Former Florida Panthers goaltender Brandon Bussi made his NHL debut last night with the Carolina Hurricanes, picking up a 5-1 win.
The 27-year-old wasn’t too busy throughout the game, but the high-danger chances the San Jose Sharks did create were turned away. He finished the outing with 16 saves on 17 shots, allowing the lone goal to William Eklund, which came on a breakaway.
Bussi’s NHL debut has been a long-awaited one. He has played 111 games in the AHL, 72 in the NCAA, and another 52 in the USHL.
“You work hard to get to moments like this, and you don’t know if it’s ever going to happen. Great effort by the team today, they made my job easy,” said Bussi after the game.
Bussi was set to be the Charlotte Checkers’ No.1 goaltender this year and the Panthers’ third stringer behind Sergei Bobrovsky and Daniil Tarasov. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the Hurricanes put a claim on him when he was placed on waivers.
With Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov, Bussi will likely be the third-string goaltender when they are healthy. But for now, he has an excellent opportunity to be the backup in Carolina.
With Bussi gone, Cooper Black has taken charge of the Checkers crease, picking up a win in one of his two starts this season.
