It was a whirlwind and the longest hockey season of Nick Perbix’s career in 2022-23. He began the season with the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL, but quickly got a call up to the Tampa Bay Lightning due to an injury. He didn’t go back to the AHL.
Perbix tells the story of finding out he was called up to the NHL as he was signing an apartment lease in Syracuse. There is also the story of how his parents ended up helping him make his NHL debut on the night that he did.
Perbix also talks about some similarities between Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper and St. Cloud State head coach Brett Larson, scoring his first NHL goal, playing for Team USA in the World Championships, his parents having some fun with his jersey, the game he was most nervous for and a lot more.
A really fun conversation with former St. Cloud State and Elk River defenseman Nick Perbix on the Huskies Hockey Insider podcast with The Rink Live’s Mick Hatten.
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Intro
1:00 The short amount of time between when Lightning season ended and when he got the call to play for Team USA in IIHF World Championships
2:10 Why he was late joining Team USA, where he met the team, his first time in Europe
3:35 His team going undefeated in pool play, why the team did so well, what his role on the team was
5:40 Getting to know former SCSU star Mikey Eyssimont, who was gone before he got to college
6:30 Reuniting with Team USA coach David Quinn at World Championships
7:30 What were his expectations going into camp with the Tampa Bay Lightning, how he performed at camp, how SCSU coaches helped him in camp
9:00 What did he get from going back for a fourth college season with the Huskies
10:00 Signing a lease in Syracuse … then finding out he had been called up to Tampa Bay, how he ended up playing his first NHL game
11:45 Playing for the Lightning in the home opener, what the rookie lap was like, how he got a puck for it, how nervous was he
13:00 How he ended up with No. 48, memories of his first NHL game vs. Philadelphia, how he didn’t have a stall in the locker room during NHL camp
16:30 His first defensive partner was Mikhail Sergachev and how he helped him
17:30 The similarities between Jon Cooper and Brett Larson, his one-on-one conversations with Cooper, what he appreciates about him as a coach, his big picture outlook
20:00 What it was like playing in Minnesota against the Wild for the first time, what his nerves were like, how his SCSU teammates helped him
22:25 His first NHL goal, what did he do with the puck
23:40 How his parents got a jersey made and then put it on the jersey wall in the Tampa Bay Lightning souvenir shop
25:15 Getting a two-year contract from the Lightning during the season, the changes since he got it
26:40 His impressions of Tampa, what the Lightning fans are like
28:40 His takeaways from his first NHL season, some of the lessons learned
29:45 How much time did he take off since the World Championships
30:30 His relationship with former SCSU D partner Jack Ahcan, how he helped Perbix, what Ahcan was like as a roommate
32:40 How close he kept tabs on SCSU during 2022-23 season
33:30 His summer plans, where his love of golf comes from, going up to St. Cloud for pro camp
