EDMONTON, Alta. — Josh Currie will make his NHL tonight.
The Edmonton Oilers called up the Charlottetown native from their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, on Monday. The Oilers host the Arizona Coyotes at 10 p.m. Atlantic.
“I’ve worked hard so hard for this. When I was a kid this is what I dreamed about doing – playing in the NHL,” Currie said in a video posted on the Oilers verified Twitter account Tuesday afternoon. “It literally is a dream come true.”
The former P.E.I. Rocket captain went through the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft as a 15-year-old and was taken in the fifth round a year later. He wasn't selected in the NHL draft, signed an ECHL deal and worked his way to the AHL, where he has put up three straight 20-goal seasons.
Currie, who put up 49 goals and 104 points as an overage player in the final season of the Rocket and also played with the Summerside Western Capitals, said he wanted to take care of his own zone and generate offence in the NHL.
“I’m not going to try to come out here and be somebody I am not,” he said in the video. “I am just do what got me here and what made me successful.”
Oilers bench boss Ken Hitchcock said in a video posted online by the Oilers that he hadn’t saw Currie play.
“Obviously, he’s got a hot stick and he’s playing really well,” he said. “He’s a really smart player and he’s very competitive.”
Hitchcock said the team will give Currie every opportunity, including power-play time, to prove he belongs in the NHL.
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