1000 Games, One Remarkable Man

Brenden Dillon has every tool you could want in a defenseman — strength, grit, reliability, and heart. But what stands out most isn’t what he does on the ice, it’s who he is off it. Ask anyone who’s shared a locker room with him, and before they mention his hits, his leadership, or his steady play, they’ll tell you about the man, the teammate, the friend, the person who makes every room he walks into light up.

His 1000th game is not just a number: it’s a testament to the kind of person who earns everything, day in day out. From the moment he first laced up his skates and started chasing his dream, he has never taken a day off. He went from an undrafted player to earning his first NHL contract to carving out a remarkable career that will now span over 1000 NHL games.

Through it all, he's just been a kid chasing a dream. Dillon has carried himself with the kind of humility, heart, and leadership that make him beloved everywhere he’s gone. Teammates rave not just about the warrior who blocks shots and battles in the corners, but the friend who shows up for everyone, every single day.

He is the embodiment of what it means to truly earn your place in our game.

This is the story of Brenden Dillon: the man, the warrior, the teammate, the friend, and his journey to 1000 NHL games, told through the stories of those who know and love him best.

A Nice Boy

Brenden has always been a protector, from as far back as his parents, Ed and Debbie, can remember.

Long before he carved out his NHL career, he was the kid who stood up for his younger sister, Kirsten. He’s the brother who always looked out for her, made sure she felt safe, and made sure she knew they would always have each other. And since those early childhood days looking after his sister, he’s spent the rest of his life extending that same loyalty to every locker room he’s walked into. That instinct, to look out for others, became the heartbeat of his career, shaping him into one of the league’s most respected teammates.

"He was always just a nice boy," Debbie beamed.

For his parents, the pride they feel watching him skate into his 1000th game is immense, but it’s also a journey they never could have anticipated. Their dream for their son had once been academics, not arenas. They pictured a valedictorian’s sash draped over their son’s shoulders, not a thousand NHL battles. But somewhere along the way, they recognized the depth of their son’s passion, the fire that hockey lit in him, and they backed him with everything they had.

"Both of us believed in education," Debbie said, "The goal was a scholarship for both our kids in their sport of choice. But this was clearly better for him and what he wanted."

What Brenden initially wanted, his parents shared, was just to play a single NHL game.

That's it.

One.

"That's what he always said, just 'one game'," Debbie shared. "And then that led to two, and I don’t know when he thought 1000 was possible."

But here we are: 1000 NHL games.

Asked how it feels to see their son achieve this moment, does it compare to seeing their son as a veldictorian?

"This is probably bigger and more monumental from every standpoint," both Ed and Debbie agreed.

But it hasn't been an easy path.

Who Will You Be?

His journey all started with a simple discussion, well before the watchful eyes of NHL scouts, it was just Brenden as a little kid and his parents: Who was that nice boy going to be on the ice?

“When he first started playing, it was really hard to get him to be tough on the ice,” Debbie said. Ed jumps in quickly to defend his son, explaining that Brenden was often one of the smaller players growing up. He had to rely on his skating, on outmaneuvering people. He didn’t need a mean streak to survive those early years.

That edge everyone sees now? That wasn’t instinct. It was learned.

He didn’t want to be mean.

"But we used to say, 'What you are on the ice is not who you are off the ice.'” Debbie continued. “You know, he didn't wanna be mean, he didn't wanna be a nasty guy, he didn't wanna be known for that, it was hard for him to separate the personality on the ice from the personality off the ice. And I think, obviously, he's done that really well now."

“It was a tough go at the beginning, I would say to him, ‘Just because you hit somebody doesn't mean you're a bad person, doesn't mean you're mean you’re a bad guy’. We had to get him to understand that what you do on the ice is not what you do in real life.”

And somewhere along the way, he figured it out. Dillon found the balance. He became the rare kind of player who can be a menace to play against, yet a gentle, humble, big-hearted person the moment he steps off the ice. Both sides are entirely, authentically him.

"His ability to flip the switch is awesome," Washington Capital and good friend Tom Wilson said. "That’s part of what makes the game of hockey so great, hockey players like him. He’s really good at caring for who people are."

"He's just the perfect human," Devils teammate Brett Pesce said. “He's just literally, is just salt of the earth, the best guy. He comes to the rink every day, win, lose, you know, he's got a smile on his face. One of the hardest workers I know.”

