There have been close to 8,000 players who have suited up for a National Hockey League game. According to NHL.com, only 396 have played in 1,000 games or more in their career.

ThatB次元官网网址檚 around five per cent, so the odds are stacked against you when it comes to reaching that milestone.

So when Luke Schenn of the Nashville Predators and Tyler Myers of the Vancouver Canucks accomplished the feat this past week, people took notice.

What makes it even more of a statistical anomaly is that the two have been friends since they first met as members of the Western Hockey LeagueB次元官网网址檚 Kelowna Rockets at the tail end of the 2005-06 season.

B次元官网网址淭yler was playing with the Notre Dame Hounds when we called him up and he actually lived with me and my billets. I was the first guy that he lived with in Kelowna, so right then and there I knew he was going to be a heck of a player. He was this 6B次元官网网址� 8B次元官网网址�, 16-year-old coming in and I remember watching him skate around. I thought this guy is going to be really good,B次元官网网址� recalled Schenn, who actually took Myers under his wing to start. 

Close to 20 years later, the two remain close friends. To join the elite 1,000 game club within days of one another just adds to how special the accomplishment is for each of them.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a crazy thing when you start thinking about it. For us to hit it two days apart after starting together with the Rockets is pretty amazing. We were texting each other back and forth all last week. It's really cool to see. Coming up together as 16-year-olds and getting drafted together, it seemed like we were always connected even though we were on different teams. Then we were able to link up for a couple years,B次元官网网址� said Myers, referring to a two-year stint where both played for the Canucks.

Both live in Kelowna during the off-season and train together. Their families are close as well and spend time with one another.

It was during a night out this past summer that the pair did the math and realized that theyB次元官网网址檇 be hitting the 1,000-game milestone within days of each other B次元官网网址� Schenn on Oct. 17 against Edmonton, Myers against Philadelphia on Oct. 19.

B次元官网网址淲e were at SchennerB次元官网网址檚 number one spot in Kelowna B次元官网网址� Cedar Creek Winery B次元官网网址� where they have unbelievable food. We started talking about it then and realized we were potentially only two days apart,B次元官网网址� remembered Myers.

B次元官网网址淚 didn't know how it came up but I was like I need four games. And he's like, well, I need five games. That was actually kind of hard to believe when we started thinking about it. It's crazy how this happened,B次元官网网址� said Schenn.

ItB次元官网网址檚 quite the accomplishment for a pair of 16-year-olds who showed up in Kelowna nearly 20 years ago. The owner of the Rockets B次元官网网址� Bruce Hamilton B次元官网网址� remembers both of their arrivals.

B次元官网网址淭yler was a big gangly guy that you knew was going to be special when he first came here. He kind of had crazy legs but he grew into his body. He could always skate, which is a great trait for a big guy. He would make mistakes but he could still get back to cover them. And that wingspanB次元官网网址�between having him and LukeB次元官网网址�those two guys made it uncomfortable for anyone that played against them,B次元官网网址� recalled Hamilton.

Schenn came from Saskatoon, which happened to be HamiltonB次元官网网址檚 home town. 

B次元官网网址淚 knew his dad Jeff; he was a fireman in Saskatoon. That meant a lot. Luke came here as a 16-year-old, expecting to step right in and play regularly but he worked his way on. And what a lot of people didn't know about Luke at the start was how tough he was. He stood up for his teammates as well as anyone, and he's still doing it,B次元官网网址� said Hamilton.

Both were selected in the first round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Schenn was taken by Toronto with the 5th pick while Buffalo chose Myers with the 12th pick.

The road to 1,000 games, however, was different for the pair.

Myers won the Calder Trophy as the NHLB次元官网网址檚 Rookie of the Year in 2010 and would play six seasons in Buffalo before being traded to Winnipeg in February of 2015. He would suit up for the Jets for another four seasons before leaving as an UFA after the 2018-19 season and signing with Vancouver. 

Schenn had difficulty meeting expectations in Toronto and was traded to Philadelphia in 2012. Following Philadelphia, there were stops in Los Angeles, Arizona and Anaheim, where his NHL career appeared to be over after being demoted to San Diego of the AHL in 2018. Schenn persevered, driving two hours from his home in Newport Beach to San Diego to play for the Gulls. With the help of San Diego head coach Dallas Eakins, he re-calibrated his game.

He returned to the NHL with the Canucks in 2018-19 and then signed as an UFA with Tampa Bay in 2019. He won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Lightning before returning to Vancouver for two seasons. The Canucks moved him to Toronto in the spring of 2023, where he played out his contract and subsequently signed with Nashville.

B次元官网网址淭he thing IB次元官网网址檓 most proud of is being able to find a way to get through some challenging times in my career where some people wrote me off. I was just able to find a way to keep pushing through and find a way to improve and not take no for an answer. I kept believing in it,B次元官网网址� explained Schenn.

