Nearly two decades later, former Blues defenseman Mike Van Ryn still remembers the look on teammate Chris Pronger’s face.



“We were playing in Anaheim and I was complaining,” Van Ryn told The Athletic this week, recalling an incident from the 2001-02 NHL season when he was just a 22-year-old rookie. “I was young, so I had to learn my way, and I was on the ice complaining that my legs were tired. He just turned around and looked at me like he was going to beat me up. He told me to suck it up and never say ‘I’m tired.'”



There were nearly 700 players in the NHL that season, many of whom Van Ryn probably could have mentioned that to and gotten away with it. But admitting fatigue to the player who led the entire league with 29:28 of ice time per game was not a wise idea.



“Yeah, no shit!” Pronger replied, after being reminded of the moment by The Athletic this week. “Why do you think I was like,...