On Wednesday morning, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced that they had recalled goaltender Brandon Halverson from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.
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With playoffs just around the corner and their seeding already set in stone, there was no reason to risk injury to star netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy, leading to Halverson getting the start in his place against the New York Rangers.
Halverson, who was originally drafted by the Rangers in the second round of the 2014 NHL Draft, faced 21 shots in his first NHL start of the season. He previously appeared in a game against the New York Islanders back in December, but only played for a total of six seconds.
Halverson made his NHL debut with the Rangers back during the 2017-18 season and ultimately departed their organization ahead of the 2019-20 season.
After a few seasons bouncing around the ECHL, the AHL and even spending a year abroad in Germany, he eventually joined the Lightning organization for the 2023-24 season. He started out with the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL before getting some time with the Crunch later that season.
After years of playing in the minor leagues, Halverson finally made his way back to the NHL last season, appearing in one game for the Lightning. He saved 19 of 24 shots in a 6-4 loss to the then Utah Hockey Club, but importantly, he had made it back to the top level of hockey, even if it was just for a cup of coffee.
Now, Halverson will likely be loaned back to the Crunch as they prepare for their upcoming playoff run. At the AHL level, he's appeared in 42 games and recorded a 2.39 goals against average and a .906 save percentage.