Mick Kern appears courtesy of Live From Wayne Gretzky’s

Earlier today, I saw a list of National Hockey League players who played a thousand or more regular season games in the league.

How many players have had the opportunity to suit up for an NHL team since the league formed in 1917?  Five thousand?  Can’t be that many, seeing that for twenty-five years, there were only six teams in the circuit.  Before 1942, when there were more teams in the league, how big were the rosters?

Whatever that number may be, as of Friday, November 13^th, 2009, from what I could see, only 238 players have played at least 1000 regular-season NHL games.  One might expect the giants of the game to be on that list, after all, you’d have to be pretty good to last that long in the world’s premier hockey league.  Or would you?  Maybe you just have to be good enough to stick around, just good enough to fill out the fourth line.

Gordie Howe leads the list with 1767 games under his belt during a 26-year NHL career, and that doesn’t take into account his years in the World Hockey Association.  Mark Messier follows Mr. Hockey, falling 11 games short of his total.  Ron Francis gets the bronze medal with 1731 games played, Chris Chelios has participated in 1644 games in the NHL…and possibly counting…and Dave Andreychuk sits in fifth spot with 1639.

The first three are Hall-of-Famers, Chelios will be one day if he ever decides to retire, and a good case can be made for Andreychuk to be there too.

Scanning down the list, most of the players listed near the top are Hall-of-Famers.  Scott Stevens, Ray Bourque, Larry Murphy, Johnny Bucyk, Steve Yzerman; just some of the names that pop out at you.  All of them great players during their tour-of-duty in the NHL.

But what about the plumbers, the spear-carriers, the lunch-bucket guys who turned a skill set based on limited talent and hard work into an NHL career that spanned over 1000 games?  When you think about it, it’s those guys that deserved the proverbial gold watch.  Most hockey fans probably would be unaware that they played that many games in the league.

How about defenceman Luke Richardson, who got into 1417 games over the course of his 20-year NHL career that was spent with 6 teams, including two stops in Toronto?  No-one should seriously consider Richardson for the Hall-of-Fame, but this steady D-man sits 22^nd on the list of games played.  Only 21 other players have a longer service record that Luke Richardson.  That’s gotta count for something.

Or how about, in 31^st spot, Doug Mohns, who played 1390 games spread over 22 years and five teams, most of them with the Bruins and Blackhawks well before the 1967 expansion?

And what about Dean Prentice (1378), or Ron Stewart (1353), or how about James Patrick (1280), or Marc Bergevin (1191)?

Marc Bergevin???

I remember a lot of hockey players, but this guy totally slipped my mind, until I saw him sitting at number 82 on the list.  Is he mostly remembered for his wacky sense-of-humour?

The 60^th overall draft pick of the Chicago Black Hawks in 1983, Bergevin played those 1191 games wearing the colours of the Black Hawks, (when they still went with Black Hawks, not Blackhawks), the Islanders, Whalers, Lightning, Red Wings, Blues, Penguins, Tampa again, and finally the Vancouver Canucks.

Reminds me of Mike Sillinger, who recently retired after putting 1049 on his NHL clock, playing for a record 12 different NHL franchises over 18 seasons.

Again, only 238 NHL players have reached the 1000 game mark, and Marc Bergevin and Mike Sillinger are two of them?  No offense intended to either gentleman, but both their names do not leap-to-mind when I think of long careers.

But I am wrong.  Very wrong.  Other foot soldiers that dodged bullets and made their Grand Mark on the game include Derian Hatcher, Curtis Leschyshyn, Gaetan Duschesne, Don Lever, Todd Gill, Dallas Drake, and Tie Domi?

Tie Domi got into 1020 NHL regular season games.  How did he manage that?  The dude could skate, and he had better hands than most enforcers.

Sitting at number 238, as of the day I checked the list, right on 1000 games, is Hockey Hall-of-Famer Bernie Federko, a magician with the puck during his heyday with the St. Louis Blues.

Mark Recchi of the Boston Bruins leads all active players with 1500 games played, and that’s good for 14^th on the list.  And what a career he’s had.  Think of those early years with the Penguins, and then his point-scoring explosion while a member of the Philadelphia Flyers.  Good enough for the Hall-of-Fame?  He’s at least in the discussion.

A thousand games in the NHL?  That’s an accomplishment to be proud of.

- Mick Kern

Mick Kern appears courtesy of Live From Wayne Gretzky’s

I am on the plane, heading to the Windy City for the Outdoor Classic, and am getting more and more excited about the game!  I felt the same way last year, nervous, excited, not sure what to expect, broadcasting outdoors.

But this one IS different. Yes, I now know what to expect from the elements of an outdoor game, but this is closer to my heart. The Windy City. I lived in Chicago for 20 years. My son and daughter were born there. Loyola Medical Center in Maywood Illinois, saved our son,Tyler’s life. Twice. How can this not be a special place? We have some of our best friends still in this city. It will always be a special place.

I have been in broadcasting since I retired from the NHL in 1990. I played my last NHL game in the 1989 playoffs as a member of the Hawks, as we went all the way to the Western Conference Finals against the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Calgary Flames.

