Sebastian Aho Named 2024 All-Star No matter how it may go, you always remember your first game in the big leagues. But for Carolina Hurricanes forward Vasily Ponomarev, his NHL debut Friday night against the Washington Capitals, a 6-2 win, will almost assuredly be one he never forgets. After getting a last-minute callup earlier in the day Friday, Ponomarev caught a flight out of Chicago at 1:40 p.m. and made it to the Nation's Capital just five minutes before the Hurricanes' first team meeting, about two hours before game time. "When I came to the rink, I got a call from [Vice President of Communications and Team Services Mike Sundheim] that I got called up," Ponomarev said. "Just did dome recovery stuff there, stepped on the ice for 20 minutes to take some shots, then I came back home, picked up my stuff and went to the airport. "Pretty long flight because I was nervous because I knew I was going to come to the arena right before meetings. I was always checking my time, like do I have time or am I too late? I was like five minutes before it. I think sometimes it can affect your mindset if you are late for your first game. You don't know how you're going to play at the time, but I just focused on the game and did what I could do." Despite the nerves, everything ended up working out for the 2020 second-round pick and before he knew it, he was taking his solo, rookie laps in Capital One Arena. Fate just has a tricky way of showing up sometimes, because actually, seven years prior, Ponomarev attended his first ever NHL game in that very same arena. Game One of the 2017 second-round series between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. "Seven years ago, my first game that I saw in real life, it was Washington against Pittsburgh here in a playoff game," Ponomarev said. "I saw how [Alex Ovechkin] and [Sidney Crosby] scored and I just dreamed big. "When I was watching it, I dreamed that I want to play here and score goals like Crosby, like Ovi and now seven years later, I'm scoring here." 'Pono' wasn't just a fourth-line passenger in his first game either. He was a noticeable impact player all night. He had the primary assist on the game-tying goal, setting up Seth Jarvis from behind the goal, and as the clock wound down, he hammered home a feed by Jesperi Kotkaniemi, bar-down might I add, to get his first NHL goal in his debut. "Love seeing that," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour. "We love this kid. He's been around a while. A couple years. He's just been playing really well, waiting for his time and he earned his game tonight. Obviously a huge impact. So a great memory for him and I'm really happy for him." And in fact, as fate would have it, according to the young Russian, all the shots he had taken back in Chicago before his flight where from the same exact spot in which he scored Friday night. Ponomarev finished the night with 10:29 of ice time, a block and won 50% of his draws. Not only was he making plays, but you could tell that he was giving it his all on every shift. And that's kind of what you can expect out of Ponomarev. "You never know what you're going to get when you're put in that situation, but what you do know with him is the effort," Brind'Amour said. "There's a certain thing that we expect and you can count on him for that. That was great and a huge part for the game because we were shorthanded and he did his job." The 21-year-old center might have made his NHL debut much earlier in the season if not for a knee injury he suffered during training camp, which sidelined him until well into the year. "He came to camp and then he got injured," Brind'Amour said. "So a tough break for him and we couldn't really see what he was about." "To have that injury happen and to see him lose all the work that he put in... it's tough," said Brent Burns. "I can't imagine how tough it was for him, because for us, you feel bad for him. So to see him go down and then get his chance to come up like that. Man, it's just awesome. Such a cool thing to see. He was buzzing on that energy, but I think for all of us, it's such a special thing to see and be a part of it. Roddy said after the game, 'Those things you never forget,' and it's always fun to see and be around. It was awesome." It was even tougher for Ponomarev because of how much work he had put in during the summer too. Before training camp even started, Ponomarev was in Raleigh and was dedicated to pushing for a roster spot. "I had such a good time with him over the summer," said Brent Burns. "He worked so hard. To see the amount of work he put in and how serious he took this summer and how bad he wanted to make the team. Just for the guys that were in town early skating with him everyday, you could just see that 'Wow. This guy is really, really special.' He was working so hard and he was in such great shape and he was so skilled on the ice. He was working so hard and it was just fun. It was a great energy to be around. "All summer, being there early, preparing, doing everything and then extra after, it was really good to see that. You can feel that he was going to be ready. I think he's just such a high-energy guy and I think his skill level is super high too. You could see a couple flashes when he gets a puck and he's making moves. He's a really, really good player. Ponomarev bided his time and once he got healthy again he headed back down to the AHL where he steadily produced (20 points in 22 games). And with the Hurricanes all of a sudden finding themselves shorthanded up front, Ponomarev's time had come. And what an impression he made. 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