LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Two-time Stanley Cup champion Alex Pietrangelo has become a mainstay in VGK lineups and a key cog in the Vegas Golden Knights' winning formula.
The defenseman spent parts of 12 seasons captaining the St. Louis Blues and wearing number 27. When he joined the Golden Knights in 2020, Pietrangelo switched to number 7 as original misfit Shea Theodore wore 27.
In an edition of Knights in the Morning, 'Petro' told Channel 13's Nick Walters that he jokes that Theodore wouldn't let him have 27 upon his arrival in Vegas. But in all actuality, he took #7 because "it's kind of similar."
"There's no reason why I had #27 to begin with," Pietrangelo said. "It was just the number I had when I started. And I wasn't going to take that from Theo."
At 35, Pietrangelo has played in plenty of hockey games. In the 2023-24 season, he played in his 1000th NHL game. But he doesn't have one particular unique gameday routine.
"I just try to leave around the same time but that's so I'm not late," Pietrangelo said. "Other than that, I try to get rest around the same time on game day."
Pietrangelo says if he could play with a legend of the game it'd be his favorite childhood player Andrei Nikolishin, a Russian pro center who played for Hartford, Washington, Chicago, and Colorado in his NHL career.