Over the years, the number 56 has been an oddly common number for the Nashville Predators, but only in the very recent past.
The first player to ever don the number was Kris Beech, a former highly touted prospect who never quite lived up to expectations after being selected seventh overall by the Washington Capitals in the 1999 NHL Draft.
Beech played just five games for the Predators during the 2005-06 season, scoring a goal and a pair of assists in the process. He spent a considerable amount of time with the Milwaukee Admirals during that season as well, but eventually went back to Washington to close out the campaign.
The Predators' third round draft pick in the 2009 Draft, Taylor Beck, was the next player to take over the number 56 during his first stint at the NHL level. During the 2012-13 campaign, he appeared in 16 games and scored three goals and tallied a total of seven points. The following season, he changed his number, ending his stint with the number 56 on his back.
Kevin Fiala's number 22 is almost synonymous with his career at this point, but in the early days of his NHL career, he had the number 56 on his uniform. He spent parts of three seasons with the number, but when he officially became a full-time NHLer and had more input in his number, he made the swap that has stuck with him ever since.
Erik Haula has worn the number 56 for the Predators on two separate occasions. First, he joined the organization for a short stint during the 2020-21 season. He appeared in just 51 games for the Preds during that time, before heading to the Boston Bruins for the following campaign. He then returned to Nashville for the 2025-26 season, but again, just sent a single season with the Predators, as he's going to join the Los Angeles Kings for the upcoming campaign.
Kole Sherwood, the brother of the more widely remembered Kiefer Sherwood, also wore the number 56 for the Predators during a single game in the 2021-22 season, which would be the final NHL game of his career.
