{"id":412884,"date":"2026-01-17T17:05:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T17:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/412884\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T17:05:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T17:05:23","slug":"connor-mcdavid-and-leon-draisaitl-praise-ryan-nugent-hopkins-as-oilers-forward-prepares-for-1000th-game-nhl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/412884\/","title":{"rendered":"Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl praise Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as Oilers forward prepares for 1,000th game | NHL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ConnorConnor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl praise Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Image via: Getty Images) Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has remained a constant force within the Edmonton Oilers roster during 15 years of player turnover, coaching change, and management changeovers. He is on the verge of his 1,000th game with the Oilers, demonstrating incredible stability and grit.The 32-year-old forward, Edmonton\u2019s first overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, has grown into one of the league\u2019s most reliable two-way forwards. On Sunday, when the Oilers host the St. Louis Blues at Rogers Place, Nugent-Hopkins will make history as the first player to reach 1,000 games exclusively with Edmonton.<\/p>\n

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins\u2019 impact on Oilers highlighted by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl<\/p>\n

Over the years, Nugent-Hopkins has earned the respect of teammates and coaches by working hard and adjusting to whatever the team needed. He has been a steady presence in the lineup and always ready to learn, which has made him one of the most reliable players on the Oilers. It\u2019s no surprise that two of the league\u2019s brightest stars have taken notice.\u201cTo see \u2018Nuge\u2019 reach that milestone all here in Edmonton speaks to his loyalty here in Edmonton and how much he likes the city, likes the fans, likes the organization,\u201d Connor McDavid said. His words underline how Nugent-Hopkins has become a pillar of consistency and trust within the team. Leon Draisaitl added, \u201cHe\u2019s always the coach\u2019s favorite.\u201d Their words show just how important Nugent-Hopkins is, both during games and in the locker room.Nugent-Hopkins hasn\u2019t had an easy journey. Drafted during Edmonton\u2019s rebuilding era following the 2006 Stanley Cup Final loss, he arrived alongside Taylor Hall and Nail Yakupov, carrying the weight of expectation. He made an immediate impact, scoring 52 points in 62 games as a rookie and finishing second in Calder Trophy voting.Reflecting on the milestone, Nugent-Hopkins said, \u201cI think if you can get to this point in your career, play 1,000 games in this league, things have to go right for you and you have to stick with a lot of it, and I\u2019m very proud to have done it.\u201d McDavid and Draisaitl\u2019s comments show just how valued he is, both on the ice and in the locker room.With time, he has enhanced his performance and is now one of the mainstays of the Oilers. He has previously achieved his best score of 104 points during the 2022-23 season, indicating his ability to perform at elite speed on both offense and defense. He has played under nine coaches and several general managers, picking up lessons from each and earning respect throughout the organization. His consistent, team-first approach has made him a role model for younger players and a trusted teammate for stars like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. As Ryan Nugent-Hopkins takes the ice at Rogers Place for his 1,000th game with the Edmonton Oilers, it highlights his lasting impact on the team and the admiration of his superstar teammates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl praise Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Image via: Getty Images) Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has remained a constant…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":412885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5125],"tags":[51713,16478,155,198,146,5300,5,370,4,465,24,32085,3591,15],"class_list":["post-412884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-edmonton-oilers","tag-000-games","tag-16478","tag-connor-mcdavid","tag-edmonton","tag-edmonton-oilers","tag-edmontonoilers","tag-hockey","tag-leon-draisaitl","tag-nhl","tag-nhl-draft","tag-oilers","tag-oilers-forward","tag-rogers-place","tag-ryan-nugent-hopkins"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115911533274421681","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=412884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/412885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=412884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=412884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=412884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}