Derek Stephan of the New York Rangers has begun his career by scoring three goals in his first game versus last year's Vezina Trophy winner, Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres.
He has become the fourth NHL rookie in history to accomplish this feat. The last man to do it, the frenetically sought-after Fabian Brunnstrom, managed a hat trick in his first game in 2008. The undrafted Swede hasn't done much since, but hopefully Stephan will do more after his record-tying start.
The other two to score three goals in their first game were Alex Smart back in 1943 for the Montreal Canadiens and Real Cloutier of the Quebec Nordiques in 1979. Cloutier however scored his goals in his sixth season with the Nordiques at the age of 23. This was Quebec's first season in the NHL. Cloutier, was an NHL rookie but not a newcomer to professional hockey or the Nordiques.
The skinny Stephan was a second-round pick from the 2008 entry draft. He was playing at the University of Wisconsin last year where he was more of a playmaker than a scorer. He is just one of a growing list of young players who is being dumped straight in to the NHL with little or no minor profes ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Scott Weldon
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