WHL Stars & NHL Debuts: First point for Pittsburgh’s Pickering
Pittsburgh, Penn.- Welcome to the show, Owen Pickering!
It didn’t take long for the former Swift Current Broncos captain to make his presence felt with the Pittsburgh Penguins as he earned his first NHL point less than seven minutes into his debut on Saturday.
The 20-year-old defenceman picked up a secondary assist after he fired a cross-ice pass to Drew O’Connor at the far faceoff dot for a clean shot on net, where Jesse Puljujarvi picked up the rebound to make it 2-0 for the Penguins.
Pickering is the 16th defenceman in team history to register a point in his first NHL game, according to Pittsburgh Penguins PR.
Pittsburgh would go on to a 4-3 shootout win over the San Jose Sharks.
“I thought he had a great game,” Penguins Head Coach Mike Sullivan said. “He defended hard. He had a great block on one of the penalty kills, a blocked shot. That was a courageous play. I thought he made a real nice play on Jesse Puljujarvi’s goal on that backside seam pass or that backside flank. He didn’t play a reckless game. He played a calculated game, and he played with confidence.”
Sullivan also commended Pickering for a hard shot block on the penalty kill as he addressed the squad post-game, and was awarded the team’s Player of the Game helmet.
Pure joy.
Congratulations on your first NHL point, Owen Pickering! pic.twitter.com/BspyC4nG03
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 17, 2024
“Just surreal,” Pickering reflected after practice on Monday. “I’m going to remember that day and night for the rest of my life. Very cool experience, I’m super grateful to everybody involved and want to keep it rolling.”
The 6-foot-5, 200-pound defenceman is in his first full professional season after graduating from the WHL in the spring.
Pickering buried his first AHL goal for the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins on November 13, shortly before getting called up to the NHL.
A product of St. Adolphe, Man., Pickering suited up for 205 regular season games over four seasons with the Broncos, tallying 27 goals and 106 assists for 133 points.
He added another goal and six assists in nine postseason matches in the 2024 WHL Playoffs.
Pickering was named to the WHL Central Division First All-Star Team in 2023 and 2024 and also captained the Broncos for both of those seasons.
Pittsburgh drafted the skilled defender 21st overall in the first round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft and signed his entry-level contract that July.
Should he stay in the lineup, Pickering could face off against his former Broncos teammate, Conor Geekie, when the Penguins host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, November 19.
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