Welcome to our series on who wore each number best for the Penguins.
The idea is being openly borrowed from our new hockey writer, Cody Tucker, and his project at the Lansing State Journal covering all the uniform numbers worn through Michigan State football history, one that’s been well received by their readers and prompted heavy discussion and debate.
Under my organization, and following the voting of a big chunk of our staff, we’ll publish one new one each day until completion, which should be right around the start of training camp.
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Name: Rusty Fitzgerald
Number: 52
Position: Center
Born: October 4, 1972, in Minneapolis
Seasons with Penguins: 1994-96
Statistics with Penguins: 25 games, two goals, two assists in regular season; five games in playoffs
WHY FITZGERALD?
Fitzgerald was the Penguins' second-round pick in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft.
Fitzgerald, a standout in Minnesota high school hockey, spent the next four years at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, producing at nearly a point-per-game pace. After the conclusion of his senior season, he made his professional debut with the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the IHL.
Not long after, Fitzgerald was recalled on April 16, 1995. He appeared in four regular season games for Pittsburgh (wearing No. 34), and scored one goal. He remained with the team for the playoffs, and was scoreless in five postseason games.
Fitzgerald had a successful first full professional season. He spent most of the year in Cleveland, where he recorded 17 goals and 19 assists in 46 games. He played 21 games in Pittsburgh that year, scoring one goal and two assists.
The future was looking bright for the Penguins' prospect. A 1996 scouting report described Fitzgerald as "a hard-working grinder who could be playing in the NHL already on some other teams. He does his best work along the boards and in the corners."
Fitzgerald suffered a knee injury during the Penguins' 1996 training camp that caused him to sit out the entire 1996-97 season, and most of the following season.
He played in the Penguins' 1997 preseason games, during which he dropped the gloves with Matt Barnaby:
Fitzerald played 34 games for Cleveland that year, but only scored eight points.
In the summer of 1998, Fitzgerald signed with the Quad City Mallards of the UHL.
WHAT’S HE DOING NOW?
Fitzgerald, now 45, saw some success in other organizations, but never made it back to the NHL. He scored 54 points in 53 games in his first season with Quad City. He had stints in the IHL with the Manitoba Moose, the WCHL with the San Diego Gulls, and the German DEL with the Iserlohn Roosters and Frankfurt Lions. He retired following the 2002-03 season.
According to Fitzgerald's LinkedIn page, he's been a business and personal banker for Wells Fargo for the last 12 years in Minnesota.
His younger brother, Zack, last played for the Steelers. The Sheffield Steelers, that is, of the British Elite Ice Hockey League. He'll play for the Glasgow Clan of the same league next season.
IT WAS SPOKEN
"He's got one song he plays all the time. He was up during the playoffs last year, and he kept playing this one song. He'd play it over and over. We got sick of it after awhile." -- Ron Francis on Fitzgerald's piano skills in 1995
"That's one good thing about having so many new guys on the team this season. They haven't heard that song." -- Richard Park on Fitzgerald's piano skills
"Actually, I know three or four songs. I made them all up. I play by ear. I don't know how to read music." -- Fitzgerald on his piano skills
HONORABLE MENTIONS AT NO. 52:
None
ANY DEBATE?
Fitzgerald is the only player to have ever worn 52 for the Penguins.
Tomorrow: Nobody has worn No. 53, so I'll skip right to 54 tomorrow.
Yesterday: Derrick Pouliot