"He's just such an elite guy," teammate in San Jose and good friend Brent Burns shared. "He does everything. He's such a great teammate. He's awesome. He's just a special guy."

"He's the kind of guy that's gonna be there," teammate in Winnipeg, Nate Schmidt added. "He's the kinda guy, one of the few guys in your life that you can call up and be like, 'Listen, man, I need you,' no questions asked. He'd be like, "Great. How can I help?" It's a very big thing in life, I think more than anything, more than ever, there's only a handful of friends that I have that you could say that about, and that says a lot about somebody's character."

“He makes everybody feel special,” his wife, Emma, said. “I don't mean that in like a blanket statement, like, "Oh yeah, he's just like a good schmoozer." Or like, "He's a good talker." He's not even that. He just takes the time to care. He cares about everyone that he comes in contact with. He's just, he's a big old teddy bear.”

And when you reach 1,000 NHL games, that kind of heart leaves a trail across every city you’ve played in.

Fueled by Doubt

Dillon's entire journey is carved out from the disappointment of being undrafted in both the Canadian Hockey League and the National Hockey League, and pushing through to prove others wrong.

Mom Debbie remembers the day he went undrafted as a really tough one—painful, yes, but also the spark that lit something inside him.

“He played with a chip on his shoulder, for sure, things that needed to be proven," Debbie said. "He really has taken that to heart, as far as dedication, as far as focus, as far as, making sure that he's taking one foot and putting it in front of the other and going forward.”

That's never left him, and his teammates see it up close.

“I don't think he's lost that mentality," Schmidt said. "It's the reason why he's still going at it, still clapping away at a heck of a pace."

"He was undrafted, and just his journey is crazy," Pesce shared. "I think he's a guy that doesn't take a day for granted in the NHL. That's also why he has a smile on his face and he's so happy. You know, life's good. And the way he just does it, it's not by accident; he's earned everything he's gotten. He does not take a day off. Doesn't take a day for granted, it's special."

Dillon would go on to play his junior hockey with the Seattle Thunderbirds in the WHL, shaping his game in ways that started to draw attention from NHL scouts. Slowly but surely, the kid who’d nearly been overlooked was making himself impossible to ignore.

And then one day, Debbie's phone rang. It was Brenden. He was signing his first NHL contract, joining the Dallas Stars.

"The first thing Ed said was,"Well, what about your scholarship?'," laughed Debbie.

"I just wanted them to make sure he considered all the options," Ed interjected with some cheekiness.

All kidding and scholarships aside, it was a dream come true.

And when he played his first NHL game, it was unforgettable, Ed recalls.

“He had his ‘Wow, this is the NHL’ moment, when he was in the corner and took a big hit from David Backes.”

Bound for San Jose

Debbie remembers well the day her son was traded to the Sharks.

When he landed in California, his equipment bag didn’t make. It was pure panic. Ed and Debbie laugh as they recall Brenden calling them in the middle of the night.

“He calls us at maybe 1:30 in the morning,” Debbie began. “And his hockey bag didn't arrive. And he's being picked up in the morning by Patrick Marleau for pre-game skate, and he does not have his skates and he’s crying on the other end of the phone.”

His parents remember telling their son, What can they do? They’re in British Columbia, and stores aren’t open.

“So, Patrick Marleau shows up,” Debbie continues, “And I'm sure this kid is just shaking because this guy is like a Seattle Thunderbird icon. And so, he gets to the arena, and he was willing to put on anybody's skates, anybody’s gear, and he ended up with a pre-game skate with just some of the coaches or whatever gear that afternoon. And he played the probably worst game of his career that night.”

Just like every other moment in Dillon’s career, he just kept moving forward. And in San Jose, he began building his unimpeachable reputation. There, he would team up with Brent Burns and carve out a lasting friendship. And because his friends truly admire how solid and authentically good he is as a person, they also enjoy sharing their favorite Dillon stories that poke fun at him a little bit.

Burns started the trend.

Dillon is five years Burns' junior, and when he first arrived in San Jose, he invited Dillon to move in with him and his young family. You really get to know someone when you spend those added hours away from the rink together, and Burns realized very quickly he needed to implement one rule around his house for the young Dillon.

