ANAHEIM — Cam Fowler and Kevin Shattenkirk first met in the summer of 2008, at a Team USA camp for the upcoming World Junior Championship. They were teenagers at the time, hoping to make a good impression on the coaching staff.
Days, weeks and years passed and they became good friends, golfing buddies, Olympians, defense partners and NHL stalwarts. They had a mutual friend, Nick Bonino, Fowler’s Ducks teammate and Shattenkirk’s roommate at Boston University.
Fowler and Shattenkirk each played in his 700th NHL game Saturday, when the Ducks played host to the Vegas Golden Knights at Honda Center, a coincidence, to be sure, but also a reason to celebrate two careers of substance, even if no fans were allowed to cheer them because of COVID-19.
No question, they arrived at the milestone from different directions. Fowler grew up in the Detroit suburbs and has never known another team than the Ducks. Shattenkirk grew up in the New York City suburbs and has played for five other teams.
Fowler has never played in the Stanley Cup Final, but has advanced as far as the Western Conference finals in 2015 and ’17. Shattenkirk won the Cup while with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, before signing with the Ducks as a free agent in October.
“Super cool to be sharing this milestone with him because he’s someone I’ve always used as a benchmark, someone I’ve enjoyed watching for the last 11 seasons,” Shattenkirk said of Fowler. “Again, a good friend who obviously deserves it and has made a great career for himself.”
Shattenkirk admitted feeling reflective as his 700th game approached.
“It’s funny, as players, you play your first game and that’s the one you’re always excited about and from there you just try to establish yourself as a player in the league,” he said. “Once you get to 400 or 500 and you know you’re a regular in the league, everyone chases 1,000 games at that point.
“I’ve been thinking today about playing 700. Playing another 300 seems crazy.”
Shattenkirk also said of reaching an important milestone, “This is a hard league to play in and a hard league to stay in. I think for us, to reach 700 games is something you should wear proudly and realize you did a lot of good things to get here and stick in this league.”
DRYSDALE UPDATE
The Ducks recalled left wing/center Trevor Zegras after he recorded four goals and five assists in eight games with their AHL team, the San Diego Gulls. Defenseman Jamie Drysdale needed 10 games to compile four goals and five assists with the Gulls.
How much longer will it be until the Ducks summon Drysdale?
It might happen later rather than sooner for the simple reason that the Ducks are well-stocked with capable defensemen. Playing effective defense wasn’t nearly the pressing issue that a glaring lack of offensive production was through the season’s first 20 games.
The Ducks went into Saturday’s game against the Golden Knights averaging an NHL-worst 1.95 goals per game. On the other hand, they were giving up 2.80 per game, 16th-best.
“Overall, our defense this year, they have done a hell of a job if you just take the body of work,” Ducks coach Dallas Eakins said. “Where we need more, and we continue to work on it and encourage it, is from our forwards.”
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