There’s been a fair amount of talk since Anthony Stolarz was set to officially make hs NHL debut: he’d be the first goaltender from New Jersey to do just that.
So how perfect was it that he got to do it in nearby Philadelphia?
Stolarz became just the 17th player overall from New Jersey to make his NHL debut. And yup, there he is on that list: first goalie, and he got to kick it off with a win. How perfect is that?
In his Sunday debut, @StolieTheGoalie denied 29 shots for a @NHLFlyers win, and became the 1st New Jersey-born goalie to play in the @NHL. pic.twitter.com/AHMkp9kGeo
— NHLPA (@NHLPA) November 28, 2016
Well, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, he’s only the fourth goalie in recent history to make his NHL debut with the Flyers – and actually win.
Stolarz, who is the first player born in New Jersey to play goal in the NHL, is the fourth goaltender in the last 25 years to make his NHL debut with Philadelphia and post a win in his first game. The others to do that in the last quarter-century were Antero Niittymaki (2004), Sergei Bobrovsky (2010), and Rob Zepp (2014).
That seems like… not a lot? Oh, the memories those names bring.
As Charlie noted, Stolarz wasn’t perfect, but he did enough to get that first win. Here’s to more down the line.
