WINNIPEG - Brayden Pachal’s NHL debut was something he’ll never forget, and it was even more special because his family was in attendance.
Pachal played his first NHL game on March 15 for the Vegas Golden Knights against the Winnipeg Jets. He joined a small group of players born, raised and trained in Estevan to have played in the NHL.
Watching him play were his parents, Rhonda and Kent, his sisters, his girlfriend and her mom, a close friend, three cousins and the fiancée of one of his sisters.
“It was even more special because my family could make it, and it’s a lifelong dream come true, so it was super rewarding,” Pachal said.
Pachal was called up to the Golden Knights the day before. He had been with the big club a couple of times previously but didn’t play. Pachal was notified just before 11 a.m. on March 15 – about eight hours before the game – that he would get to play.
Thankfully Winnipeg is the closest NHL city to Estevan, but Pachal believes the Golden Knights would have done everything they could for his family to see the game.
“Essentially, it was a hometown game for me, which was nice that they could make the drive,” said Pachal.
Before the game, Pachal enjoyed an NHL tradition with the rookie lap, when a player in his first NHL appearance briefly gets to skate on the ice on his own before being joined by his teammates.
“If I’m being honest, the only thing going through my head was don’t step on a puck and fall or something like that,” he said with a laugh.
He tried to treat it as any other game, but he admits it wasn’t.
“I think I just went in there with a no fear mindset and nothing to lose, and after the first couple of shifts you get into the game and the guys welcomed me and made it super easy on me,” said Pachal.
Two days after the game, he was reassigned to the American Hockey League’s Henderson Silver Knights, where he is the captain. But his time with the Silver Knights was short-lived, as Pachal was recalled on March 20, and played the following day against the Minnesota Wild in Minneapolis.
He believes he was more aggressive in the second game and did a better job of showing what he could do.
“The more games that you play at the pro level, let alone the NHL level, you gain so much more experience, and that’s the biggest thing, I think,” said Pachal. “Everybody at this level is big enough and strong enough and fast enough to compete, but it’s just the experience and the little things that you learn from a … game night basis that makes the biggest difference,” said Pachal.
Everybody knows where they’re supposed to be on the ice, and their ability to make decisions is elite.
He was sent back down to Henderson on March 24.
Pachal joins a list of Estevan Minor Hockey Association alumni to play in the NHL this season, along with forward Tanner Jeannot of Oxbow with the Nashville Predators, and defencemen Haydn and Cale Fleury of Carlyle with the Seattle Kraken. Forward Jordan Martinook, who is with the Carolina Hurricanes, played in Estevan for a few years as well.
Pachal is grateful to Estevan minor hockey for the contributions they made to his development. He played here until his first year of U18 hockey, when he joined Moose Jaw’s AAA program.
“I was fortunate to be in Estevan and have so much support through my whole minor hockey with all of the coaches and my teammates and guys that I’m still really close friends with,” said Pachal.
And he’s thankful for the support of people in Estevan.
“I had so many texts from friends and family, and it was amazing to feel that support [from people] watching,” he said.
This story has been updated to correct the date of Pachal's debut.
