In the Minnesota Wild 's (21-9-5) game against the Columbus Blue Jackets (14-14-6), defenseman Carson Lambos made his NHL debut.
After 163 games in the American Hockey League (AHL) and 1,610 days after the Wild selected Lambos with the 26th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, he finally made his NHL debut.
And he looked great.
According to HockeyStatCards, Lambos led all Wild defensemen in the game in GameScore.
"Long journey and a lot of ups and downs along the way, not playing for a year, among a lot of other things, too," said Lambos after the game. "So it's really exciting to be here and have this chance."
Lambos, 22, received the "Hero of the Game" hat after his debut. He had 17 impressive shifts that included a shot and a blocked shot that may have saved a goal later in the game.
With Jonas Brodin and Jake Middleton back skating in Minnesota following their injuries, and Zach Bogosian waiting in the wings, it isn't certain how many more game Lambos will get in the NHL this year if any but he made it clear on Thursday that he is ready to be a NHL defenseman.
"I thought it was a good first game for him," said Wild head coach John Hynes. "I thought he had strong details to his game. He skated well. Strength wise he looked good. I thought he played a simple, reliable and good first game. The encouraging things where, his skating, he's a pretty good size young kid, good strength on him and it didn't seem like he was overwhelmed by the circumstances. So that was good to see."
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