Oilers forwards Zach Hyman and Derek Ryan both set to play 500th NHL game on Thursday

We’ve got a couple more Edmonton Oilers milestones to add to the list.

Both Zach Hyman and Derek Ryan will reach 500 NHL games played for their respective careers as the Oilers host the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night…

Hyman was a fifth-round pick out of the Ontario Junior Hockey League by the Florida Panthers in the 2010 draft. He spent four seasons with the University of Michigan and was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in July of 2015.

After one season spent playing with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL, Hyman broke into the NHL in 2015-16 with four goals and six points over 16 games with the Leafs. Hyman developed into a top-six forward with the Leafs over six seasons and then joined the Edmonton Oilers in free agency on a seven-year, $38.5 million contract.

Hyman set a career-high with 27 goals and 54 points in his first season with the Oilers in 2021-22 and then shattered those records in 2022-23 with 36 goals and 83 points.

Ryan played three seasons with his hometown Spokane Chiefs of the WHL and was never drafted by an NHL club. Following his junior career, Ryan enrolled at the University of Alberta and had a very successful four-year stint with the Golden Bears which included a national championship in 2008.

Ryan then spent four seasons playing professionally in Europe and inked a one-year, entry-level deal with the Carolina Hurricanes in the summer of 2015. He scored 55 points over 70 games in the AHL in 2015-16 and established himself as an NHLer in 2016-17 with 29 points over 67 games for the Hurricanes.

The Oilers inked Ryan to a two-year, $2.5 million deal in the summer of 2021 and he’s scored 23 goals and 41 points over 154 games for them since. The Edmonton chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association nominated Ryan for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the “player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey.”