It took Victor Mete 127 NHL games to score his first goal in the NHL, but it was a memorable one. Not only was it the record-long wait that made the event incredibly anticipated, and the standing ovation, but the fact that his goal was a throwback to his Junior days.
Mete could have been called a proficient scorer for the London Knights. In his third and final season with the team, he led the team’s defencemen in goals with 15 in 50 games. Scoring in Junior isn’t exactly an indication that a defenceman will score at the NHL level, but the way he scored suggested that at least some of his markers would translate — and they did translate, even if it took a while.