By Cami Kepke via Western Hockey League

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Former Kelowna Rockets alternate captain Luke Schenn has added another milestone to his elite resume.

The heavy-hitting defenceman laced up for his 1000th NHL game on Thursday, October 17 as his Nashville Predators hosted the Edmonton Oilers at Bridgestone Arena.

He’s just the 395th skater (four goalies have also accomplished the feat) in NHL history to join the esteemed ‘Silver Stick Club’.

“When I got drafted in Toronto and started as an 18-year-old in 2008, I always dreamt of having a long career, but I certainly wouldn’t have believed you if you would have told me the journey,” Schenn told Predators reporter Brooks Bratten. “It’s been a roller coaster. At the end of the day, the number of the milestone is something to be proud of. But, more so than anything, just continuing to find a way to stick with it in some challenging times is what I’ve been most proud of.”

It’s been a winding journey since joining the Kelowna Rockets on a call-up ahead of the team’s Memorial Cup run in 2004-05 and moving in with his new roommate, WHL, Memorial Cup and Olympic champion Shea Weber- another elite player who surpassed 1000 NHL games.

Briefly mentored by the Rockets’ great Shea Weber and growing alongside current Vancouver Canucks blueliner Tyler Myers, Schenn was a force in his three seasons in the Okanagan.

The Saskatoon, Sask. product scored 12 goals and added 56 assists for 68 points over 189 games in three seasons, highlighted by a spectacular final season that saw him make the WHL Second All-Star Team, win gold at the 2008 IIHF World Junior Championship, captain a team at the CHL Top Prospects Game and hear his named called by the Toronto Maple Leafs with the fifth overall pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

He’d play four seasons for Toronto, making the 2008-09 NHL All-Rookie Team in his first season, and has since suited up for the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Arizona Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks, Vancouver Canucks, Tampa Bay Lightning and Nashville Predators.

But what really sets his career apart is a late resurgence.

A Schenn-aissance, if you will.

After a decade in the league, Schenn found himself back on the bus during stints in the American Hockey League with the Ducks and Canucks.

He turned to Hockey Hall-of-Famer and skills coach Adam Oates to get his game back on track.

Schenn found himself on the edge of the NHL again after signing with Tampa Bay in 2019 and bouncing between the NHL club and the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, but, like Lightning, found a way to strike at the right time.

He lifted the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2020 and repeated the feat the following year.

Schenn’s road less travel has since led him to brief reunions in Vancouver and Toronto and now, Nashville, but the 34-year-old still plays an important role as a beloved member of each team he’s been on.

All told, those 1000 games represent 17 seasons, 43 goals, 155 assists, 198 points, 807 penalty minutes, and two Stanley Cups… And still more to come.