TAMPA — Finally, after practice after practice, and interview after interview talking about it, F Mathieu Joseph made his NHL debut Saturday.

It was no surprise that he made the Lightning roster, not after the preseason and camp he put together. Joseph scored four goals in the preseason and finished with eight points. It seemed more likely than not that he would make the opening-day roster the further training camp progressed.

But from the time GM Julien BriseBois told Joseph, 21, he made the team out of camp until Saturday’s season opener against the Panthers at Amalie Arena, he had a full week to think about it.

A week filled with anticipation, nerves, excitement and … waiting.
Sitting in his locker-room stall hours before his debut, Joseph had to pause for several seconds to try to put into words what Saturday meant to him. CLICK PIC FOR ARTICLE