IF you were to list every great thing that could happen to a young hockey player, North Vancouver's Stefan Elliott would be able to tick off most of those options after one huge game played Saturday in Colorado.
First NHL game? Check. National audience on Hockey Night in Canada? Check.
Play a regular shift? Check. Play with poise and smarts, showing you belong? Check.
Score a goal? Check. Win the game? Check.
Game-winning goal? How about that? The 20-year-old North Shore Winter Club product did it all in a 5-2 win for the Colorado Avalanche over the Edmonton Oilers Nov. 26, his goal eight minutes into the third period standing up as the game winner.
"Pure joy and excitement," was how Elliott described what it felt like to score the goal. On the play Avalanche centre Ryan O'Reilly won an offensive zone faceoff straight back to Elliott on the point. The young defenceman skated the puck along the blue line from the left boards to the centre of the ice, making a quick move in front of an Oiler forward to clear some space before firing a low, hard wrist shot that beat screened goalie Devan Dubnyk cleanly to the blocker side.
"It was definitely something special scoring my first goal, let alone it being my first game," Elliott told the throng of reporters that crowded around his new locker stall after the game. "It was nice to get that win, that's for sure. I was pretty anxious coming in here. It definitely feels good to get that first one under my belt, hopefully there's a lot more to come now in my career."
Elliott finished the game with 19: 36 in ice time, a plus-one rating and was named the first star of the contest. It was the end of a hectic 24 hours for Elliott. One day earlier he was napping before a game for the American Hockey League's Lake Erie Monsters in Cleveland when he received the call from the Avalanche, who needed him to fill in for injured defenceman Erik Johnson. Elliott then had to scramble to get to the rink, collect his gear and race to the airport to catch a flight to Denver. After spending the night at a hotel he arrived at the Pepsi Center about three hours before game time on Saturday and was reunited with teammates he hadn't seen since training camp.
"Once I got in and got settled I tried to calm the nerves a little bit and just came in here and got ready to play," he said.
Elliott will likely stay as long as Johnson is out with a groin injury. When Johnson returns, the Colorado coaches will have a decision to make about who will be sent back down. Elliott, a second-round draft pick in 2009, was the last player cut from the Avalanche during training camp prior to this season. In 18 games with the Monsters Elliott notched two goals and seven assists and registered a plus-five rating.
Last year Elliott played for the Western Hockey League's Saskatoon Blades, scoring 31 goals and 51 assists to earn the league's Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy as defenceman of the year. In four seasons with the Blades Elliott scored 241 points in 282 games, including 82 goals. In 2009 Elliott was selected as the Canadian Hockey League's Subway Scholastic Player of the Year after earning a 93.3 per cent average at Marion Graham Collegiate in Saskatoon while taking a heavy course load of Grade 12 classes.
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North Vancouver's Ben Maxwell was claimed off waivers by the Anaheim Ducks, ending his short time with Canada's feel-good team, the Winnipeg Jets.
After sorting out some work visa issues, Maxwell was in the lineup for the Ducks against the Detroit Red Wings Nov. 20, registering two shots on goal in 7: 15 of ice time. Since coming over from Winnipeg Maxwell has played four games with Anaheim with no points and two penalty minutes. Maxwell was also held scoreless in four games with the Jets before being placed on waivers. He began the season on injured reserve after suffering a back injury during the pre-season.
In 40 NHL games Maxwell has one goal and one assist with 19 penalty minutes. The former North Shore Winter Club player was a second-round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2006.
