Admirals' Cal O’Reilly joins exclusive AHL club

MILWAUKEE - Cal O’Reilly is a fixture for the Milwaukee Admirals.

This season, he officially joined an exclusive club, which is pretty impressive for 1,000 reasons.

What we know:

In February, O’Reilly became the ninth player to skate in 1,000 games in his AHL career.

"Playing 1,000 games is pretty special," said Cal O’Reilly, Admirals center. "It’s pretty rare. I’m proud I was able to do that."

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The 38-year-old is currently playing in his 19th season in the AHL, for an organization that drafted him in 2005. In fact, O’Reilly has been back in Milwaukee for his second stint with the Admirals.

In a full circle moment, his 1,000th game came against the first opponent he ever faced as a bright-eyed 19-year-old.

What they're saying:

"I started that game and probably during the national anthem I was kind of looking around, like wow, my 1000th game in the American League was against Chicago in Chicago," said O’Reilly. "I think it hit me a little bit, but then once the puck drops, you just gotta go play."

His wife Terra, his four kids and his younger brother Ryan all showed up that morning.

FOX6’s Lily Zhao: "Did you see the sign your brother held up?"

"Oh yeah, hilarious," said O’Reilly. "And I love that it kinda went viral a little bit, which is just awesome."

That day was pretty significant for the O’Reilly brothers. Ryan is a center on the Nashville Predators. He’s also played in 1,000 NHL games himself.

"We both love the game so much," said O’Reilly. "Ever since we were young, no one’s told us that we weren’t going to make a living playing in the NHL and playing professional hockey. That was our goal, and we’re living it."

A few weeks later, the Admirals honored his achievements at home.

In March, O’Reilly, the all-time leading scorer for the Ads, also became the franchise’s all-time leader in games played with 384 and counting.

"I think it’s a huge honor, and I’m happy that’s happening, and I can’t thank them enough," said O’Reilly.

That day was so special that Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson officially declared March 8, 2025, as "Cal O’Reilly Day".

It’s clear he’s achieved so much, but there’s still one big goal O’Reilly wants to accomplish.

"I haven’t won a Calder Cup yet," said O’Reilly. "I’ve been close a few times, and that would just top off anything, to be able to hold that trophy and win a championship, especially here for Milwaukee and the Admirals. That would top off my career by far."

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It’ll be quite the career to look back on. O’Reilly said the key to longevity in the sport comes from his family support, playing for a team he loves and finally, having good fortune with injuries.

"You don’t get this far and play this many games without a lot of luck, but then it just comes down to loving it and I still have the passion and still love competing," said O’Reilly.

Dig deeper:

After almost two decades, that deserves a round of applause.

"It’s flown by," said O’Reilly. "You know, it doesn’t feel like I was that long ago. I was 20 years old. Really happy with everything. It’s been a ride for sure."

Looking ahead, how much longer will O’Reilly play? He said he’ll take things day by day once the season is over.

Until then, O’Reilly and the Admirals will focus on the upcoming Calder Cup Playoffs.

He has since moved up the list to eighth all-time in the AHL, having played 1,108 and counting.

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