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<p>Tom Kostopoulos and NHL enforcer Shawn Thornton were never teammates and their styles are vastly different.</p><p>But they will be forever linked.</p><p>When Kostopoulos takes the ice for Sunday&#8217;s home matchup against the Hershey Bears, it will mark his 600th game at the AHL level. Kostopoulos has also played in 630 NHL games, and he will become just the fourth player to ever appear in at least 600 games at both the AHL and NHL levels.</p><p>Thornton accomplished the feat last year to become the third member of the &#8220;600&#8221; club. The other two members include Dave Creighton and AHL Hall of Famer Jim Morrison, both of whom reached the mark a few decades ago.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not something you think about, but as time goes on and games add up, it&#8217;s neat to reach the milestones,&#8221; Kostopoulos said. &#8220;It&#8217;s kind of a weird stat. It&#8217;s neat. Interesting.&#8221;</p><p>It&#8217;s also fitting that Kostopoulos, 37, will reach the milestone as a member of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins - the place where his pro career began in 1999.</p><p>That season is the one that provided Kostopoulos with his most memorable moment of those 600 AHL games. The Penguins spent the first month of their inaugural 1999-00 season on the road while waiting for construction of their home arena to be completed.</p><p>When the building was ready, the Penguins finally got their inaugural home opener on Nov. 13, 1999 against the Kentucky Thoroughblades.</p><p>&#8220;It was awesome,&#8221; Kostopoulos said. &#8220;It was a sold out crowd that was going crazy and we came back home and won. It was a pretty special game.&#8221;</p><p>The road to 600 games at both the AHL and NHL wasn&#8217;t an easy one for Kostopoulos, and that&#8217;s where he and Thornton have a similar path.</p><p>Thornton, 38, who is now with the Florida Panthers, spent nearly six full seasons in the AHL before playing his first NHL game with Chicago in 2002-03. After that, he bounced back-and-forth between the AHL and NHL for five more seasons before reaching the big league for good.</p><p>Kostopoulos spent two full seasons in the AHL and got his first NHL look - with Pittsburgh, in his third season. Like Thornton, Kostopoulos spent the next four seasons splitting time between the two leagues before reaching the NHL in 2005, where he would stay for the next seven seasons.</p><p>&#8220;At certain times in both of our careers people would say we were career minor leaguers,&#8221; Kostopoulos said. &#8220;We just found a way to get to the NHL and do something that someone else wasn&#8217;t willing to do.&#8221;</p><p>Kostopoulos&#8217; accomplishment has only added to the level of respect he has from his teammates in the Penguins locker room.</p><p>Rookie Dominik Simon, who at age 21 has 50 AHL games under his belt, said Kostopoulos&#8217; upcoming milestone is a tribute to his ability to adapt to changes in the game over the years.</p><p>&#8220;He&#8217;s one of the few guys that can do it,&#8221; Simon said. &#8220;It&#8217;s rare to be able to play so many games like that. It&#8217;s unbelievable.&#8221;</p><p>Defenseman Will O&#8217;Neill, who is in his fourth AHL season, said the achievement just cements Kostopoulos&#8217; status as a true leader in the hockey world.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re fortunate to have him on our team. To have a rock like that in the locker room is a big deal,&#8221; O&#8217;Neill said. &#8220;A proven leader wherever he&#8217;s played.&#8221;</p><p>Even head coach Clark Donatelli, who has appeared in two Olympics and played in the IHL, AHL and NHL, was in awe of Kostopoulos&#8217; accomplishment.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s a big number and it&#8217;s really hard to do,&#8221; Donatelli said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a tribute to him and I&#8217;m really happy for him.&#8221;</p><p>The Penguins will honor Kostopoulos for joining the 600-club this season, and Kostopoulos said he isn&#8217;t thinking yet about if he&#8217;ll return next year.</p><p>Instead, he&#8217;s focused on pushing the Penguins deep into the playoffs and letting the games continue to add up.</p><p>&#8220;The Pittsburgh organization has always been good to me,&#8221; he said. &#8220;My career has kind of taken a weird path and there&#8217;s been a lot of special moments in the AHL and NHL.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Tom Kostopoulos will become the fourth player in hockey history today to play 600 games at both the AHL and NHL </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_Kostopoulos-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Tom Kostopoulos will become the fourth player in hockey history today to play 600 games at both the AHL and NHL </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams|for Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_Kostopoulos-MUG.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kostopoulos </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_Kostopoulos-MUG.jpg</photo1><caption1>Kostopoulos </caption1><photoCredit1>Fred Adams|for Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Kostopoulos to become 4th player to play 600 games in AHL and NHL</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>Tom Kostopoulos&#8217; games by teams:</p><p>AHL</p><p>Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - 535 (and counting)</p><p>Manchester - 64</p><p>NHL</p><p>Los Angeles - 152</p><p>Montreal - 145</p><p>Calgary - 140</p><p>Carolina - 99</p><p>Pittsburgh - 79</p><p>New Jersey - 15</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Tom Venesky at 570-991-6395 or on Twitter @TLTomVenesky</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Tom Kostopoulos set to reach rare milestone