Oates Surpasses 1,000 Assists in NHL Career
Dave Aiello wrote, "In February, The Washington Post reported that Adam Oates '85 recorded his 1,000th assist in the National Hockey League. The article reads, in part:"
Oates, who has spent the past six years of his 17-year NHL career with Washington, recently became the eighth player in history to accumulate 1,000 assists, in a season in which his team has struggled to a 20-26-8 record. He leads the Capitals in points (49), tied for 15th in the league, and is first in the NHL in assists (41) for the second straight season; Oates was the oldest player in history to lead the NHL in assists last season.
Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky, the NHL's all-time leader in points, Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr are the only players in history to average more assists per game than Oates.... "Reaching 1,000 assists is an incredible milestone," Gretzky said. "Adam is a quality person on and off the ice and a first-class individual. He is an ambassador for how our game should be played."
Dave Aiello continued:
When I was in Troy for the annual Alumni Hockey Game, Dino Macaluso '82 was talking about Adam Oates scoring his 1,000th assist. Dino is very close to Adam personally and professionally. At the time, I made a note of the fact that Oates had passed the milestone, but it was not until about two weeks later that I stumbled across this article, when I was searching The Washington Post web site.
Sandeep Nandy also submitted a link to this article as a story suggestion.