NHL Ironman: Andrew Cogliano on Pace to Break Streak

Andrew Cogliano is Unstoppable. The Player is an NHL Ironman and is on Pace to Break Some Streaks.

Andrew Cogliano hasn't missed a game in his NHL career.

Yeah it's true, go ahead and pull up another tab , Google Cogliano, and check out his games played stat columns littered with 82's ( with the exception of the 48 game season due to the 2012-13 lockout).

NHL Ironman

He is the active ironman in the NHL right now, with 770 consecutive games played. This puts him fifth all time, with a chance to pass Craig Ramsay for fourth (with 776) by the end of this season.

The Edmonton Oilers drafted Cogliano 25th overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. He played his first game October 4th, 2007 and hasn't missed one since.

It's been ten years and the man has played every game. It's insane!

He hasn't missed a game since Ilya Kovalchuck was sniping for the Atlanta Thrashers. Not since Chris Osgood led the league with a 2.09 GAA. Andrew Cogliano has played in every game of his career since Connor McDavid was 11 years old.

You get it. It's been a while.

Cogliano's game is not one that consists of hip checks and bloody knuckles, sure. But in a high contact, fast paced sport it's insane to show that kind of durability. Anything can happen during the course of a game, and even Cogliano hasn't escaped completely unscathed.

A notable instance where the streak was in trouble was after Cogliano was the recipient of a brutal high stick on March 20, 2013. Brandon Bollig went for a stick lift, but instead caught the Anaheim forward in the mouth.

A walk down the runway and a few broken teeth later, Cogliano silenced all concerns he may miss a game by returning the bench a few minutes later.

Such is hockey.

Known as a speedster, he gained popularity for winning the fastest skater competition in the 2009 NHL All-Star game. However, the depth scoring winger should also be praised for his dedication, grit and resiliency.

The Future

There are some active players nipping at Cog's heels. For example, Florida's Keith Yandle ranks ninth (615 consectutive games) , San Jose's Patrick Marleau ranks 10th (607), and Pittsburgh's Phil Kessel ranks 11th all time (592).

Andrew Cogliano has his sights set on the top of the list, however. Doug Jarvis currently holds the record for most NHL games played with 964. Jarvis, like Cogliano, started his streak from his very first NHL game.

Breaking Jarvis' record will be no easy feat, but Cogliano is in a good spot. The 29 year old would have to play about two and a half more seasons consecutively to take the number one spot. With his track record, it shouldn't be much of a problem.

For now, Cogliano will keep grinding, game by game. He's a staple on the Duck's checking line with Ryan Kesler and Jakob Silfverberg. With 29 points (14 G, 15A) on the season, he continues to produce, and doesn't show any sign of stopping.