10-time NHL eSports champion Hxndry announces his retirement

Professional EA SPORTS NHL player and multi-time champion Lucas “Hxndry” Hendry announced his retirement on Thursday after an eight-year professional NHL eSports career.

Per Leaguegaming.com Hendry played 805 games across 23 events and posted a record of 589-154-62. Hendry was a 10-time tournament winner. 

“It's been a difficult decision that I've been pondering over the last few months since NHL 24 first came out. The first thing that led to this possible thought of retiring was failing to accomplish a huge goal, getting signed by an NHL organization,” Hendry told The Hockey News via email.

Additionally, Hendry cited waning passion for the game, and knew that it would be better to take a step back instead of forcing himself to play something he no longer enjoyed as much as he once did.

The 24-year-old competed for Isles Gaming Team, a team owned by the New York Islanders before becoming the original founder and member of Entourage. Entourage soon became the inaugural 6v6 EA SPORTS NHL World Champions and are widely considered to be the most talented NHL eSports team of all-time. The Hockey News dove deeper into their origins here.

Going forward Hendry hopes to combine his Bachelor of Business Administration that he achieved from Loyola University with the knowledge he picked up during his professional gaming career to transition to the business side of eSports.

Hendry describes the highlight of his career as the time between February and April 2023 when Entourage won the first ever 6v6 NHL 23 World Championship in Helsinki, and then followed it up with a victory at the SJSharks Gaming Pacific Cup in San Jose, which featured the most teams and largest prize pool of any 6v6 EASHL event in history.

The opportunity to travel while competing at the highest level was a everything Hendry could have wanted.

“When I first started playing I could only dream of ever being able to do something to this extent and I ended up being fortunate enough to fly across the world and meet some amazing people while playing the game that I love,” said Hendry.

NHL Gaming and eSports as a whole are a relatively new industry, and Hendry made his mark, both by winning and by creating lasting experiences with his friends and teammates. 

“I think the legacy that I want to leave in the NHL space is just that of success on and off the ice. All the friends and memories that I was able to make over the past eight years are going to stick with me for a long time and are just as important to me as the success that I saw on the virtual ice. At the end of the day, it's a video game and our goal is to have fun playing it and any other positives that come from it are an extra blessing.”