Ken Hitchcock to coach # 1000 tonight

In professional sports, and hockey in particular coaches are hired to be fired so when a coach hits a milestone like this one its needs to be acknowledged. Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Ken Hitchcock will coach in his 1000 NHL game tonight.

When Ken Hitchcock goes behind the Columbus Blue Jackets bench Wednesday night, the fact that he will coach in his 1,000th NHL game on Veterans/Remembrance Day won’t be lost on him.

Hitchcock is a military history aficionado, has made personal visits to military landmarks, and he’s taken his teams to military bases for bonding and training exercises.

“I want the players to observe what it’s like to not talk about being a team, but observe what it’s like when people are a team,” he told NHL.com. “The coordination, the sacrifice, the commitment, the support, the friendship … I want those players to see how tight and cohesive and the camaraderie that goes on in those groups, because it has to be there. It has to be there for people to live. I want the players to see that so that they can see what it’s like when it’s really at its best.

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