'Probably the coolest night of my life': Senators' Ostapchuk on debut

As a 20-year-old, you play your first NHL game on the third line and probably think your night is done when the game goes to overtime. 

Not if you’re Zack Ostapchuk, in Ottawa on Tuesday evening against the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

“I was a little surprised when they gave me a tap and said I was going,” the Senators forward said of his NHL OT debut after a couple of frantic minutes failed to produce a goal. 

“I saw (Sidney) Crosby out there and that got my heart beating a little bit.”

But it was Ostapchuk who intercepted a pass intended for Crosby that started the play up ice resulting in the winning goal by Drake Batherson. 

Not a bad way to enter the league. 

“I just thought if that (puck) got to him, it wouldn’t be good,” Ostapchuk said. “Thank God I batted that down.”

After controlling the puck, Ostapchuk calmly sent it up ice to Jake Sanderson and headed for the bench as the winning goal was struck by Batherson, off a pass by Tim Stützle. 

"I'm going to remember this for the rest of my life," Ostapchuk said after a 2-1 win. "It was probably the coolest night of my life."

“Your first game and you get out there in front of 20,000 people and you look up, you’ve got to take on Sid one-on-one,” said Batherson, marveling at Ostapchuk. “I’m sure he’ll never forget that, and credit to him, he started the whole thing that led to the goal.”

When teams are out of the playoff conversation, individual milestones can take on larger meaning. 

Such was the case when Ostapchuk got promoted from the AHL Belleville Senators to fill in for injured forward Rourke Chartier. 

Ostapchuk was riding a stationary bike in the B-Sens gym when Senators associate GM Ryan Bowness called. Belleville head coach David Bell signaled to the 20-year-old centre to come see him.

“I thought the coach was pissed at me, waving me into his office,” Ostapchuk said, smiling. 

“It’s a pretty exciting time for me and my family. I’m trying to take a few deep breaths here and there, try to focus and stay as calm as I can,” Ostapchuk said, before the game. 

His mother, Charlene, flew in from Vancouver. Ostapchuk also had a couple of cousins present. 

A native of St. Albert, Alta., Ostapchuk is an only child and from a young age had a lone parent. 

Ostapchuk’s father, Dennis, died in 2017 before Zack’s 14th birthday. His mother took on the role of single mom/hockey mom with a flourish. First one up in the morning. 

Early drives to the rink. Arranging car pools on days she was not available. 

“She was always taking care of me and making me believe this could come true,” Ostapchuk said of his NHL dream. “She really pushed that into me.”

For these reasons, Ostapchuk was taken aback when he was told he was going to the show, to face Sid the Kid and the Penguins.  

“You kind of don’t believe it for a couple of minutes,” he says.

Then he called his mother. It sank in, fast.

“She was a little surprised at first, then she got a little choked up,” Ostapchuk says. “So did I. It was a pretty emotional call. Afterwards, I was just thanking her for everything she has done for me, helping me get to this point. I’m just very thankful for her to be here.”

Despite not having big numbers in junior (Vancouver Giants), the six-foot-three, 205-pound Ostapchuk was made a second-round pick, 39th overall, by the Senators in 2021. 

Ottawa’s chief scout at the time, Trent Mann, saw something in Ostapchuk. In a neat trick of fate, Mann was in the building last night, now a player development and scouting adviser for the Penguins. Talking with a couple of reporters before the game, Mann said that the same things he saw in Ostapchuk – the poise, the willingness to play any role and any style of game – were the same attributes that got him into an NHL game at age 20. 

Ostapchuk says his goal right from camp was to play in at least one game this season. He has earned the right to play more. 

Playing alongside Ridly Greig on Tuesday helped with his comfort level. The two were world junior teammates and Ostapchuk had long admired Greig’s style of play in the WHL. 

“Seeing him grow up on the other side of Alberta, he’s someone I always had my eye on and wanted to play like him,” Ostapchuk said. “For him to be my teammate (here) is pretty cool.”

Senators head coach Jacques Martin saw enough good in Ostapchuk’s game to send him over the boards in overtime. 

“I was impressed how he played, how he was composed,” Martin said. “What I like is his strength. He’s got good size. He uses his body to protect the puck. He wins battles. A good example was in overtime  . . . he won the battle along the wall, got the puck out. He has a good hockey IQ.”

This was Martin’s kind of game. Low scoring. Good goaltending at both ends from Joonas Korpisalo and Tristan Jarry. Only Sanderson and Pittsburgh’s Michael Bunting scored, forcing the extra period. 

“It should have been 1-0, but that’s OK,” said Martin, poking fun at his love of defence. “I’m flexible.”

The old coach was visibly thrilled to beat his former Penguins team, even if both clubs have drifted back of the playoff clubs in the east. He admits getting a bit amped up during the game. 

“After the first period, Alfie (Daniel Alfredsson, assistant coach) told me to calm down,” Martin said, to laughter. 

“No, it was a good message. I appreciate it. Probably I’m usually not very emotional behind the bench. But when you play Pittsburgh, I think you get a little more emotional. So, even at my age, I’m learning.”

All hail Sidney Crosby, from Sens coach Martin  

When Martin was asked about his experience coaching Crosby and what makes him so special, Martin started with this:

“He still fills the building.”

Sure enough, several hours later, a sellout crowd of 19,236 packed into the Canadian Tire Centre. 

“He is special,” said Martin, who won back to back Stanley Cups with the Penguins in 2016-17 as an assistant coach and was with the Pens from 2013-2020.

“I had the privilege of working with him for several years. I learned a lot from him. Not only as a hockey player but I think more importantly as a person. He’s a tremendous person, a tremendous individual. Very kind. Always concerned with his teammates, people around him. He makes time for people. Really well brought up.”

Martin was just getting going.  

 “I don’t think you could ask for a better leader and when I say that I mean, he leads by example. It’s no fluke he’s still performing at a high level when you look at the commitment he brings to the game. His lifestyle. His work ethic, whether it’s in season or off season. The amount of work he does. Before practice. After practice. His attention to detail. He’s really consumed by the game and being the best player he can be and trying to help his teammates.”

As hard as Crosby works, he has the hockey smarts possessed by all the greats of the game, Martin says.  

“Quite often, that’s the difference with top players,” Martin says. “Their anticipation. An ability to see the play before it arrives. Gretzky had it. Mario (Lemieux). Those elite players. 

“They have an extra sense that separates them from other players.”