CHICAGO _ Collin Delia was hoping he would get a chance to play in the NHL sooner or later. It turned out to be sooner.
Scott Foster figured his chance might never come. It came out of nowhere.
Delia got the start in goal Thursday night against the Jets after Anton Forsberg was a late scratch. Forsberg apparently was injured during the morning practice, forcing Delia into emergency duty.
The Hawks had to bring in an emergency backup for Delia, so they signed the 36-year-old Foster to an amateur tryout contract. Foster played at Western Michigan University from 2002-06.
In the third period, Delia had to leave the game with an injury, and suddenly Foster was the goalie of last resort.
Tomas Jurco scored twice and Patrick Kane, Brandon Saad, Erik Gustafsson and Alex DeBrincat had a goal apiece to make Delia a 6-2 winner in his NHL debut. Foster got the "save" in relief.
Dylan Sikura also played in his first NHL game, manning the right wing on a line with fellow rookies Victor Ejdsell and DeBrincat. Sikura picked up his first career points with two assists. Ejdsell also recorded his first point, an assist, in his second career game.
The Hawks sent goalie J.F. Berube to Rockford on Wednesday and called up Delia to take his place as Forsberg's backup. Delia made one relief appearance for the Hawks in the preseason, playing one period against the Red Wings and stopping all eight shots he faced. Delia appeared in 24 games for Rockford this season with a goals-against average of 2.68 and a save percentage of .904.
For an undrafted free agent such as Delia, the move from Rockford to the NHL is a big step in a short amount of time. It's a step the 23-year-old Delia wasn't sure he would be taking so soon, but nevertheless it's one he envisioned often during his relatively short 24-game stint with the Ice Hogs.
"You go to sleep every night thinking about it," he said after Thursday's practice at the United Center. "You wake up every day thinking about it."
"Jeff Glass (former Hawks goalie and Delia's teammate in Rockford) gave me some good advice," Delia said. "He said once the puck drops, you're an NHL goalie."
And for one night, at least, so was Foster.
