Ex-Oilers sniper Jordan Eberle celebrating 1,000 NHL games tonight
A former Edmonton Oilers fan favourite is marking a special achievement with the Seattle Kraken tonight.
Jordan Eberle, who spent seven seasons with the Oilers between 2010 and 2017, will appear in the 1,000th game of his NHL career, joining a club of 319 players who have done the same since the league’s inception in 1917-18.
The Kraken have made sure to roll out the red carpet for Eberle’s big night, revealing special branding for the occasion.
#NewProfilePic for #Ebs1000 pic.twitter.com/QygzEqIgnT
— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) March 12, 2024
It’s been quite a journey for the former Team Canada World Junior hero. Drafted 22nd overall by the Oilers in 2008, hockey fans were well aware of Eberle before he stepped on the ice as an NHL player.
He played for the WHL’s Regina Pats in his junior days but really made a name for himself at the World Juniors, where he scored some of the most clutch goals in Team Canada history. Perhaps the most famous was a goal in the dying seconds of Canada’s semi-final game against Russia at the 2009 tournament, one that the Canadians won because of Eberle’s heroics.
He made his NHL debut with the Oilers at the start of the 2010-11 season and wasted no time showing his skill to the Edmonton crowd. In his first NHL game, he scored what might be the most amazing first goal that has ever been scored in the league.
Eberle took a pass off the boards from teammate Jim Vandemeer, toe-dragged around a diving Calgary Flames defender, and then promptly beat the legendary Miikka Kiprusoff on the backhand to cap off a 4-0 Oilers victory on opening night.
It is unfortunate that the Regina, Saskatchewan native couldn’t have been on a better Oilers team during his tenure. His only taste of playoff hockey in Edmonton came in his last season in 2016-17, where an underwhelming showing resulted in the team trading him to the New York Islanders for Ryan Strome.
He ended his Edmonton tenure with 382 points in 507 games in an Oilers jersey.
It was on Long Island where Eberle scored the biggest goal of his career to date, netting an OT winner in Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning to stave off elimination in the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2020 playoffs. The Islanders would eventually bow out a game later in Game 6.
Eberle changed teams once again in 2021, being selected by the Kraken in the expansion draft. He has been there ever since and, despite heavy speculation that he may get moved at the most recent trade deadline, re-signed with the team last week on a two-year deal.
Though he hasn’t worn an Oilers jersey for about seven seasons, Oilers fans should be happy to see that Ebs has gone on to have quite the career.