“I don’t like when he’s around my house and he doesn’t have a shirt on,” Burns laughed. “It’s mandatory, he’s got to wear a hoodie on when he’s around my wife. He moved in for a little bit, and it was tough because I always had to make sure he’s always covered. Don’t be coming down here without your shirt on, just in shorts.”

This, the reader will realize, will become another thread that weaves its way through Dillon's hockey journey. Burns wouldn't be the only teammate to express their opinions about a shirtless Brenden.

But in all seriousness, Burns is just so proud to see his friend reach the milestone night, especially with how rugged a game Dillon has played his whole career.

“He's a long way from being Rosetta Stone,” Burns laughed. “He's a top D-man, he's an elite D-man. It’s great to see, great to see how he’s developed a complete game. He just plays a great game.

“He brings everything,” Burns added. “He's such a great, great guy to have on a team, because he obviously takes care of everybody really well, makes everybody feel a little bit bigger and but he brings people along. He makes everybody feel welcome, and he's always been so good at that. He’s a teammate that's gonna go down as a lot of guys’ favorite. It’s easy to see why. He’s just a great person.”

It was during his time in San Jose, too, that Brenden’s life quietly shifted toward its future. The same man who’d welcomed him to the NHL with a thundering hit, David Backes, ended up becoming an unlikely thread woven into Dillon’s personal story.

Emma, Elton & Elowen

Emma Wittchow was playing hockey at Mankato University in Minnesota, the very same program Backes once played for.

"We had an out-of-conference game in January, right before the second half of the season would start back up, so we went down to St. Louis," Dillon's wife, Emma, began. "My head coach coached him. He was Backes' assistant coach when he was at Mankato. So, my head coach at the time, reached out to Backes, and we got in for a pre-game skate in St. Louis.

After St. Louis skated, they figured they might as well stay for the Sharks skate, too. When it was time to load the bus, fate nudged them a little closer. The Sharks bus and the Mankato bus were parked side-by-side, and Emma suddenly found herself face-to-face with Brenden.

When it was time to leave, the Sharks bus was parked in the same place as the Mankato bus and Emma ran into Brenden.

"I don't remember what I said," she said. "I was 18 at the time, I was a freshman, so I probably said something smart."

Brenden added her on Facebook, but otherwise, Emma didn't hear from Brenden for a year.

"Come to find out he was in a relationship," she laughed. "But he was a good guy, he didn’t contact me until he was single again.”

They’ve been together ever since. And now, with daughters Elton and Elowen in their world, Emma says the gratitude she feels runs deeper than she ever expected. Watching Brenden become a father has illuminated pieces of him she always knew were there, but seeing them through their daughters’ eyes is something else entirely. What everyone else feels about Dillon and how much they adore and respect him, it's an entirely different thing to see as a father.

"He's very universally loved because he is soft," she beamed. "You can see it in his eyes, you know? But he’s so soft. After having two girls now I get to see, I get to see, like, how he is with them, they are the luckiest little girls in the world. And I feel this to my core. I feel this to my bones. They are the luckiest girls in the world because of the way that he loves them. He's just a big old teddy bear.”

Into the Bubble

There’s something that happens the moment Brenden enters your orbit: you feel the warmth of that “nice boy” his parents raised. His kindness isn’t subtle; it radiates, and it stays with you. His friends say it best: he’s open, genuine, and always willing to go the extra mile to really know people. Because of that, the connection you form with Brenden isn’t gradual. It’s instant.

That’s exactly what happened when Dillon was traded from San Jose to the Washington Capitals, and he met Tom Wilson.

Wilson remembers being cooped up in a Toronto hotel in the summer of 2020. The Caps were in the NHL bubble as the league resumed its makeshift postseason amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Dillon had been traded from San Jose to Washington in February and played just 10 games before the season was put on pause.

It was the quality of those moments in the bubble that Wilson recalls. He learned firsthand how Dillon invests in people the same way he invests in his career: fully, wholeheartedly, with everything he’s got.

“I think that poured gas on the fire for our relationship because we spent so much time together right away," Wilson said. "You understand his ability to connect with people and that authentic care for who people are.”

While Dillon once dreamed only of playing one NHL game, as his career forged forward, he allowed himself to think of bigger milestones, like the one he celebrated on Monday night. He even talked about it with Wilson.