When asked what they remember about their time with a team, athletes usually wonB次元官网网址檛 talk about what happened in a certain game or season. They remember the relationships and the stories surrounding them. Myers, Schenn and Hamilton are no different.

B次元官网网址淲hat I remember most is that Tyler wasn't doing well at school. His dad Paul told me B次元官网网址業'm taking his truck away, so if you're wondering why heB次元官网网址檚 walking, thatB次元官网网址檚 why.B次元官网网址� He asked me for my support and I backed him,B次元官网网址� laughed Hamilton.

Myers chuckled when asked about the story.

B次元官网网址淢y dad flew to Kelowna and then drove my truck back to Calgary. Looking back at it now, and being a dad now, I completely understand where he was coming from, but at the time I was a young kid and not too happy about it,B次元官网网址� said Myers, adding that it was a B次元官网网址榙ecent amount of timeB次元官网网址� before he got his 2002 GMC Jimmy back.

Myers and Schenn also remembered all the chaos it caused.

B次元官网网址淚 had a car and Tyler had a car. We had some other 16-year-olds on the team without a license and a couple guys who didn't have a ride. Tyler would get up in the morning and pick up a couple guys on the way to school and I would do the same. When his dad took away his car, all the rides in the morning got screwed up. We had to drive all over the city to pick up teammates on the way to school,B次元官网网址� remembered Schenn.

B次元官网网址淚 was on my flip phone a lot, trying to get rides to and from the rink and to and from school. It threw some things off but I'm pretty sure my dad was well aware that was going to be the case,B次元官网网址� said Myers.

Then there were the eating habits of the pair.

B次元官网网址淚 would say the one thing about Luke was every team meal, he was full-on. He made sure that he got his share. That's the part of being a good Ukrainian boy from Saskatchewan. IB次元官网网址檇 say that he knew how to work a buffet but he certainly learned when he left here that he couldn't continue that, and now he's a machine as an athlete,B次元官网网址� recalled Hamilton.

Myers wasnB次元官网网址檛 exactly shy when it came to team meals either but Schenn was at a different level.

B次元官网网址淚 would say both of us were the biggest eaters on the team. But Schenner enjoys food more than I do and I enjoy food. So that's saying a lot,B次元官网网址� Myers said with a smile.

The one thing that Hamilton is most proud of is the people that the two have become. Myers has matured from a shy 16-year-old to a savvy NHL veteran who is known for bringing the team together while SchennB次元官网网址檚 work ethic and toughness is legendary.

Hamilton loves the fact that both remember where they came from.

B次元官网网址淭he thing I remember most about Tyler is when he won Rookie of the Year at the NHL Awards in Vegas. The first thing he did was acknowledge the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League for being a big part of his development. Most times guys forget about their junior team once they leave. That has always stuck with me. He's just a tremendous person. And Luke has been such a tremendous ambassador for us. I can tell you that anytime we need something, he steps up,B次元官网网址� said Hamilton.

I wonder what type of odds you could have got back in 2002 if you were to say that a pair of 16-year-olds with the Rockets would each play 1,000 games each in the NHL and reach the milestone two days apart. 

As Myers said, itB次元官网网址檚 crazy when you think about it.

OVERTIME

*The Canucks will honour Myers prior to their game Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers at Rogers Arena.

* Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet had the opportunity to coach both Myers and Schenn when he first arrived in Vancouver. B次元官网网址淭hey both have the same kind of attributes. TheyB次元官网网址檙e tough defensemen who are tough to play against. They block shots, very rarely get hurt and theyB次元官网网址檒l fight for their teammates. To play 1,000 games and consistently do those things every night, I have a lot of respect for those two guys,B次元官网网址� said Tocchet, who played in 1,144 NHL games himself. 

* Barring injury, Brayden Schenn B次元官网网址� LukeB次元官网网址檚 younger brother B次元官网网址� is scheduled to join the 1,000-game club on Feb. 27 when his St. Louis Blues visit the Washington Capitals. The Schenns would become the first brother combo to reach the 1,000-game mark in the same season.

* There have been eight sets of brothers that have reached the 1,000-game milestone. The Courtnall brothers from Victoria where the first to do so (Geoff 1,048 and Russ, 1,029). Others include the Hatchers (Kevin 1,157 and Derian 1,045), the Koivus (Saku 1,124 and Mikko 1,035), the Niedermayers (Scott 1,263 and Rob 1,153) the Sedins (Henrik 1,330 and Daniel 1,306) and the Sutters (Brent 1,111 and Ron (1,093). The Staals B次元官网网址� Marc (1,136), Jordan (1,258 and counting) and Eric (1,365) B次元官网网址� are the only trio of brothers to reach the 1,000-game plateau. 

Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob B次元官网网址渢he MojB次元官网网址� Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media.