Former Rebel Bains makes NHL debut, joins growing list of South Asian NHLers

There’s no easy road to the NHL, but Arshdeep Bains took a particularly winding path.

It all paid off on February 21 when the 23-year-old paused in the tunnel at Ball Arena in Colorado, touched his glove to the ground and then to his heart, covered by the Vancouver Canucks crest, and raced out onto the ice for his rookie lap.

“Stepping out there, it just feels like a dream,” Bains said of his NHL debut. “When you get into your first shift and throughout the game, just kind of kind of just like another hockey game. So it was really cool.”

A dream come true for Arshdeep Bains.

Welcome to the @NHL! pic.twitter.com/l6GkPxcYAv

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) February 21, 2024

While the Canucks would fall to the Colorado Avalanche 3-1, the youngster says it was a special night learning from some of the top players in the league.

It was also a special night for thousands of young hockey fans watching a player who looked like them on one of the biggest stages in the sport.

Bains, who hails from Surrey, B.C., has become one of few Punjabi players to suit up for an NHL game, joining another handful of players of South Asian descent who played at least one game in the big league.

His father, Kuldip, was in the stands for the Canucks Mentors Trip to see his son suit up for his hometown team and do Matha Tek by touching the ground and his heart.

“That just means the world to me,” Bains said postgame. “He was a little emotional, told me he got a little water in his eyes.

“That’s every kid’s dream, to make their dad proud.”

Bains earned a shot with the club after a strong second season with the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks, where he has nine goals and 39 assists in 42 games. He was also named the AHL All-Star Challenge MVP earlier this month.

The 6-foot, 184-pound forward also has the increasingly rare distinction of making the NHL after going undrafted.

He also wasn’t selected in the WHL Prospects Draft, for that matter. But he did manage to catch the eyes of the Red Deer Rebels shortly after.

“I remember going to watch him as a 15-year-old player,” Rebels President and General Manager Brent Sutter said. “He was right up there into scoring at the midget level and we’d listed him already. We were trying to make a decision whether to sign him and I went to see him and I’m like, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna move forward with getting him signed.'”

After a slow start in the WHL and being passed over in the NHL draft, Bains erupted for 43 goals, 69 assists and 112 points in 2021-22, winning the WHL’s Bobby Clarke Trophy for most points and earning a contract with the Canucks organization.

“You’ve got to give Bainsy full marks because he never gave up,” Sutter added. “There’s another example for players that if you’re dedicated and committed every day, you do things the right way, both on and off the ice, not just through the winter months, but in the summer, too, you can get your goals and you can fulfill your dream. And he did that.”

🎥HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT🎥

Like a true Rebel, Arshdeep Bains splits the 'D' with a slick toe drag on route to tucking his first of the night!@Rebelshockey | #WHLHoN pic.twitter.com/ZVhTcGRa6o

— The WHL (@TheWHL) February 19, 2022

Two other Punjabi players who made the NHL also made their way up through the WHL.

B.C. Hockey Hall-of-Famer Robin Bawa, the first person of South Asian descent to play in the NHL, played five seasons in the WHL, playing in three straight finals and capturing league championships with Kamloops in 1984 and 1986.

Bawa made his NHL debut with the Washington Capitals in the 1989-90 season, where he scored his first goal against the Chicago Blackhawks. He’d go on to play 61 games for Washington, Vancouver, San Jose and Anaheim.

His son, Arjun, currently plays for the Prince George Cougars.

Before the 2013-14 season, Edmonton Oilers draft pick Jujhar Khaira opted to transfer from the NCAA to play for the Everett Silvertips, racking up 16 goals and 27 assists in 59 games.

The towering 6-foot-4 forward played his first game as an Oiler in 2015-16 and has since played more than 300 games over nine seasons with the Oilers, Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild organizations.

Should Bains continue his call-up with the Canucks, he could face the Kraken in Seattle on February 22 and, potentially, make his home debut against the Boston Bruins on February 24.