'Just A Fun Ride'

SAN JOSE — Nearly 10 years on from his NHL debut against the Flames, defenceman Joel Hanley is set for a career milestone - as a Flame - this evening in the Bay Area.

The steady defender will suit up in his 300th career NHL contest tonight against the Sharks, the latest in a decade-long journey that’s seen the 34-year-old write a unique hockey story.

“It's taken me a long time,” Hanley reflected Thursday morning. “It’s just a fun ride and a great journey, just not taking a day for granted, any day here in the NHL is a special day.”

He’s seen his fair share of NHL days, too, since becoming a regular. Undrafted, Hanley signed an AHL deal out of the University of Massachusetts before inking his first NHL contract with the Canadiens in the summer of 2015.

But it was in 2020 that Hanley made the NHL his everyday life. Called up by the Dallas Stars, he joined the team in time for their run to the Stanley Cup Final inside the Edmonton bubble that year, scoring his first NHL goal in Game 1 against Blake Coleman and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“It’s been crazy. Like just looking back, spent some time in the East Coast League, and then obviously in the AHL," said Hanley. "There's definitely some worse days than others, but just having a good support group around me and believing in myself, took me a while to do that.”

In Dallas, too, Hanley was in and out of the lineup. That was the case as well upon his arrival in Calgary two years ago. Claimed on waivers in March of 2024, Hanley got into only 10 games with the Flames down the stretch that spring. 

Nine months later, he got a regular run of games under Ryan Huska - on a pairing with MacKenzie Weegar - and Hanley hasn’t looked back since. Last season, he set a new personal best with 53 NHL games played and tonight, he’ll play in his 54th game of the 2025-26 campaign.

“He’s kind of what you would put in the category of being the ultimate teammate,” Huska said Thursday morning. “We talked at length last year, he missed almost two months straight of playing, and yet he kept himself ready to play, and when his chance came and he was called upon, he was really good and he never really came out of our lineup at that point, moving forward.

“He comes to the rink with the right frame of mind. He’s got a great attitude and he’s willing to do whatever the team needs.”

At 34, Hanley is a family man. A provider for his wife and kids. And that made the two-year, $3.5 million contract extension even sweeter. 

The paycheque - his largest since turning pro - symbolized a decade of hard work, of persistence.

And having a strong support system to help him along the way.

“My family’s been a big part of that, just coming home to them, and having little ones obviously helped with that,” he said. “And obviously coaches, too. Like, I remember in Portland, my first coach was John Slaney, and he was amazing to me and helped me get over the hump, just playing pro hockey; Rick Bowness in Dallas (had a) really positive impact on me and helped me believe in myself. 

“There's a lot of people that come to mind, but it's hard to name them all.”