LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Vegas Golden Knights forward Ivan Barbashev keeps it simple when asked if there is a story behind his jersey number.
Watch Knights in the Morning here: Knights in the Morning: Ivan Barbashev talks jersey number
“Not really," Barbashev said.
Number 49 came to Barbashev when he started out in the league.
"When I was drafted at training camp, they gave it to me as a young guy, you can’t really ask for anything like this, so you get what you get," Barbashev said. "Later on, I tried to switch to Number 22 cause that’s what I used to wear growing up, same as my older brother and younger brother, but somebody got traded from Winnepeg, he took 22.”
However, Barbashev tells Alex Eschelman he still likes the number.
“You’ll take it," Eschelman said.
“I’ll take it," Barbas