BLOG: Nino reaches 1000 games

Nino Niederreiter will make history on Saturday night when he steps on the ice for the Winnipeg Jets as they host the Washington Capitals.

The Jets forward will become the first Swiss born player to play his 1000^th game in the National Hockey League. Not bad for a guy whose goal was to just get to the NHL.

“I mean, when I was growing up, there was always Mark Streit to kind of pave the way for us. And everybody wanted to be like Mark Streit and hopefully play one game in the NHL,” said Niederreiter.

“And then there's the 500-game mark, where a few guys now reach, and now being able to achieve the 1000 games itself was something which I hope other players gonna look up to and say, I want to play 1000 games there one day.”

Streit who played 786 NHL games (Islanders, Flyers, Canadiens and Penguins) has since been passed by Niederreiter and Preds defenceman Roman Josi (980). If Josi stays healthy, he won’t be far behind his good friend.

“Looking back when we were younger, 20 years ago or even 25 years ago, it felt impossible and then Mark Streit was the first player who really established himself in the NHL and Nino came up as a high draft pick (5^th overall in 2010 NHL Draft),” said Josi.

“To be able to be doing what he’s doing for that long and the way he plays too, he plays a hard game. He does that every night. It’s just really special, it’s huge for Swiss hockey, it’s huge for kids back home seeing Nino getting to 1000 games. I think it gives all the kids in Switzerland all the confidence that Swiss kids can do it, we can get to that many games which is pretty cool.”

Josi remembers the first time he met Niederreiter.

“(2008) Under-18 World Championships in Russia, he’s two years younger than me. He was the youngest player on our team, and I just remember there was a lot of hype around him because he was playing up so much on the national team,” said Josi.

“It was pretty fun; we got along right away. He was way advanced, the way he played, he was playing up three years with the national team at the time.”

The two have played together at numerous international events and have helped Switzerland to four silver medals at the World Hockey Championships starting with the first one in 2013.

“We were roommates at the time. I don’t think a lot of people gave us a chance,” said Josi.

“We went all the way to the finals, and it was just really cool being able to do that with him. I think I was 22, he was only 20. Just going on that run together with the Swiss national team, first time we won silver (since 1935) that was maybe the most special one.”

Niederreiter was asked about what makes his friendship with Josi so special.

“We kind of grew up together in Switzerland, playing on national teams, and then we kind of broke into the league (NHL) the same time we went the first All Star break we ever had. We went together to Miami with Mark Streit,” said Niederreiter.

“So, we kind of grew into the league together, and we follow each other. We're obviously very close friends, obviously with the national team and playing together in Nashville for a little bit. So, it's being able to achieve it together basically within 20, 30 games are definitely very special.”

The duo will be back together again in a Swiss uniform at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics in February. Niederreiter was hoping the Jets would be having more success on the ice to help make game 1000 even more memorable and the dream of returning to the Olympics for the first time since 2014.

“It's definitely a special season, like you mentioned, and but honestly, at the end of the day, if you’re not winning hockey games. It's just not as fun as you want it to be. But like I said, it is very fortunate to have a chance to play 1000 games,” said Niederreiter.

“The Olympics is something which I'm very proud of playing once again. And obviously I know it's most likely going to be my last Olympics, so it's something which I definitely want to soak it all in.”

Switzerland has never won a medal at the Olympics in men's hockey, but Josi and Niederreiter are hoping to build off their countries silver at the 2025 World Championships, they lost 1-0 to the United States in the gold medal game.

“It’s just exciting that all the best players will be back. I think especially for us with Switzerland, there is definitely a lot of momentum from the past World Championships,” said Josi.

“I think Swiss hockey is in a good place; we got a lot of players in the NHL making big impacts on their teams. Nino’s about to play his 1000^th game which is really special. We’ll have a really good team. Obviously, we know what we’re up against with all the best players coming but we feel confident about our team.”

Niederreiter was recently asked by a Swiss reporter about who his starting five players would be and he listed Timo Meier, Nico Hischier and Kevin Fiala up front, Josi and Jonas Siegenthaler on defence. The 33-year-old said he would put himself on the second line somewhere, which didn’t surprise Josi.

“He should be on the top line. I think anyone who crosses paths with him, he’s an extremely humble guy. I think you see it the way he plays too,” said Josi.

“He’s a team first guy, like he’s one of those guys you want on your team. Whatever he does he does it for the team, he’s just an amazing person, really humble guy.”

Niederreiter wasn’t surprised when he was told that Josi thought he should be on line one.

“I mean, like I said, there were so many good Swiss players coming up, and I'm obviously a different kind of player than we have right now is Fiala, Hischier and Timo Meier, they're obviously playing a different game than I do,” said Niederreiter.

“So it's a it doesn't matter to me who's in the first five players are out there, but at the same time, like I said, I'm definitely proud that I have a chance to play 1000 game tomorrow night, and the career I had so far, and hopefully I can top it off one day was a Stanley Cup.”

Jets fans are hoping that Niederreiter can make it that last dream a reality.