Desharnais makes NHL debut

Former Wichita Thunder defenseman Vincent Desharnais became the 733rd former ECHL player to reach the National Hockey League when he debuted with the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday at Anaheim.

Desharnais is the sixth former ECHL player to make his NHL debut during the 2022-23 season. He recorded 17 assists in 37 games with Wichita during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.

A seventh-round selection (183rd overall) of the Oilers in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Desharnais has posted 39 points (5g-34a) in 122 career American Hockey League games with Bakersfield. Last season, he led the AHL in plus-minus with a +36 rating.