On Saturday afternoon, defenseman Spencer Stastney made his NHL debut with the Nashville Predators.
Getting there wasn't easy - logistically speaking.
A night of travel that involved cancelled and delayed flights ended with an early morning flight that got Stastney to Bridgestone Arena just in time for the noon puck drop for his NHL debut against the St. Louis Blues.
"This is something that I've looked forward to for awhile, and I hoped it would come," Stastney shared after the game. "It was just an amazing day."
Stastney jumped into the lineup with veteran Tyson Barrie as Jeremy Lauzon joined a lengthy list of Predators players out due to injury.
"He was a great presence out there," Stastney said of Barrie. "He really made it easy for me today."
The Woodbridge, Illinois native impressed in his first NHL game. Head coach John Hynes was clearly pleased with what he saw from the Notre Dame graduate who played 143 games and recorded 63 points in his four years of collegiate hockey.
""I was really impressed with him tonight," Hynes said after the game. "He stepped right in and didn't miss a beat so that's really good to see."
Hynes specifically noted one of Stastney's standout skills - his skating.
"I thought his skating was at an NHL level."
Hynes also went on to credit Stastney's puck poise, ability to move the puck up the ice, and solid defensive performance. It was another impressive debut for a young player called up from Milwaukee.
Stastney walked into a Nashville locker room with several familiar faces. This season he has played plenty of games as an Admiral with call ups Kiefer Sherwood, Tommy Novak, Luke Evangelista, Michael McCarron, Egor Afanasyev, Phil Tomasino, and Kevin Gravel.
"Looking around there were a lot of guys I played with in the Admirals earlier this year," Stastney shared. "They're all doing well here. It definitely was nice coming in here seeing a lot of familiar faces and a lot of guys who welcomed me with open arms and helped me out."
His skill set, the locker room welcome, and fortunate travel connections resulted in a noteworthy NHL debut for the 2018 5th round draft pick.
"He's put a lot of work in," Hynes said after the game. "I'd say in tonight's game, he looked like an NHL player."
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