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Three young Flames chase first NHL goals
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Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Ryan Pike
Nov 6, 2017, 14:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 6, 2017, 05:02 EST
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In the National Hockey League, everybody scores eventually. Once a player gets their foot in the door at the NHL level and begins getting regular game time, it’s only a matter of time before they score their first goal at hockey’s highest level.
Those statements are definitely true, but you could forgive Brett Kulak if he feels like he’ll never, ever score in the NHL. He’s one of three young Flames skaters searching for their first NHL marker, and he’s also had the most vivid near-misses of the trio.
Rasmus Andersson has played one NHL game and didn’t have any scoring chances. Mark Jankowski has played seven games and has five scoring chances (four high-danger). Kulak has played 36 NHL contests and has 22 scoring chances (two of them high-danger). (Scoring chance data per Natural Stat Trick.)
He’s also been involved in two scoring plays that fans and media initially thought could be credited to him.
  • An empty-net goal scored by Vancouver on their own net on Oct. 15, 2016 – the Flames had taken a delayed penalty and the goalie was pulled for an extra attacker – which was originally credited to Kulak but revised to Troy Brouwer.
  • A point shot from Kulak on Oct. 29, 2017 that eluded Washington goaltender Philipp Grubauer, but was revealed to have been redirected in the slot by Micheal Ferland.
For his part Kulak isn’t phased by the near-misses, as he explained prior to the Flames’ game against New Jersey: “I know it’s coming. It could be tonight, it could be in two weeks, it could be at the end of the season. I know it’s coming and I feel good about it.”
With Andersson, Jankowski and Kulak hunting for goals, how long did it take their teammates after their NHL debuts?
Player
Game
Team
Opponent
Date
Johnny Gaudreau
1
Flames
@ VAN
Apr. 13/14
Matt Stajan
1
Leafs
OTT
Apr. 5/03
Sean Monahan
2
Flames
@ CBJ
Oct. 4/13
Jaromir Jagr
2
Penguins
NJD
Oct. 8/90
Mikael Backlund
3
Flames
@ PHX
Jan. 28/10
Matthew Tkachuk
4
Flames
BUF
Oct. 18/16
Kris Versteeg
4
Blackhawks
@ PHX
Jan. 3/08
Michael Stone
8
Coyotes
SJS
Mar. 10/12
Sam Bennett
10
Flames
@ OTT
Oct. 28/15
T.J. Brodie
11
Flames
@ MIN
Nov. 27/11
Mark Giordano
12
Flames
@ TOR
Oct. 14/06
Dougie Hamilton
12
Bruins
@ BUF
Feb. 15/13
Michael Frolik
15
Panthers
@ NJD
Nov. 20/08
Troy Brouwer
18
Blackhawks
COL
Nov. 3/08
Freddie Hamilton
18
Avalanche
@ ARZ
Mar. 19/15
Micheal Ferland
21
Flames
@ NSH
Mar. 29/15
Tanner Glass
22
Panthers
OTT
Jan. 22/08
Travis Hamonic
30
Islanders
@ ATL
Feb. 1/11
Matt Bartkowski
137
Canucks
EDM
Oct. 18/15

Some first goal stories

Giordano’s first NHL goal was part of a two-goal outburst he had against the Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada in a game played in his hometown. The game came just over two years after his pro debut for the AHL’s Lowell Lock Monsters, where he began his improbable path to the NHL.
Ferland’s first NHL goal came just two days after he opened up publicly about his battles with alcohol abuse and celebrated the one year anniversary of his sobriety.
Bartkowski’s NHL goal came after seven different recalls (and demotions) from the AHL and during a career that’s been spent primarily as a third-pairing defender.

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