02/21/12: Alex Burrows on reaching the 500th career game milestone tonight:

“500 games is obviously a nice number, and I’m really happy to have played that many games. But at the same time, I think everybody’s got their journey. Even if you’re a first or second rounder, you still have to work extremely hard to get to the NHL.

My third year going back to the ECHL, I remember telling myself if by Christmas I was still there, I’d probably have to go back to school and and try to make a living in another career. Fortunately enough, I got the call from Manitoba and have never looked back after that.

It was tough to start in this league and make a name for myself. I started as an agitator more to stick around and help on the PK, but now, to be able to play with two of the best players in the world, and two of the smartest players, makes it even much better.”

(Source: trevorlinden)