven points along the way. By 2010-2011 he was a regular. This was his best year putting up 27 points in 60 games while averaging 23:25 of ice time a night.

MacDonald’s last year with the Isles came in 2013-14. He was playing over 25 minutes a night, on a pretty bad Islander team, but the Isles decided to move on from him at the deadline. MacDonald was sent to Philadelphia for a 2014 3rd, 2015 2nd, and Matt Mangene.

In six years with the Islanders, MacDonald played in 295 games and finished with 17 goals and 89 points averaging 23:12 of ice time per night over that span. During the early 2010s, the Isles relied on him heavily on that left side.

He would play another six years in Philadelphia in the NHL before moving to Swiss-A this past year.

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