It was a special night for former Centennial right winger Chris Neil Wednesday as the Ottawa Senators paid tribute to his 1,000 games in the red and black.
Neil played three seasons with the Centennials, racking up 156 points in 190 games, including a 72 point season in 1998-99.
"It's a great city (North Bay) with great fans," Neil told Sportsnet's Hometown Hockey. "I spent my whole OHL career there. I just loved every second of it and made a lot of close friends and people that I still keep in touch with."
The Senators alternate captain was drafted in the sixth round, 161st overall, in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, and has played his entire NHL career with the organization.
He joined the team in 2005.
Neil was presented with a silver stick and puck, plus an oil painting to commemorate the occasion.
He was joined by his sons Cole, 7 and Finn, 5, his wife, Caitlin, and their daughter, Hailey, 9.
Neil is one of the most popular players ever to don the Senator's jersey.
He's scored 112 goals in those thousand games, and sports a penalty total of about 2,500 minutes.
