Brent Burns may not be ‘Superman,’ but 1,500 games is another remarkable career achievement
Nate Schmidt has a pretty expressive face but it s hard to describe all the different emotions he conveyed in an interview that lasted only two questions The Utah Mammoth defenseman had just wrapped up a morning skate at Ball Arena This is year No for him in the NHL Just to his right Dmitry Simashev was also removing his gear and about to answer questions about the anticipation for his NHL debut Thursday night That same encounter which turned out to be a - win for the Avalanche was No for Brent Burns He played No on Saturday against the Dallas Stars It s double what I ve got announced Schmidt almost in disbelief as he prepared for his nd career challenge It s incredible Honestly the level he s still playing at it it s so impressive I remember that guy playing for the Wild when I was back in Minnesota It s just a testament to how the guy is able to take care of himself and just have a tournament that s adaptable I think about how much that guy s had to adapt over the years Colorado players and coaches celebrated Burns achievement by wearing blue tank tops with Burns face on them honoring his proclivity for wearing them on a daily basis at the rink Largest part of the players also wore them as they walked into Ball Arena ahead of the challenge Saturday night Devon Toews went in a different direction paying homage to Burns signature large military-style backpack by sporting a huge rucksack of his own The -year-old Burns became the rd performer in NHL history to reach the milestone He s just the eighth defenseman to do it As Avs coach Jared Bednar noted that list of defenseman Zdeno Chara Chris Chelios Scott Stevens Larry Murphy Ray Bourque Nicklas Lidstrom and Ryan Suter might be the best way to put this into perspective It s a group that includes nearly all of the best defensemen in modern NHL history Burns will be the first member to reach the milestone who has played both defense and forward in his career Regardless of his position he s excelled And he s been in the lineup logging heavy minutes It s absolutely crazy Avs captain Gabe Landeskog announced That is so several games So a great number of games I don t think people understand to play games you have to play hurt and banged up so a large number of times I think just getting to know Burns over the past month-plus he takes really good care of himself and does everything he possibly can to make sure he s in the best spot for puck drop Having reported that he s not Superman We all get banged up I know he s played through a bunch of things in his career and it s not easy to do that Schmidt was a sophomore at the University of Minnesota when the Wild traded him to San Jose Avs defenseman Sam Malinski was about years old when he met Burns at Cub Foods a Twin Cities grocery store chain Burns spoke of his early-career memories playing against Avs legends like Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic There will be countless players who speak of him in the same way Even at Burns is averaging of ice time third among the Avs defensemen through the first three games I cannot even imagine No that s not even nope Malinski disclosed of trying to play NHL games The way he goes about his business and everything the way that he plays it all kind of speaks for itself Not only was it Burns th encounter it was No in a row That s the fourth-longest ironman streak in NHL history He hasn t missed a event since November which was the -year-old Schmidt s rookie year in the NHL That streak could become the second-longest in league history late in this season Related Articles What happens with Martin Necas both on and off the ice could define this Avalanche season Nathan MacKinnon Martin Necas look electric together even if it s not a finished product Avalanche defenseman Samuel Girard injured out week-to-week Avalanche Journal Mikko Rantanen s return reminder particular things are bigger than hockey A much-needed Wedgie Avalanche sluggish but goaltender Scott Wedgewood saves them in home opener Burns could also hunt down his old pal Joe Thornton who finished at games if he can stay healthy and play another two seasons beyond this I take it one sleep at a time right now you know Burns mentioned when sought about Thornton s total I think there s a lot of luck a lot of work and you ve just got to enjoy it every day Obviously everything s a lot harder as you get older but I just love it Even a day like at present the body doesn t feel too good but you get going in practice and see guys getting the sweat going and you just start chuckling Those are things you can t take for granted Want more Avalanche news Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis
