Myers set to hit 1,000 EIHL Games tonight

Photo: Panthers Images

It will be a historic moment for Nottingham Panthers ad Great Britain international Matthew Myers this evening in Dundee.

The forward will play his 1,000th game in Elite League tonight, becoming just the second player to do so in the league's history after Jonathan Phillips.

"I don't think anyone expects to play this amount of games when they start in hockey!" said Myers, who has also played over 100 games for Great Britain. "When I started playing for the Devils back at 16 or 17 years old, I didn't really know what was ahead of me. I just took each game at a time, and thought I'd play the next season, ad that's been going on for 19 now!

"Eventually that will come to an end but I'm just enjoying playing these last few seasons of my career now."

Myers has not just played 999 games, he's also one of the league's most decorated players with three league titles, five playoff championships, and seven Challenge Cups across spells with the Panthers and in Cardiff. "The season we won the grand slam was huge for Nottingham, especially not having won the league for so long," he recalled. "We had a class team that season, and it was a lot of fun. To win all three was pretty cool."

Now 37-years-old, Myers takes care of his body, but it's not something he's had to adjust to. "I take care of myself and eat healthily, but I like eating well so it's not that hard," he explained. "I generally feel pretty good, have some aches and pains now and again like all hockey players but by and large, I'm in a good place."

Myers concluded: "I never went into hockey with a view to playing so many games, I just played when I was asked to. If I look back over my career, I maybe wish I'd done some things differently to help me progress as a player, but I don't have any regrets at all,"

A full presentation will be made to Myers when the Panthers return home to Nottingham next weekend.