Welshman Matthew Myers, the most decorated player in Elite League ice hockey, will play his 900th match in all competitions on Saturday.

Cardiff-born Myers has won 19 major British trophies and made almost 100 appearances for Great Britain during his career.

It is fitting that Myers’ landmark match will be played against his former club Nottingham Panthers.

Only two players will have made 900 EIHL appearances and both are Welsh – Myers and close pal Jonathan Phillips, a former Devils player who is now Sheffield Steelers captain.

Myers has had an astonishing career in a sport which has gripped his family over two decades.

Brother Joseph played in goal for Devils and Cardiff Fire, while sister Paige says: “My whole life has been dictated by hockey, growing up travelling the country with both my brothers so that they could fulfil their dreams of playing for the Cardiff Devils.”

The entire Myers family, now including wife Nyree-Claire and her mother Helen, always attend Devils home matches at the Viola Arena, cheering on a forward who is without doubt among the best British hockey players in history.

Myers has been a key player in Cardiff Devils last three seasons, winning back-to-back Elite League titles, the play-off championship and Challenge Cup.

Over his career, Myers has won seven Challenge Cups, five play-off championships, three Elite League titles plus Erhardt Conference successes.

The big centreman, arguably the best face-off player in Britain, is a hard-hitting, physical player who is willing to go into the dirty areas and a menace to goaltenders around the league when he steps across their line of sight when team-mates shoot.

He has played in North America, for East Coast League clubs Bakersfield Conoirs and Johnstown Chiefs, and been a major part of the Great Britain team in their charge to the top tier of World Championship hockey alongside Canada, USA, Russia and more.

“I’ve been lucky enough to play for my country many times, while also winning a lot of trophies,” says Myers. “I’ve played on some great teams over the years. Two stand-out wins would be with Nottingham when we won the grand slam and Cardiff when we won three out of four trophies on offer, narrowly missing out on the fourth in overtime.”

Myers has been a massive part of the 2018-19 Devils team chasing a unique third successive League title – they stand 11 points clear of second-placed Belfast Giants.

This weekend Myers and his Devils team-mates play at Nottingham Panthers and Fife Flyers, while they are at Manchester Storm next Saturday.

Members of the Elite League 800/900 club are:

Jonathan Phillips 961

Matthew Myers 899

Jason Hewitt 811

Ashley Tait 809

Russell Cowley 801

Mark Richardson 801

Cardiff Devils have been allocated Blocks 16 and 17 in Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena and there are more than 700 tickets for Devils fans.

Devils will be selling 500 from their allocation from Viola Arena on Sunday, January 27 (from 10am)

The Playoff Finals Weekend takes place on Saturday, April 13 and Sunday, April 14. Full Weekend Tickets are: Adult £84, concession £64, family (2 adults + 2 concessions) £270

“The reason we have to do this on Sunday is because we have to submit all bookings to the Nottingham Arena Box Office by close of business on January 31,” said Kelman. “We only had approval to do this on Friday. It is last minute, but we still think it gives our fans a chance to book their tickets in advance rather than trying to get through on the phones on February 4.

“We are charging a service fee per ticket purchased to cover the payment system costs we incur as well as the time to cover staffing and administration.

“We understand some fans might not want to pay the admin fee, or some fans cannot make it to the Arena on Sunday to purchase tickets in person, which is why we are leaving 30 per cent of tickets still on sale through the box office as normal.”

Devils have three successive away games now, starting at Nottingham Panthers followed by Fife Flyers and Manchester Storm.

Their next home tests at the Viola Arena are against Sheffield Steelers on Sunday, February 3 (6pm) and Coventry Blaze (Saturday, February 9).

For Devils home tickets CLICK HERE TO BOOK ONLINE or CALL 0800 0842 666

CLICK HERE to be redirected to the full fixtures list.