Penguins defenseman Nate Clurman realizes a 'long dream' with his NHL debut

It wasn’t the most celebrated milestone someone in a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey achieved Sunday.

But it might have been more profound.

At least that’s what one can assume by watching Nate Clurman fight back tears as he discussed his first career NHL game in the home dressing room of PPG Paints Arena after a 3-2 win against the New York Islanders.

As Sidney Crosby held court a few feet away offering remarks on becoming the franchise’s career leader in assists, Clurman explained what it felt like to finally have an NHL career at the age of 26.

“What an amazing night,” Clurman said. “Especially Sid’s (milestone) night. That’s one I’ll remember forever. I’m just honored to be a part of it, and it’s a dream come true. It was everything it lived up to be.”

Injuries created an opportunity for Clurman to get into the Penguins’ lineup. Defensemen Marcus Pettersson (undisclosed) and Owen Pickering (concussion) are currently designated to injured reserve, and Kris Letang wound up being scratched Sunday because of an undisclosed injury he suffered during a 6-3 road loss to the Islanders on Saturday.

In the aftermath of Letang being hobbled, Clurman was told Saturday night he might be dressing Sunday evening.

When he learned of that possibility, he called his parents, Andrew and Claire, in Boulder, Colo., and got the wheels turning on them trekking to Pittsburgh for Sunday’s game.

“I had to wake them up last night,” Clurman said. “It was 50/50 because (Letang) was questionable. Woke up this morning, and our travel guy (director of team operations Jason Seidling) is just great. He took care of it seamlessly for them. They had to go down to Denver and got in around 2 (p.m.) and made it to the game. So it was great.”

Clurman, who turned 26 on May 8, does not qualify for rookie status in the NHL. Per the league’s rules, “any player at least 26 years of age (by September 15th of that season) is not considered a rookie.”

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The right-handed Clurman primarily skated on the third pairing with left-handed Ryan Shea. Logging 11 minutes, 5 seconds of ice time on 17 shifts, Clurman recorded four shots on four attempts and had two penalty minutes as well as one blocked shot.

“For his first NHL game (Sunday), I thought he played solid,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “He made some plays with the puck. He had some real nice plays along the offensive blue line, delivering pucks down to the net. He defended hard. And when he had the puck, he had some poise. He didn’t look anxious with it at all. He looked like he belonged.”

Belonging in the NHL has been a dogged pursuit for Clurman. A sixth-round draft pick (No. 161) in 2016 by the Colorado Avalanche, a team he grew up rooting for, Clurman took the scenic route to the NHL.

After being drafted, he bounced between three junior teams in the United States Hockey League — the Tri-City Storm (based in only one city, Kearney, Neb.), the Des Moines (Iowa) Buccaneers and the Sioux City (also Iowa) Musketeers — over two seasons. That was followed by a three-year stint at the collegiate level in South Bend, Ind., with Notre Dame.

He did not sign his first NHL contract until May 2021, agreeing to a two-year entry-level deal with the Avalanche.

But even then, playing in the NHL was still an aspiration and not an accomplishment. The right-hander spent four seasons with either the Colorado Eagles (based in the city of Loveland) of the American Hockey League or the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies (stationed in West Valley City).

This past offseason, he left home (again) and signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Penguins.

After playing in 18 games and scoring five points (one goal, four assists) for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, he was recalled to the NHL level for the first time Dec. 17.

Then 12 days later, he played in his first NHL game.

“Just a long dream,” Clurman said. “I wanted to go to college, and (playing professionally) didn’t seem like an option in my head. Then, all of a sudden, (professional hockey) became a reality. This became the next dream. I just feel like I’ve been stepping in the direction I want to. It’s been a lot of hard work and support from the people around. I just think about all those moments and all those people.”

Eight years is a long time to go before reaching this level. A lot of folks who get drafted don’t last that long before deciding to move on to a different pursuit in life.

Did he harbor any doubts this would happen?

“For sure, yeah,” Clurman said. “I think it comes to every player in different ways. There were some low points, there were some high points. You have a lot of doubts here and there. But I think just showing up and sticking with the process — it’s kind of cliched — but it’s worked out for me.

“I believe it, trust it.”

Note: The Penguins had a day off Monday.