Rogers Appreciates 2,500 Games Milestone as Time with Preds Marches On

Only one man has worked all 1,792 regular-season games in Predators history from the Nashville bench. Well, almost all of them.
An unexpected COVID absence sidelined Pete Rogers earlier this season from his perch next to a rack of sticks just feet from the ice, a spot he's occupied from the franchise's very first contest.
But in 24 seasons, Rogers had never missed one of those almost 1,800 outings. And once he was cleared to return, he was right back on the bench and serving as a key cog in making the machine that is the Nashville Predators churn once more.

The life and work of a hockey equipment manager is tireless, but never thankless, not at least to those who benefit from Rogers's skate sharpening, stick swapping, jersey stitching and the like. His work began long before his arrival to Tennessee in 1998, and that time spent in the NHL coupled with another decade in the minor leagues added up to one impressive total last month.
On Feb. 15, Rogers reached the mark of 2,500 professional games worked, and the only head equipment manager Nashville has ever known was honored recently for the accomplishment and a run that has allowed him to interact with every player and coach that has ever skated or worked for the Preds.
And, as one might imagine, that total is almost unfathomable to the man who has seen just about everything.
"The old adage that time stops at nothing - 2,500, it's just a number, but as time goes on, you kind of lose track of how many games you've worked," Rogers said on a recent episode of the Predators Official Podcast. "But then you look back at it, and you're like, 'Wow, I'm that old?'"
Still young at heart, Rogers got his start in the business assisting with the Rochester Americans before a one-season stint - his first in charge - with the ECHL's Hampton Roads Admirals in 1989. From there, Rogers returned to AHL Rochester and served as head equipment manager and director of team travel.
That role allowed Rogers to meet just about everyone who came through to play the Americans over the years, including Barry Trotz who was eventually named Nashville's first head coach. At that time, Trotz was behind the bench of the Portland Pirates, and Rogers's Americans defeated the Pirates to win the 1996 Calder Cup Championship.
After the game, and with the Americans celebrating, Rogers spotted Trotz making his way toward the victors' locker room. The bench boss needed help.
"Barry Trotz calls me over, and I said, 'What's going on?'" Rogers recalled. "[And Trotz said], 'We can't find our bus.'"
The scene outside of the arena was so chaotic in the midst of the excitement that their first mode of transportation was lost in the crowd, but Trotz and his team just wanted to get to the airport. So, Rogers, while the rest of his team celebrated, assisted the opposition one last time. Eventually, they found the bus, Rogers shook Trotz's hand, and away they went.
Little did he know.
Two years later, the expansion franchise in Nashville needed an equipment manager, and Rogers applied.
"There's something to be said for being a nice guy," Rogers said. "There's many guys that can sharpen skates and do what I do, but the thing that people remember is how you treated them. And as time has gone on here in Nashville, we've always had great people that continue that lesson. Just looking at Pekka Rinne, he's one of the nicest people I've ever met in my life. And Barry and David [Poile] set that tone early on about being nice and treating people and taking care of people, and that's kind of a lesson I live by."

For the most part, Rogers doesn't reside in the spotlight, except every once in a while, like when he delivers a fresh stick to a player who then scores moments later. Filip Forsberg did it during the 2018 postseason in Winnipeg after Rogers handed off a new twig, and Luke Kunin had the same fortune last spring right before scoring a double overtime winner at Bridgestone Arena against Carolina.

"Luke is such a good guy, and he actually said to someone in an interview after the game that I handed him the stick], but the way things happen, sometimes you don't even realize," Rogers said. "Like that night, I didn't even realize that Luke had scored because I think somebody had called over to get a piece of steel right after [I replaced his broken stick]. Obviously, we never got there because the game ended, but it's always cool to have a small part."
Predators players and coaches would argue Rogers's role is anything but minor, and they can attest the equipment manager and his staff make their lives easier on a daily basis.
"He's just a good presence and a veteran presence in the room and in that department," Preds forward Matt Duchene said of Rogers. "Leadership has to come from all areas of the organization, and he definitely brings that out. This is only my third year here, but you can just tell the type of professional he is in a pretty short period of time."
"Pete's the man," Preds centerman Colton Sissons said. "He's been here from inception, and he does such a good job, and he takes such good care of us. You don't stay on the same team or have the same role for that long if you aren't great at what you do. He's a great guy to be around, and we all love Pete a lot."
Rogers would reciprocate that affection, and like just about everyone in the hockey world would attest, the best part of all of this is always the people. And now over 2,500 games? That's a lot of friends.
"As time goes on, it's pretty special," Rogers said. "You think back of all the special people that we've had like Barry and Peter Laviolette and the various players that have come through, even people that work at the arena, there's just some really good people. But I think that's what I'm trying to say on that… It's been a pretty great ride."
To hear more from Rogers, including his best memories of Pekka Rinne,
[listen to his full interview on Episode 163 of the Preds Official Podcast
- and stay tuned to NashvillePredators.com for an all-access look at Rogers and his staff as they work back-to-back games, coming soon.