Paul Cotter clearly understands the importance of first impressions.
He played his first game with the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night in Edmonton against the Oilers.
And while out there in his very first period of action for the Canucks, Cotter found himself with an opportunity.
The Canucks were shorthanded, but the lefty Cotter snagged the puck and broke out of the defensive zone.
It was going to be a 2-on-2 for Vancouver’s pair of penalty-killing forwards, and Cotter didn’t rush. He assessed his options and decided that it would be worth letting it rip on goal.
With the placement into the upper reaches of the net, Cotter scored.
It was a Canucks goal, their first of the season and good for a temporary 1-0 lead.
It was also a first-of-its-kind goal for Vancouver.
Paul Cotter History
No Canucks player had ever scored a shorthanded goal in his Vancouver debut.
That is, until Cotter did it on Tuesday, according to Sportsnet.
Overall, it’s just the seventh shorthanded goal in a Canucks opener ever, and they hadn’t had one since 2008.
Paul Cotter scores the 7th season-opening shorthanded goal in #Canucks history, and the first since Rick Rypien in 2008 pic.twitter.com/kjotcoXog5
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) September 30, 2026
Cotter hasn’t been a big goal scorer throughout his NHL career, so it had to be extra special for him to get this moment.
It didn’t guarantee a win or anything against a strong Oilers team, either. It was simply a chance for Cotter to show that even though he’s being viewed as a depth piece and penalty killer, he can still do some awesome things, too.
Who is Paul Cotter?
Cotter is a 6-foot-2, left-shot center who came to the Canucks in the offseason.
He’s originally from the state of Michigan, and played collegiately at Western Michigan.
The Vegas Golden Knights chose Cotter with the No. 115 overall (fourth round) pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.
Since then, he’s done his best to climb the ladders.
Cotter made his NHL debut in 2021-22 with Vegas.
He spent three years with the Golden Knights and then the last two with the New Jersey Devils.
Cotter had 13 goals and five assists (18 points) in 2022-23. He then had seven goals and 18 assists (25 points) to cap his Vegas career.
With the Devils, Cotter had 16 goals and six assists in year one, and then it was nine goals and six assists (15 points) last season.
All told, Cotter has 82 points (47 goals, 35 assists) in 296 NHL games.
Cotter is also a huge hitter, with 855 hits through his 296 NHL games.
The Canucks won’t be counting on him to be much of a goalscorer, which makes his Tuesday finish a bit more fascinating. Sometimes, a player just seizes the moment, even when it’s someone you wouldn’t expect.
Cotter had a first chance to really show the Canucks’ faithful what he can do, and on Tuesday night, Cotter pretty much delivered.
Paul Cotter Makes Historic Canucks Debut