“I remember sitting there in the bubble talking to him about like, “Hey, maybe we’ll both be able to play 1000 games one day.” Wouldn’t that be the dream?” Wilson recalled. “Play hard and go through the game the right way, but how cool would it be to play 1000 games? And now we’re sitting here and I don’t think he’s ever taken a shift off. He’s one of those guys who’s got to 1000 games playing so hard and playing the right way and taking care of himself and remaining healthy. And for how he plays the game as a defenseman, to get to that milestone is incredible.”

Every conversation about Dillon seems to come back to the same truth: it’s his authenticity that makes him so impactful in every locker room he’s been a part of. That level of trust, that genuine care for people, can’t be faked over the course of 1,000 games.

“You know you can go into battle with this guy, you know he’s willing to put his body on the line,” Wilson said. “You know he’s willing to do whatever it takes to win. And as a teammate, you understand that with Dilly very quickly. He’s willing to block the heavy slap shot, willing to fight, willing to do whatever it takes. And then that brings other people into the fight. If he’s leading the way, as a teammate, you wanna do it too.”

Canadian Thor

Dillon’s time in Washington was short – less than two full seasons – and from there he moved on to Winnipeg, where he played the next three seasons with the Jets.

There, he encountered Nate Schmidt, and, again, as it seems to be with everyone, they became fast friends and yet another person who jumped at the opportunity to speak about his dear friend.

He started with this gem:

In most locker rooms, Brenden Dillon goes by the very hockey nickname: ‘Dilly’, but to Schmidt and the Winnipeg D-core, he's ‘Canadian Thor’.

“I mean, have you seen that guy? He has negative body fat,” Schmidt laughed.

"His reaction (to the nickname) was 'No, come on, please don't… actually, please do it'," Schmidt joked. Over the phone, you could hear the joy Schmidt had in publicly exposing the nickname that was generally reserved for the Winnipeg D core.

"We'd be like 'Alright core! Let’s go Thor!'," Schmidt laughed. "Just one of those names where it would be something if he was ever wound up, you could use to bring him down, it was something that when he gets going a little bit, you’re like 'Uh oh, today Thor is here!'”

The sharing of the nickname and taking a couple of jabs at his friend felt important. You could hear it in Schmidt's voice: it was (jokingly) killing him to sing his friends' praises so publicly. He needed to lighten things up. But ultimately, just as everyone else, he is so proud of his friend.

“Those are 1,000 rough and tumble and hard-earned matches," Schmidt, who now plays for the Utah Mammoth, said. "There are games that I go and play that I can look back on and say, "Yeah, you know, maybe I wasn't as physical as I'd like to be at that point." I don’t really think that's something you could say about him, and that's what's so impressive about him being at this milestone, is that they are hard games. They're not easy. They're grinding games. They've got a lot of grease on those axles. It’s really impressive. I couldn’t be happier for him.”

“He is who he is on the ice, right?” Schmidt said. “He's tough, he's rugged. But off the ice, the way I see him, too, is that he takes a genuine liking to people. And if he likes you and you give him the time and you try and be reciprocal, he's as loyal as they come."

That's Brenden Dillon.

But there's also another side... the one that requires the flip of a switch...

The Switch

What stands out most when you hear stories about Brenden Dillon off the ice is how sharply they contrast with the version the public sees on it. There’s a genuine light-switch quality to him: One moment gentle and soft-spoken, the next a force you want no part of as an opponent.

With Brenden, his reputation commands instant respect and admiration. Yet the moment you meet him off the ice, you quickly realize the person you’ve battled against isn’t the same one standing before you.

Dillon has a switch.

"It's funny because, me and Jack always joke with him," Luke Hughes said, "When he was in Winnipeg, you watch out for a guy like that on the ice, and then you meet him in person, he becomes your teammate and you’re like ‘What am I watching out for?!’"

“It's crazy,” Brett Pesce said. “When I was playing against him, I always just like, ‘Yeah, this guy's, like, a nut job’, you don’t mess with Dilly. ‘Don’t hit anyone, Dilly’s on the other side’.”

And then comes the moment that same ‘nut job’ becomes your teammate. Suddenly, he’s not just someone you respect: he’s one of your best friends.

