Who Scored the Fastest Goal in an NHL Debut?

Imagine scoring the first goal of your NHL career less than one minute into your debut. For these eight players, that dream became reality.  

For one of the featured players, the lightning-quick opening goal represented the only one of his fleeting four-game career. 

NHL History: Fastest Goals in NHL Debut

8. Brock McGinn (0:55, 2015-16)

Brock McGinn scored three goals in 21 games during his rookie season with the Carolina Hurricanes. He scored his opening goal just 55 seconds into his first NHL game against the Detroit Red Wings. 

McGinn scored one in the subsequent 17 games and never hit the 20-goal plateau in 10 seasons with the Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Anaheim Ducks, scoring his most (16) with the Hurricanes.  

7. Ted Speers (0:55, 1985-86)

Ted Speers scored only one NHL goal, and it came just 55 seconds into his first contest against the Minnesota North Stars. 

He played three more games in the NHL with the Red Wings, mustering one assist. 

6. Maxime Comtois (0:49, 2018-19)

Maxime Comtois’ first goal came 49 seconds into his opening contest against the San Jose Sharks. 

He also scored in his second game against the Arizona Coyotes, but didn’t register another goal that season, in which he played only 10 games. 

5. Al Hill (0:36, 1976-77)

While Al Hill played just 12 games in the first two seasons of a 12-year NHL career, he buried his first goal 36 seconds into the first game. 

That goal came against the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 14, 1977. Hill added another later in that game and finished with five points. He notched just one assist in the other nine games he played in during the 1976-77 campaign.  

4. Trevor Stienburg (0:32, 1985-86)

One of Trevor Stienburg’s eight NHL goals came just 32 seconds into his first game. Stienburg lit the lamp against the New Jersey Devils on April 2, 1986, and he played only one more game in that season. 

Stienburg’s only other goal came in the second season of his 71-game NHL career, when he scored against the Montreal Canadiens. 

He played just 16 games in the first three seasons before culminating his career with 55 games in his fourth and final campaign. 

3. Alexander Mogilny (0:20, 1989-90)

Alexander Mogilny scored 473 goals in 990 games, the first of which occurred just 20 seconds into his debut against the Quebec Nordiques on Oct. 5, 1989. 

In his rookie campaign, Mogilny scored 15 goals in 65 appearances. He significantly impacted the Sabres’ Stanley Cup odds in 1992-93, scoring 76 goals, a career-best for the Russian, who played 16 seasons for five teams. 

2. Danny Gare (0:18, 1974-75)

Danny Gare’s first of 31 goals in his rookie season came 18 seconds into his debut against the Boston Bruins. 

He also scored in his third game against the North Stars. Gare was an accomplished goal scorer, notching 354 goals in 827 games with three teams (Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, and Edmonton Oilers) over a 13-year career.

1. Gus Bodnar (0:15, 1943-44)

One of Gus Bodnar’s two goals during his NHL debut against the New York Rangers on Oct. 30, 1943, came 15 seconds into the first period. 

He scored four goals in his first five games in a 22-goal rookie campaign with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Bodnar lit the lamp 142 times in 667 games with the Maple Leafs, Chicago Black Hawks, and Bruins.