VANCOUVER – Michal Postava's day began like this:
- Get up early enough for a 6 a.m. flight out of Grand Rapids.
- Wait for a connecting flight at Minneapolis-St. Paul.
- Land in Vancouver, go to hotel, go to arena, dress.
- Sit on bench.
And then .... Make NHL debut.
And from there?
- Talk to reporters in the visitor's room at Rogers Arena,
- Help rip off the airline tags from his two equipment bags.
- Get on the bus, and move onwards with his Detroit Red Wings teammates.
Of all the stories to come out of the Wings' 5-2 victory over the Canucks on Thursday, Oct. 22, none could beat that of Postava, who made the long trip from Western Michigan to Western Canada as an emergency call-up after Daniil Tarasov tweaked something during practice the day before.
The emergency became reality when starting goalie John Gibson "had something in his eye," as coach Todd McLellan put it. In went Postava for the third period.
"It's crazy," Postava said, smiling. "I think for me it's the best option.I don't have time to think about anything, so I just warm
up and be ready. It was crazy and I was happy we win."
McLellan didn't have an immediate update on Gibson – who spent the latter part of the third period on the Wings' bench after making four saves on five shots over two periods – but said, "The eye doctor was still taking a peek at him and there's just something that went into his eye. Maybe that last rush in the period, I don't know what it was, but they're dealing with it."
As for Tarasov, he is day-to-day, and McLellan sounded like there might be a chance Tarasov – if not he and Gibson – will both be available when the Wings next play, on Saturday (10 p.m., Detroit SportsNet) at the Calgary Flames. Friday was a scheduled day off.
Saturday's starter in net remains to be sorted out, but for at least a night – well, for 20 minutes – Postava was in the spotlight.
He is a great story: The Wings signed the 24-year-old Czech a two-year, entry-level contract in June 2025 to back up Sebastian Cossa, the franchise's pick at No. 15 in 2021, in Grand Rapids. Cossa played the majority of the regular-season games in the AHL – 39-25 – but when Cossa struggled down the stretch, Postava was handed the net, and excelled.
He was so good that the Wings ended up trading Cossa (since they also have former MSU star and South Lyon native Trey Augustine, the top NCAA goalie last season, in the pipeline). Postava has backed up that move up this season with the Griffins, posting a 4-0-0 record, 1.25 goals-against average and a 0.954 save percentage in four starts.
"We traded a goaltender that was a first-round draft pick because we believe we have really good depth in our organization," McLellan said. "And it's led by Posty and all the others that are there. But Postova has really played solid, basically from Christmas on last year throughout the playoffs, and his start this year has been exceptional."
Postava made seven saves on eight shots after a very long whirlwind of a day.
"I mean, probably for him not the best circumstances, right?" teammate Lucas Raymond said after helping extend the Wings' point streak to six games with two goals and an assist. "But he's a great goalie and it was fun to see him get out there. And I thought he played really good the time he spent out there."
The call-up itself was an acknowledgement of Postava's place atop the organization's minor-league depth chart. He earned it.
"Yeah, I think it's the reward for me, for all the work I do last year and this year also," Postava said. "So I'm so happy now and I hope I'll be working more and more and have more games."
But first, a good night's rest and a day off in Calgary.
"Long day," Postava said. "I fly six hours maybe. So I came here around 12. So just have a lunch and a little nap and go here. Like, I know a lot of guys here from last year. This also helped me a lot and they helped me on the ice also. I was so happy to be here."
Contact Helene St. James at Hstjames@freepress.com.
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Next up: Flames
Matchup: Red Wings (4-3-3; 11 points) at Calgary (3-6-0; 6 points).
Faceoff: 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24; Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary.
TV/radio: Detroit SportsNet; WXYT-FM (97.1).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michal Postava's whirlwind day ends with Detroit Red Wings celebration
