EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — Cal Clutterbuck isn’t one to wax poetic or romanticize about the journey.
That’s not necessarily uncommon for an NHL player; especially a hard-hitting, physical one of his standing who has to keep his nose to the grindstone at all times to ensure that he stays healthy and even at times safe to see the next game.
But with his 1,000th career game awaiting on Wednesday night at UBS Arena when his Islanders host the Philadelphia Flyers, Clutterbuck noticed something different happening after the games on their recent four-game Pacific Northwest road trip.
“The other night, actually, I was kind of sitting on the bus going back to the hotel and I had some memories kind of come back,” Clutterbuck said. “I’ve been thinking about it quite a bit for the last couple of days. All positive, you know? It’s a cool thing.”
Of the 7,603 skaters to ever suit up in the 105 years of the NHL, Clutterbuck will become just the 383rd player in history to hit the 1,000-game mark. His first 346 came with the Minnesota Wild before he was traded to the Islanders for Nino Niederreiter ahead of the 2013-14 season.
Game No. 1,000 with be his 654th with the Islanders, which ranks 15th in franchise history.
“I never really thought it was a possibility for me,” Clutterbuck said. “When I was growing up, [one NHL] game was a pipe dream and then you play 100 and you think that’s impressive. So on and so forth. It’s crazy, for sure for me, but it’s not something that I had written down in my notebook in 2007.”
The 36-year-old winger has carved his niche on Long Island by doing the kind of job many professional hockey players can’t do: Provide non-stop physical play to grind the opponent down.
He’s the most prolific hitter in NHL history, racking up a league-record 3,798 hits over his 17 pro seasons, which makes the feat of reaching this many games that much more impressive for a player who had to undergo wrist and back surgeries in recent years.
“More than anything, it takes more of a mental strain than physical,” Clutterbuck said. “Sometimes injuries can take a toll on you mentally, sometimes the seasons can be long when they don’t always go the way you want them to. It’s more of a mental test than physical. You don’t spend 18 years in pro sports and grow up through a junior league in the 2000s without enduring your fair share of adversity. ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ is the mantra. You just have to focus on keep on keeping on.”
“Those are hard miles,” his linemate, Casey Cizikas, added. “For him to accomplish something like his, he should be extremely proud because it’s not an easy game he plays. He does it every single night.”
Cizikas, who joined the Islanders in 2012, has been with Clutterbuck nearly every step of the way during his time with the Islanders. The third member of that imposing fourth line, Matt Martin, just so happens to rank second in NHL history behind Clutterbuck with 3,734 hits. He also spent most of the last decade with Clutterbuck and Cizikas save for a two-year stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“For us to play together as long as we have, it doesn’t happen very often,” Cizikas said. “The way we’ve grown as a group — we’ve gone through ups and downs — the way we’ve come out of it together, it speaks volumes because we believe in each other. To play as many games as we have together, it speaks to what we bring to the table every night.”
