Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nikita Grebenkin certainly made the most of his NHL debut against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.

Grebenkin was called up on the morning of the game after Max Domi was retroactively placed on IR with a lower body injury. The 21-year-old Russian forward came into the fold with a lot of confidence and excitement about making a name for himself. Grebenkin did just that with a shot, a block and four hits in 11:05 of ice time en route to a 3-0 win.

When asked after the game what message he received going into his NHL debut, Grebenkin provided a one-liner for the ages.

“I like, it’s hard hockey. Team like hard hockey,” he said when about the physical side of the game. “All the guys tell me: Backcheck, forecheck, and paycheque.”

Even in his broken English, you can certainly appreciate the guy who keeps things light with his witty humour. Beyond that, Grebenkin relishes delivering the hits because of his energetic playing style that wears the opponents down and helps open up space for his teammates. Grebenkin seemed to be noticeable on every single shift because he was making a lot of high-impact plays that sprung momentum in the Leafs’ direction.

It was a whirlwind day for Grebenkin who came into the contest feeling good about himself and delivered on his statement that the game would only be enjoyable if his team won.

“Nice day, long day to me. I enjoyed team win,” Grebenkin said about his NHL debut. “Thank you team. Thank you general manager. Thank you Toronto Maple Leafs give me chance. Yeah, fun day.”

When asked what was the best moment, Grebenkin said it was simply the fact his team won because he had longed to make the NHL and made one of his dreams come true. While his English is still a work in progress, he has quickly made himself a popular player in the locker room.

“I wish I knew more what he was saying because he’s so positive and so happy all the time,” goalie Joseph Woll said. So, he’s a great person to add to the team. Good energy.”

It is unclear at the time of filing how long Grebenkin will remain on the team during this stretch, but he did a lot to make Craig Berube and Brad Treliving’s jobs more difficult when the Leafs get healthier. After all, several regulars were absent from the contest and that was before Matthew Knies was injured in the second period. It could end up being a numbers game combined with him being waiver-exempt that will result in Grebenkin going back down at a later date.

If nothing else, he showed he is not phased by the physicality and speed of the NHL while holding his own in limited minutes.

“I thought Grebenkin battle hard. He was physical, did what he had to do,” Berube said when assessing Grebenkin’s performance which he deemed ‘solid’. “Strong on pucks down low. Finishing checks. All the things that I thought he was going to do.”