Ryan O'Reilly's One Thousand Games of Hockey Memorabilia
On Saturday, Ryan O'Reilly received the silver stick for reaching his 1000th career game. After fifteen seasons, 1005 games, and countless hockey milestones, he shares what he's done with some of his personal memorabilia.
Ryan O'Reilly's One Thousand Games of Hockey MemorabiliaOn Saturday night, Ryan O'Reilly was honored before the game for reaching his 1000th career NHL game. As a part of the ceremony, General Manager Barry Trotz presented him with a silver stick to commemorate that major milestone. Over the course of a long and still very active hockey career, O'Reilly has collected a treasure trove of personal hockey memorabilia from his milestones including jerseys and pucks.
O'Reilly admits that a lot of his personal memorabilia is back at home in storage. Sorting through and displaying it all will be a big project for another chapter of life as he continues to focus on his playing career. There are some special pieces that he treasures in his collection.
"I've played on a lot of teams, and have a lot of jerseys whether it's the Winter Classics, playoffs and the Stanley Cup jersey we won in," O'Reilly shared.
"It's hanging up back home," he said of that Cup winning sweater. "I think eventually, hopefully we'll get it on display."
The 32-year-old has quite a collection of old gear he's saved from his tenure in the league as well.
"It's kind of cool for people to see old gear, too," O'Reilly shared. "I think it's kind of cool to just see the evolution of it."
O'Reilly has saved a few sticks from each of his seasons in the NHL which adds up to quite a collection. That collection tells a story of the sport and his tenure in the league.
"It was kind of cool to see the progression of technology, but also different graphics that I used," he said. In a career that spans fifteen seasons, O'Reilly's sticks tell an interesting story of how even hockey sticks have evolved while he's been busy chasing his dreams.
Earning the silver stick for his 1000 games was extra special for O'Reilly who shared the moment Saturday night with his wife, three children, parents, and sister as well as two suites worth of friends and family who came to town to help celebrate another exciting moment in his career.
What will happen now with this newest piece of hockey memorabilia?
"I don't know where we're going to put it, but I'm sure my kids will want it," he said with a smile. "It's a little to heavy for them which will be good."
One of the most special pieces of personal hockey history in any NHL player's career is the first NHL goal puck. O'Reilly scored his first NHL goal on October 15, 2009 against Montreal's Carey Price as a young Colorado Avalanche rookie. Fourteen years and nearly a thousand games later, the veteran knows exactly where that treasure is.
"My first NHL goal is with my Granny who is 103 soon to be 104 back in Ontario," O'Reilly said. "She's got it right beside her with all my brother's stuff too."
"She's got it with pictures of us. It's pretty amazing."
While it's important to mark a big milestone like 1000 professional games and reflect on a collection of memorabilia that tells the story of a long and successful career, O'Reilly is focused on the here and now as a leader for a resetting Nashville Predators team.
"We haven't gotten the results that we wanted, but still, we have something here that is something special to build off of."
