WINNIPEG - Estevan’s Brayden Pachal made his NHL debut Tuesday night for the Vegas Golden Knights in their 7-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets in Winnipeg.
Pachal, a 22-year-old defenceman, is wearing No. 94 for the Knights. During the pre-game warmup, he took the rookie lap, in which a player in his first NHL game gets the spotlight, as he gets to skate on his own before being joined by his teammates.
Pachal had his first shift less than three minutes into the game. He finished the night as a minus-1, and had 10:31 of ice time.
Pachal played the vast majority of his developmental hockey in the Estevan Minor Hockey Association, in which he was an impact player at each level. He joined the Moose Jaw Generals for his first year of U15 AAA hockey in 2014-15, but also three regular season games and three playoff games for the junior Estevan Bruins as a 15-year-old.
He then spent four seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Victoria Cougars and the Prince Albert Raiders. Pachal was the captain of the Raiders team that won the WHL title in 2018-19.
Pachal signed a professional contract with the Golden Knights prior to the start of the 2019-20 season, and is in his third season with the Golden Knights organization. Earlier this season, he was named the captain of the Golden Knights’ affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights.
In 47 games played this season with Henderson, Pachal has a goal and seven assists for eight points.
Pachal is the latest player from southeast Saskatchewan to play in the NHL this season, joining Oxbow's Tanner Jeannot (Nashville Predators), and Carlyle's Haydn and Cale Fleury (Seattle Kraken).
