'That Was Awesome': Filip Bystedt Reflects on his NHL Debut

After years of waiting, Filip Bystedt finally got the opportunity to make his NHL debut with the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night. 

"That was awesome," the 22-year-old winger said postgame. "Exactly how you dream it to be."

Bystedt, the Sharks' 27th overall selection back in 2022, made his presence felt right out of the gate. In his first shift, he generated arguably the Sharks' best scoring chance in the first period by blowing past the Vancouver defense and nearly slotting the puck past Canucks netminder Leevi Merilainen. 

"[I] couldn't get the finish, but yeah, you get a little confidence [from] that," Bystedt said of the chance. 

Bystedt was kept off the scoresheet in his debut, and had limited ice time due to the abundance of penalties from both teams keeping the Sharks' special teams units on the ice. He played just 10:28, the second-lowest on the team ahead of only Adam Gaudette.

Despite spending quite a bit of the game on the bench, Bystedt was able to learn from that experience. "You sit there on the bench for a little bit watching the other guys, you see the pace and everything from from the bench, and kind of can adapt from that." he said.

The SAP Center was kept quiet for most of the night, as the Canucks were outplaying the Sharks for the first 45 minutes or so, but when it came alive, Bystedt was able to see just how intense the Shark Tank can be. "That was unreal, especially in the third when the crowd got pumped, it was awesome."

When asked what his favorite memory from his debut was, Bystedt had a simple answer. "Just the whole day," he said. "Coming here, the rookie lap, seeing everything, then [my] first shift, and always obviously getting the win in front of the home crowd."

Bystedt also confirmed that his parents were able to make it to the SAP Center in time to see his debut, saying, "I saw them in the crowd there after the game, so that'll be exciting [to see them]."

While Bystedt still has quite a bit of work to do to secure a long-term future in the NHL, he's accomplished something that very few hockey players are able to even come close to. He'll forever be remembered as an NHL player from this point forward.