Madison’s Dan Schachte, the first American to officiate 2,000 NHL games has died. He was born on July 13, 1958 and died September 6, 2022 at age 64.

What happened to Dan Schachte? How did Dan Schachte? Circumstances leading to the death of Schachte has not been made public. We will keep you updated if the information is released.

Schachte worked his first game in the NHL on October 1, 1982 in the old Chicago Stadium. (Chicago Blackhawks vs Toronto Maple Leafs.)

On January 3, 2004, he reached a career milestone, working his 1,500th game in St. Louis, Missouri in a match between the St. Louis Blues and the San Jose Sharks.

Eight years later, on February 18, 2012 in St. Louis, Missouri, Schachte became the fifth official ever to work 2,000 games, in a match between the St. Louis Blues and the Minnesota Wild.

He was the first and is one of two American officials to work 2,000 games. He officiated his final NHL game a month later in Chicago on March 18, 2012 between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Washington Capitals. The Blackhawks won 5-2.

He worked 2,009 games total over a career which span three decades.

Schachte wore uniform number 47 from the 1994-95 season until he retired.

Notable tournaments Schachte worked on include;

• The 1991 Canada Cup,
• The 1996 World Cup of Hockey,
• The 2002 Winter Olympics, and
• Five Stanley Cup Finals in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2002, which includes a game 7 in 2001 between New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche.

Schachte was later the Supervisor of Officials for Hockey East Association.