Declan Chisholm has collected his first NHL point.
The Winnipeg Jets beat the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday at home.
Sure, all eyes were on rookie phenom Connor Bedard, who potted his 11th goal of the season just 4:39 into the opening frame, but he wasn't the only first year player to earn a point in the contest.
No, not all rookies are 18 years old and have mass followings in whichever city they travel to. That's just something that Bedard has grown accustomed to over the past few years - yes, it began back in his WHL days with the Regina Pats.
On the other side of the ice was Winnipeg's Declan Chisholm - a 23-year-old fifth round pick from the 2018 NHL Draft who was suiting up in his first game of the 2023-24 season.
In fact, it was Chisholm's first game since January of 2022, a span of nearly two full years.
“It felt great; I was super excited to get in," he said postgame. "I woke up just full of energy and everything and obviously the nerves and everything set in. And then they kind of away after the first couple shifts and I just felt like I was playing my game.”
Having cracked the team's roster out of training camp, the Bowmanville, ON. product has served as a healthy scratch for the entirety of the season thus far, buried deep within Winnipeg's defensive depth.
But with Nate Schmidt drawing out of the lineup as a healthy scratch, the youngster's name was finally called.
"Yeah, for sure," he said when asked if he was able to soak in the experience. "Especially with it being a home game, it was nice to soak it all in and get the full experience. It was awesome."
Having spent the past six games down with the Manitoba Moose on an AHL conditioning stint, Chisholm made his way back to Winnipeg in hopes of earning a shot.
As a matter of fact, Chisholm actually picked up his first career point on Winnipeg's third goal of the game, on a play to which he got the puck moving laterally across the blueline, before defence partner Dylan Samberg's shot was redirected by Cole Perfetti in the slot.
“It was kind of like a scrambled win. I saw Sammy bringing it over to me and I was going to hit a one-T, but I figured they kind of line up with three forwards on the hashmarks so the odds of it getting through are slim and none. Sammy was there so I just one-touched it to him and we had a guy at his net and it was a quick shot and that’s how it goes in.”
It wasn't just any old veterans involved in the play either, but rather guys he had spent considerable time with playing for the organization in his early years who appeared on the box score beside his name.
“Just a huge accomplishment. I’m just so happy," he beamed. "It was a nice shot by Sammy. I’m glad he could help me out by getting that point. And a tip by Fetts, too. And two of my buddies, too, that’s I’ve played with on the Moose starting here when I came to Winnipeg. So it’s pretty cool.”
Both Samberg and Perfetti have cemented their roles within the team's top two lines and top two defensive pairings. Now it is Chisholm's turn to take that next step.
“Yeah, exactly. We played together a couple years and then they came up before me. And now it’s full circle, back here.”
With a strong performance in Game 1, Chisholm is just hoping for another shot at drawing back into action as the week progresses.
"You know, just take it one day at a time," he said. "Go back, look at some video about this game -- what I did well, what I did wrong, and just focus on the next task at hand. Hopefully have a good morning skate and see where I go from there."
The Jets host the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night, before hitting the road for four over the next week. Monday's game features a 6:30 PM central start time. It can be viewed live on Sportsnet.
