Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Nathan Clurman made his long awaited NHL debut Sunday night against the New York Islanders. Clurman was a late addition to the lineup as veteran defenseman Kris Letang has been dealing with an lower-body injury. Letang took his last shift in the Saturday night 6-3 loss to the Islanders. Letang is out with a leg injury, according to Mike Sullivan.
Sullivan mentions, “He got injured in the game (Saturday), and he was evaluated through the course of the day (Sunday),” Sullivan said Sunday night. “Right now, I’m not prepared to give you a status or an estimate from a time standpoint yet because he’s continuing to be evaluated by our team doctors. So I’ll have more information, probably (Monday).”
While Letang has been out, Bryan Rust is wearing the assistant captain’s patch until Letang returns. There is no timetable on how long he will be out for.
However, until Letang returns, Clurman is most likely to benefit in his absence. The Penguins defensive core is taking a huge hit as Marcus Pettersson and Owen Pickering are already on the injured reserve. Clurman will be on the third defensive pairing playing alongside Ryan Shea.
Who Is Nathan Clurman?
The time has come for Penguins defenceman Clurman to make the jump. Clurman is a 26 year old defenceman from Boulder, Colorado. He was drafted in the sixth round by the Colorado Avalanche in 2016. However, he did not make it to the American Hockey League until the 2020-2021 season. He spent four seasons with the Colorado Rapids before joining the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1.
In 18 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Clurman has a total of five points and a +/- of 6. Clurman has some size to him at 6’2, 193 lbs.
Eight years later, and Clurman finally earned his spot in an NHL lineup. In Clurman’s first NHL game, he logged two penalty minutes, one hit, and a tied for second team-high four shots on goal in 11:05 minutes of ice time. He also finished with a +/- of 0. Clurman will have the opportunity to earn more minutes and continue to prove himself Tuesday night in a road contest with the Detroit Red Wings. Even though he is a rookie, at 26 years old and with a few seasons of AHL hockey under his belt, the front office all the way down to the players are hoping he succeeds and limits the rookie mistakes and plays more like a veteran.
When Marcus Pettersson went down with injury, Clurman was called-up to the main roster in what would have been his NHL debut. However, the Penguins went on to acquire defenceman Pierre-Olivier Joseph resulting in Clurman to go to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. However, he was recalled once Pickering went down as well. Now due to Letang’s injury, he finally got to play in his first NHL game.
He quickly told his parents after receiving the news, and they were able to fly from Colorado to Pittsburgh and watch him play.
Taking In The Moment
Clurman mentions, “It’s been a lot of hard work and support from the people around [me],” Clurman said after Sunday’s win. “I just think about all those moments and all those people.”
Before the game even started, he got to experience his NHL rookie lap and it was everything he asked for.
“It was a dream come true. It’s just a culmination of a lot of hard work, and I think about all the people that helped me get to this point,” an emotional Clurman said after an important win. “Just feel super blessed and honored to be in this situation.”
After a hard fought eight and a half years to get to this point, Clurman earned that moment. Even though he is still looking for his first NHL point, he still got to win in his NHL debut. It is unclear how much longer he will be in the lineup, but he should still cherish all the memories. Also, keep playing his heart out and play every shift like it is his last.
Main Photo: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
The post Penguins Defenceman Makes Long Awaited NHL Debut appeared first on Last Word On Hockey.