Forward Mathieu Joseph has never experienced a plane ride like his flight on Saturday.
Yes, it was the same Lightning charter on which he has flown for preseason games. The cargo was a bit different, though. Joseph, for the first time in his hockey career, was an NHL player.
Right before Joseph boarded, Lightning GM Julien BriseBois told him he had made the roster.
"That was a very happy moment for me," Joseph said. "That's for sure."
As soon as he could, Joseph called his parents, his brother and some friends, people he said he cares about and without whom he would not have reached this point.