ANAHEIM, Calif. — Leo Carlsson scored a goal in the third period while making an impressive NHL debut in the Anaheim Ducks‘ 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.
Joe Pavelski had a goal and an assist for the Stars, and Miro Heiskanen got credit for the tiebreaking goal with 13:13 to play when Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler kicked a centering pass under goalie John Gibson.
Carlsson, the 18-year-old Swede picked second overall by Anaheim in June, hit the ice to cheers from a Honda Center crowd eager for the start of a new era after five straight non-playoff seasons. The cheers became a standing ovation when he confidently fired home his first goal on the rush off Troy Terry‘s pass.
Terry had a goal and an assist, and Gibson stopped 21 shots.
Roope Hintz scored a power-play goal and Jake Oettinger made 27 saves for Dallas.
With his parents watching from the stands, Carlsson immediately took over as the Ducks’ first-line center, flanked by Terry and Trevor Zegras. The lanky playmaker looked comfortable and dangerous from his opening shift, showing his smoothness on the puck and deceptive skating speed.
Carlsson, who missed the Ducks’ first two games because of minor injury, is the fourth member of the 2023 draft class led by Connor Bedard to play in the NHL this season. Bedard, Carlsson and No. 3 pick Adam Fantilli of Columbus each scored a point in their NHL debuts, but Carlsson was the only one with a goal.
The only other class in which the top three picks recorded points in their debuts was in 2009, with John Tavares (No.1), Victor Hedman (No.2) and Matt Duchene (No. 3).
Carlsson, meanwhile, became the sixth Ducks player to score a goal at 18 years old or younger. The others are Jamie Drysdale, Chad Kilger, Cam Fowler, Mason McTavish, and Oleg Tverdovsky.
Ducks defenseman Tristan Luneau also made his NHL debut with his parents also in attendance. The 19-year-old Canadian was the 53rd overall pick in 2022 and, after being named the Quebec major junior league’s top defenseman last spring, he surprised many by making Anaheim’s roster out of training camp.
The young Ducks had a strong first period, and Terry scored less than five minutes in on a long rebound of Zegras’ slap shot while Carlsson screened Oettinger in front. Pavel Mintyukov, the Ducks’ promising teenage Russian defenseman, earned his first NHL assist after getting his first goal last Sunday.
Pavelski set up Hintz for the Stars’ first power play goal of the season in the second before scoring his own man-advantage goal late in the period.
Pavelski’s 451st career goal tied him with Patrick Kane for the sixth-most NHL goals by a U.S.-born player. He also passed Doug Gilmour for the fourth-most goals scored by a player picked in the seventh round or later, trailing only Luc Robitaille, Peter Bondra and Theo Fleury.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.