Pesce and Dillon didn’t know one another personally when the two signed in New Jersey in 2024. They were put in touch by their mutual friend, Brent Burns, and the two instantly clicked.

And they’ve been battling with New Jersey ever since. Just like all his former teammates say, Pesce is glad he’s on Dillon’s side of the ice now, because for all his softness off the ice, when that switch flips on the ice, you want none of it as an opponent.

And when Dillon sees a teammate in trouble?

"That guy is fiercely loyal, so if anybody does anything to his teammates, he's gonna lose it, you know?" Pesce said.

“I don't want to lie,” he added. “It's pretty scary. He’s got that look. You know, the lights seem to go off, and then everyone kind of just backs up.”

"I try and get him to flip that switch every once in a while off the ice," Schmidt says, adding he's always unsuccessful.

When you know Dillon as profoundly as his friends do, because of the way he invests time into people, there’s a whole other layer to it when that switch goes off. You recognize the man behind the intensity, which makes watching it unfold both intimidating and oddly funny.

“He's got this distinct look on his face when I can see when things, when the steam starts to roll around and pressure starts building before it comes out his ears,” Schmidt laughed. “The thing is, too, is that all of a sudden he starts yelling at somebody and the problem is I know him so well off the ice, like, for me, I start to, I have to turn away 'cause I'll start laughing.”

“He'll be like (to an opponent), 'I could kill you!' And I'll look around, and I'll be, like, I'll have to put my jersey over my mouth—because I'll be laughing so hard. Like, do not...You don't poke Papa Bear like that.”

Knowing Dillon gives you that rare dual perspective: the same player who can level an opponent, not just with hits, but with a single glare, is the same person whose kindness, loyalty and warmth off the ice make you grateful - truly grateful - to call not just a teammate, but a friend.

Welcome to Jersey

And now, after all the miles and all the years in Dillon’s journey, New Jersey gets to see the lore of Brenden Dillon up close.

Dillon arrived in New Jersey at exactly the moment the Devils needed someone like him. It wasn’t just about adding a veteran; it was about adding the right one.

That was Brenden Dillon.

He’s someone people naturally gravitate toward. He treats people the right way, and always has.

"He genuinely cares about everyone in that room," Pesce said. "Not just the players, but the staff, the media, like anyone who's kind of in his circle. He cares so deeply about them, which is why he's so respected by his peers."

And for all his steadying presence, he's also the guy who can break the tension with a joke, settle a bench with a few calm words, or show younger players what being a professional really looks like.

"Dilly has earned everything," head coach Sheldon Keefe said. "You know, some guys earn it when they're younger, and the work they put in, they're so talented that it's just sort of a red carpet and off they go. Dilly has earned everything. He's a tremendous character, a tremendous person, he is the ultimate competitor, does whatever it takes to win, and he's the ultimate team guy."

“He’s an unbelievable person and fits in unbelievably in our team,” Luke Hughes said. “Just his style of play, his physicality and what he brings to our D core is huge. And then, just as a person, you know, he's one of my really good friends. It’s funny saying that, when I'm 22, and he's 34.”

For all the shared experiences that Brenden Dillon has had with former teammates, none will get to experience what the New Jersey Devils locker room will: they get to share in, firsthand, this milestone moment. But they also know, as a team-first guy, he probably doesn't love the limelight of it all.

But Brett Pesce has been trying to help.

"I don't think he likes it," Pesce laughed of the attention. "Every time he plays a game, I start complimenting him, just for fun. He gets really uncomfortable and awkward about it. So we're working on it—just getting him to say, ‘Hey thanks, man,’ like a normal person.”

Because the truth is, Dillon has never been one to make anything about himself. And maybe that’s exactly why this moment lands so profoundly: it makes him pause, just for a breath, and feel what everyone around him has known for years.

At a thousand games, the story finally feels big enough to match the man telling it on the ice.

"He was willing to work for everything and work for every day, but he would've been grateful for just one, you know? Just a taste," Emma beamed. "It's almost unbelievable."

So, for a split second, before the puck drops, that tough on-ice persona may drop. He can stand there, be celebrated and embrace a moment that only the very few achieve. It will be his moment.

Then, true to who he is, he’ll go right back to work.

And here we are again at the core of Brenden Dillon: One remarkable man, who just so happened to have played 1000 NHL games.