Mark Richardson heads into Week 11 on the cusp of becoming an Elite League all-time record-setter.
The Devils defenceman is one game shy of tying Jonathan Phillips’ all-time record for the most games played in the league. He is expected to equal the mark on Saturday in Manchester, before breaking it when Cardiff host Fife on Sunday.
Richardson has played 1,176 Elite League games. Current record-holder Phillips played 1,177. In league history, only Matthew Myers and Robert Lachowicz join Phillips and Richardson in surpassing 1,000 games, while Ben Davies is on track to reach the milestone later this season.
“Richy is already a legend in British Ice Hockey. He recently broke the record for most games played as a Cardiff Devil and now is set to become the all-time leader in games played in EIHL history,” said Devils Managing Director Todd Kelman.
“He has been an incredible player for this club for nearly two decades. He has played a vital role in every championship we have won and been a great ambassador for us off the ice. He is the ultimate pro and the ultimate teammate.
“We are lucky to have had him play nearly all of his 1,176 EIHL games for the Devils and we expect to be celebrating more milestones before he ever decides to hang up his skates.”
Richardson played his first Elite League game for the Devils in 2005. He moved to the Nottingham Panthers for the 2007/08 season and then split the following year between the Panthers and the Basingstoke Bison before returning to Cardiff for the 2009/10 campaign.
He has spent almost all of the last 17 years of his professional career in Cardiff, aside from a 13-game stint in Kazakhstan in 2012 and the Covid-cancelled 2020/21 season, when he played in Germany.
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