Fifty-two years ago today, Nov. 27, 1960, Gordie Howe went where no NHL player had gone before.

Howe entered the Detroit Red Wings' game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Olympia needing one point to become the first NHL player to record 1,000 regular-season points. He needed 6:36 to get it -- Howe assisted on a goal by Fred Glover that gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead in a game they went on to win 2-0.

Howe's 1,000th point came in his 938th NHL game. He went on to add 850 points (including an assist on the Red Wings' other goal that night) and finished his NHL career 20 years later with 1,850 points, a total later passed by Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.

Since that night, 78 players have joined Howe as a 1,000-point scorer. Here's a numerical look at one of the NHL's most elite groups:

0 -- Number of 100-point seasons for Howe before he reached 1,000 points. Howe's only 100-point season in the NHL came in 1968-69, eight years after he passed the 1,000-point mark.

1 -- Players who scored their 1,000th point on Feb. 29, which occurs once every four years. Boston Bruins defenseman Ray Bourque reached the milestone on Leap Day, 1992.

2 -- Players who needed more than 1,300 games to reach the 1,000-point mark. Dale Hunter got his 1,000th point on Jan. 9, 1998, in his 1,308th game. That was the record until Nicklas Lidstrom scored his 1,000th point in his 1,336th game on Oct. 15, 2009.

A pair of "exceptional" junior hockey players will join forces for Ontario when the 2013 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge is held in Victoriaville and Drummondville, Quebec.

The 10-team tournament, scheduled Dec. 29, 2012, through Jan. 4, 2013, features five clubs from Canada, along with teams from the United States, Finland, Russia, Slovakia and Sweden. A total of 18 players who had at one time participated in the 2012 World U-17 Hockey Challenge were selected in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft in Pittsburgh last June.

Highlighting Ontario's roster are 2014 draft-eligible defenseman Aaron Ekblad of the Ontario Hockey League's Barrie Colts and 2015 draft prospect Connor McDavid of the OHL's Erie Otters. Both players were granted exceptional player status by Hockey Canada to be eligible for their respective OHL Priority Selection drafts. Ekblad was promptly drafted No. 1 by the Colts in 2011 and McDavid was chosen first by the Otters in 2012.

Each Monday, NHL.com will take a look back at the weekend that was in the American Hockey League with an emphasis on the young stars and top prospects that are continuing their development. Here are some of the highlights from the past few days in the AHL:

FRIDAY

FIRST STAR

Andy Miele, Portland

Miele had four assists to help the Pirates fend off Springfield in overtime. The Falcons led 4-1 at one point, but Miele had the primary assist on three straight goals to level the score and again on Oliver Ekman-Larsson's winner in the extra session. Miele, the 2011 Hobey Baker Award winner, signed as an undrafted free agent with Phoenix in April of last year. He is now second on the Pirates with 16 points in 18 games.