Eurolanche

Hejduk to play 1000th NHL game

Colorado Avalanche forward and alternate captain Milan Hejduk will play his 1,000th NHL game on Monday, Feb. 4, 2013 against the Dallas Stars at Pepsi Center.

The Avalanche organization will honor Hejduk’s milestone with a special pre-game ceremony prior to the contest. The ceremony will begin at 7:00 p.m., with puck drop set for 7:13 p.m.  The game will be televised nationally on the NBC Sports Network and can be heard on the Altitude Radio Network.

Hejduk, who has spent his entire career with the same franchise, will become the first player in Colorado Avalanche history to play 1,000 career regular season games in an Avs sweater.  The 36-year old will become only the second player in Nordiques/Avalanche franchise history to skate in 1,000 regular season contests, joining Joe Sakic, who dressed in 1,378 games (508 with Quebec, 870 with Colorado).

Selected by the Quebec Nordiques in the fourth round (87th overall) of the 1994 Entry Draft, Hejduk will become the 30th player in NHL history to skate in 1,000 games while spending their entire career with a single franchise.  Of the 29 men who have accomplished the feat, eight of those are still active (Shane Doan, Martin Brodeur, Jarome Iginla, Daniel Alfredsson, Patrick Marleau, Patrik Elias, Chris Phillips, Vincent Lecavalier).  A native of Usti-nad Labem, Czech Republic, Hejduk will be the ninth Czech-born player to reach 1,000 games.

-Avalanche Press Release-