My career ended a year later. I was 26 years old.  I tore an ACL before game 5 in practice vs Calgary in 1989 and re-habbed it with current Hawks trainer Mike Gapski.  He was awesome. We went hard at it and I came back to the ice in roughly 4 1/2 months. My surgeon was Dr. William Clancy, a man and surgeon that was way ahead of his time. We were aggressive and proactive and they did a great job of getting me back on ice in time to re-join the organization in time for the 1990 IHL regular season ending and the Play-offs with the Indianapolis Ice.

I had the pleasure of playing for Darryl Sutter, one of the very best Hawks leaders, as we won the Turner Cup Championship.  I was back in Chicago for the summer and training hard as I really thought I could get back in the NHL for the next season.

I hit a major road bump. I re-injured my knee a month before training camp. Should never have been playing tennis on clay courts!  Back to the Alabama Medical Center for repairs, and my career was in serious jeopardy. I hurried back from Alabama, where Dr.Clancy performed his 2nd surgery on my left knee, and 3rd overall on that same knee. I had to get back as the Hawks were having a going away party at Butterfield Country Club, for the recently traded Denis Savard.

Savvy is truly one of the very best. Love the guy. He deserves a lot of credit for this great young team in Chicago. He put his heart and soul into the franchise.  He was a great teammate and friend. He was my neighbor and we drove to the Stadium for many practices. Full of life. Smoked a lot of cigarettes. Still had great energy. He loved getting on the ice. He loved to dangle, laugh, deke you out of your jock strap and then do it again.  He was just traded to Montreal for Chris Chelios, a Chicago native that grew up loving Stan Mikita, Dick Butkis and the Chicago Bears.

As I get ready for the Outdoor Classic, I remember these things.  I remember how great a man Bill Wirtz was. He was loyal. He loved his players. He was a tough businessman. He taught you about loyalty and doing the little things the right way.  My 1st position with the Hawks when I retired was with WBBM News Radio 78, as they were the flagship station of the Hawks, the Mighty Blackhawks…you know the song.

Our studio before and after the game was in a small room, with a small bathroom in it. One night the Hawks weren’t very good and my partner, Brian Davis, started the show by having his mic nearly in the toilet, and he flushed it as we started the show….. ” Well….that about sums up the Hawks play tonight….”  We answered phone calls after games and tried as best we could to explain why Mr Wirtz wouldn’t put the Hawks on home TV. Tough to explain, but we did the best we could. Mr Wirtz would personally call me and say I was doing a ‘fine job’ with the callers. He always said, “I know it can’t be easy…”

Now its the Outdoor game in Chicago.  Wrigley Field.  Mark Grace and the boys. The Cubs. The summer sun beating down on the most loyal fans in all of sports. The ivory and bricks.

This morning I get up and look out the window of the Drake Hotel and for miles I see the shore and the Gold Coast. Oak Street beach is right below my window. A classic winter day as I get ready for the game.  I step outside and the brisk wind grabs my attention. It is the wind. Its not that cold, only 3 days before the game, but the wind will be the challenge for sure.

NBC did a great job last year in Buffalo letting the elements tell the story. The game was the story. The snow coming down. The players were cold and constantly wiping their eyes, face and visors if they had one on. Darryl Sydor started the game with one on, but ended the game without it. Too much maintenance, and dangerous as well as it was tough to see, even a few feet in front of you.

Our producer, Sam Flood, is an experienced hockey player himself, and makes sure the game is the main topic of conversation on the air. He allowed us, as broadcasters, simply tell the story. What is the wind like? What adjustments do the coaches have to make? Are the goalies able to see the puck? These are every analyst dream position to be in. Just relay the story to the audience. What a pleasure it was to be in that environment and hopefully the weather let’s us just tell the story.

Last year there were 72,000 passionate fans that wouldn’t leave their seats, all bundled up and trying to be as warm as they could be. It was truly a sight to behold. At one point, singing Neil Diamonds “Sweet Caroline”…and it sounded good!  Between the benches with skates on made it unique, as I hopped over the boards many times to interview a player, show the viewers the built up snow on the ice and how they have to battle the elements. I even tossed a snowball at the main men behind the mic’s, Doc Emrick and Ed Olczyk, a former teammate of mine with the Hawks, before he was traded to Toronto.

The fans love this stuff.

Casual fans love to see an outdoor stadium with grown men playing the sport they love. The same way most of these guys competed as kids. We all started out on outdoor rinks or ponds when I was growing up. In the elements. In the snow. Facing adversity. Laughing. Competing.  I can’t wait to get to Wrigley.

Several years back, I was up in the scoreboard and my duty was to change the score as the Cubs were struggling. I had to place the old tin #’s in the right spot. It was hot and muggy. It was so cool to be up there. What an experience that was.

In a few days I am able to see the 1st NHL game played at Wrigley and I can’t wait. No need for anyone up in that old scoreboard.

The Wings and the Hawks. The defending Champs vs the Contender, a real legitimate contender. Datsyuk and Zetterberg against Kane and Toews.  Outdoors.  Let the temperature drop and let the game begin!

- Panger