Mike Stothers is the picture of a hockey lifer. It is a face well earned.
In his very first NHL game in 1984, Stothers was struck in the face by a Mike McEwen slapshot. The defenseman suffered a broken nose, a concussion, and was carried off in a stretcher. The Ontario Reign head coach remembered, "I was playing in the Philadelphia Spectrum. Played through the first period, no issues. Second period, I was in front of the net. It was a defensive zone faceoff for us. Washington wins the puck back to the point. Mike McEwen took a slapshot, came up high.