Apr 16, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Domenick Fensore (89) skates with a puck during his rookie lap in warm-up before the game against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. (David Kirouac-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/6467c27f-7e3f-4516-9a07-34d1d6b02623.jpeg] Apr 16, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Domenick Fensore (89) skates with a puck during his rookie lap in warm-up before the game against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. (David Kirouac-Imagn Images) Apr 16, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Carolina Hurricanes center Skyler Brind'Amour (76) shoots a puck during is rookie lap in warm-up before the game against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. (David Kirouac-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/de685bac-6073-4955-961f-992c90b2856f.jpeg] Apr 16, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Carolina Hurricanes center Skyler Brind'Amour (76) shoots a puck during is rookie lap in warm-up before the game against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. (David Kirouac-Imagn Images) The Carolina Hurricanes [http://thn.com/carolina] had a memorable night Wednesday even despite a 4-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens [http://thn.com/montreal] as the team had a pair of rookies making their NHL debuts. Forward Skyler Brind'Amour, son of head coach Rod Brind'Amour [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/game-day/its-a-special-moment-well-look-back-on-some-day-rod-skyler-brindamour-on-unique-opportunity], and defenseman Domenick Fensore got to suit up for their first NHL games after both putting in good years in the AHL. "I think they acquitted themselves well," Rod Brind'Amour said [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/game-day/it-was-a-tough-environment-to-walk-into-rod-brindamour-skyler-brindamour-bradly-nadeau-on-loss-in-montreal-performance-of-rookies]. "I really do. It's a tough environment to walk into, but I thought all of them did a nice job." Brind'Amour, 25, logged 15:28 centering William Carrier and Logan Stankoven and finished the night with a block and a hit as well as going 8-for-10 in the dot. "There's been a lot of emotions," Brind'Amour said on his debut. "Kind of all over the place. It was a lot of fun. Obviously it's the best league in the world so it's tough to jump in and get your feet wet in that kind of environment with playoffs on the line for them, but it was really cool to be able to do that and really grateful for everybody that's helped me get to this point." There were still a few learning moments for the rookie, namely the opening goal where he found himself accidently screening Pyotr Kochetkov. "He was fine," Rod Brind'Amour said. "Had the one big mess up on the first goal, covered the wrong guy and kind of took him too far in and then screened the goalie on a long shot, which as I said, if there's no screen, it's not going in. But other than that, I think he handled himself pretty well. "I was happy for him because he's earned it. He's earned it, played solid. He's not a guy who's going to score three, four goals a night, but I think he was good on the faceoffs and that's kind of the little things that he does, kill penalties, that kind of role and I think he did a good job." Fensore, 23, played 17:13 and had five shots on goal, a block and two hits. The defender showcased his smooth skating, being unafraid to carry and transition the puck and his defending was nothing to scoff at either. "It's been kind of crazy," Fensore said. "Got the news yesterday [https://thehockeynews.com/shortUrl/NVbl5KJ] and flew here last night. Just being jumped into a big game like this was pretty special." Both players also got time on the penalty kill, which was a perfect 3-for-3 on the night for Carolina. In total, the pair brought the Canes' rookie number to five in Montreal as they skated also alongside Bradly Nadeau [https://thehockeynews.com/shortUrl/V40JKI6], Scott Morrow [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/players/recent-nhl-run-putting-hurricanes-rookie-blueliner-scott-morrows-talent-growth-on-display] and Logan Stankoven [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/players/10-questions-with-carolina-hurricanes-rookie-logan-stankoven] and they all will probably have the chance for one more game too in Ottawa on Thursday. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stay updated with the most interesting Carolina Hurricanes stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwmeDfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] to never miss a story.
