The Columbus Blue Jackets have 26 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today, we look at the history of jersey #26.
Let’s take a look.
Andrej Nedorost – 2002-2003 – Drafted by Columbus in 2000.
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Nedorost played 28 games for Columbus from 2001 to 2004. He also played parts of three seasons with the Syracuse Crunch. After his time with Columbus, he would never play another NHL game.
He left for Europe in 2004, where he began playing in Russia. He also played in Czechia, Sweden, Slovakia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Poland. His last professional season was in 2015.
Todd Marchant – 2004-2006 – Drafted by the New York Rangers in 1993.
Marchant played 95 games for Columbus and totaled 43 points after signing in 2003.
Marchant refused to waive his no-trade clause, which would have allowed Columbus to send him to Anaheim as part of the Sergei Fedorov trade. After trading for Fedorov, Columbus placed Marchant on waivers to circumvent his no-trade clause. Anaheim picked Marchant up off waivers on November 21, 2005, to make him a Mighty Duck.
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Derek MacKenzie – 2008-2009 – Drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in 1999.
MacKenzie played 279 games over the course of seven seasons for Columbus. He signed with Columbus in 2007 and made his debut in December of that year.
He left for the Florida Panthers in 2014 and would play there until he retired in 2019. Later that year, he was named an asst. coach for Florida. He’s spent the last two seasons as an asst. coach for the Nashville Predators.
Samuel Påhlsson – 2010-2012 – Drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in 1996.
Påhlsson signed with Columbus in 2009 and played a total of 222 games. He was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in 2012, which would be his last NHL season.
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He made a move to Europe in 2012 to play in Sweden. He played three seasons before retiring on April 16, 2015.
Corey Tropp – 2014-2015 – Drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 2007.
Tropp was claimed off waivers from the Buffalo Sabres on November 27, 2013. He would play a total of 105 games with Columbus, including 61 in 2014-15. On June 30, 2015, Tropp was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in the deal that brought Brandon Saad to Columbus.
After spending three straight seasons in the AHL with the San Diego Gulls, Tropp left for Europe. He played a season in Germany and one in Poland before retiring.
Kyle Quincey – 2017 – Drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in 2003.
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Quincy played 20 games with the Jackets after being traded to Columbus from New Jersey on March 1, 2017. He played one year in Minnesota before leaving for Finland to play one more season. He retired after that one season in LIIGA.
Thomas Vanek – 2018 – Drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 2003.
Vanel was traded to the CBJ on February 26, 2018, from the Vancouver Canucks. He played a total of 19 games and had 15 points.
He signed a one-year deal with Detroit in 2019. That would be his final season in pro hockey. He is now a Hockey Operations Advisor for the San Jose Sharks.
Zac Dalpe – 2021 – Drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2008.
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The former Ohio State Buckeye forward played 25 games for the Jackets and had 4 career points.
Dalpe played in 133 games for the Monsters and had 100 points. For his career, he played 574 games and totaled 393 points. On July 7, 2025, Dalpe retired from hockey and was hired by the Seattle Kraken as a Development Coach. For this upcoming season, he was named Team Consultant by the Kraken. He will help young players find their footing in pro hockey by helping with apartments, bills, and everything else that comes with being new to the pro game.
There are 26 days until opening night at NWA.
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