Blues celebrate Suter’s 1,500th NHL game with custom T-shirts

Ryan Suter arrived at his 1,500th NHL game sporting the best accessory: a smile.

The St. Louis Blues celebrated the veteran defenseman’s milestone before their game against the Chicago Blackhawks at the Enterprise Center on Saturday.

During arrivals, the Blues sported custom T-shirts that had a drawing of Suter on them with his name and “1500 Games” written on the front. The veteran grinned as he arrived for his big night.

Suter is the 22nd player and seventh defenseman in NHL history to play 1,500 games. He is the third American-born player to achieve the feat alongside Matt Cullen and Chris Chelios.

“It’s pretty cool,” Suter told the Blues on Friday. “You don’t think about it as you are going through it, but then when it comes…Before last game it was kind of in my mind. Honestly, I had a tough time sleeping just thinking, ‘Okay I’m that close to doing it, what if [I] get hurt?’ You think all the worst thoughts. Now that that’s over I can get ready for tomorrow’s game and I’m excited.”

The veteran defenseman is in his 20th NHL season and first with the Blues. He was drafted by the Nashville Predators seventh overall in 2003 and played seven seasons with the team. He also spent nine seasons with the Minnesota Wild and three seasons with the Dallas Stars.