An emotional Brenden Dillon breaks down before his 1,000th NHL game

Veteran defenseman Brenden Dillon will play in his 1,000th NHL game tonight, exceeding his childhood goal of playing at least 1 game in the world's best hockey league.

Devils reporter Amanda Stein presented Dillon with a photo of him and his father on the ice when Brenden was just a young boy and it triggered some strong emotions from the 34 year old blueliner.

Stein: "What would you say to this little guy about where you are today?"
Dillon: "Yeah, I just..."
Stein: "Sorry, I didn't mean to..."
Dillon: "Yeah, it's alright... I just wanted to get one."
Stein: "You just wanted to play one game?"
Dillon: "Yeah, just..."
Stein: "I'm so sorry!"
Dillon: "No, it's happy tears. I'm just happy and excited. So thankful to play in the best league in the world. From every coach I've had, to player, to teammate. It's been awesome."

How great is that?

At 15 years old Dillon was just 5'2" and went undrafted in the WHL. He played a year of Junior A hockey and was signed by the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds a year later. After four seasons with Seattle he went undrafted in the NHL and was signed by the Dallas Stars. He worked his way up from the AHL and has now played 999 career games for the Stars, San Jose Sharks, Washington Capitals, Winnipeg Jets and the Devils.

How can you not love that?

From an undersized, undrafted defenseman to 1,000 career games in the NHL. You can't blame the guy for getting a bit emotional. That little boy in the photo would be so proud of your accomplishments, Brenden. Take a bow this evening.