Brendan Leipsic made the news earlier today when Teemu Selanne tweeted a photo of him as a curly-headed toddler, eating pasta before one of Teemu's games at the Selanne household. Maybe Leipsic had a bowl of that pasta for good luck, because, wearing number 49, he scored a goal in his very first NHL game. (Edit: According to Teemu, it's the ketchup bottle and not the pasta that gets the goals.)
PPP has been following Leipsic's career, ranking him at #12 in our Top 25 Under 25 series. Of his play, we wrote:
This acquisition, drafted by the Predators in 2012, came to Toronto in February of 2015 as part of the Franson and Santorelli trade to Nashville. Formerly with the Predators’ AHL affiliate in Milwaukee, Leipsic had steady production for his first six games with the Marlies, but his breakthrough week happened two months after his trade. In the second week of April, he scored his first professional hat-trick and two game-winning goals in three games, earning him player of the week status for April 12th.Dropped into an all-rookie line with Connor Brown and Ryan Rupert, the excellent line chemistry between these three paid immediate dividends. Leipsic’s play with this line helped cement the Marlies’ playoff position. In all, his production with the Admirals and Marlies earned him 54 points in 74 games (14 goals, 40 assists), second only to Connor Brown.
It's great to see him rewarded for his hard work:
Leipsic scores his first NHL goal to put #MapleLeafs up 3-1. #Canucks pic.twitter.com/DQ4fcTWaRd
— Ryan Biech (@ryanbiech) February 14, 2016
Leipsic's parents after his goal pic.twitter.com/Fw24nOJ2WM
— Stephanie (@myregularface) February 14, 2016
His friends in the Toronto Marlies were watching too, and weighed in with their own appreciation for his hard work:
LIPSTICK!!!!! https://t.co/PeP7bpQaKY
— Garret Sparks (@GSparks40) February 14, 2016
Congrats @19LEIP on the first of many!
— Mitchell Marner (@Marner93) February 14, 2016
Brendan scored!!!!! Now you know why the ketchup bottle was on the table... ...it really works!!!
— Teemu Selanne (@TeemuSel8nne) February 14, 2016
And then there's this:
Brendan Leipsic is first player to score his 1st career NHL goal in first NHL game in a #Leafs uniform since Nikolai Kulemin on Oct 9, 2008
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) February 14, 2016
First NHL game. First NHL goal. #TMLtalk pic.twitter.com/vtZuJIVbY3
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) February 14, 2016