Caulfield scores first NHL goal in front of excited grandma

When Judd Caulfield crashed into the net for his first NHL goal in the first period of Friday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets, nobody at Canada Life Centre was happier than grandma.

At 14:41 of the opening frame, the Anaheim Ducks rookie hit the special milestone and made the trip well worth it for the 10 family members who took the 145-mile trip north from his hometown of Grand Forks, North Dakota.

His grandma, in particular, was excited to see Caulfield score, and the TV broadcast showed her screaming in glee after the tally.

According to the broadcast, his grandma has not been able to watch him play since college.

“It was super special with the family here,” Caulfield said. “It was as close as we’re going to get and it was (good) to have a nice little lineup on the schedule to have a Friday night game. It was super special to have them in the stands. I don’t think my grandma’s been to a game in a while, and it was nice to have my parents and my wife’s family here as well, and my siblings. It was great to have that support. They have supported me for so many years.”

After the game, Caulfield posed with the puck to commemorate the moment.

“It feels great to get that first one,” Caulfield said. “It was a great play by (Tim) Washe to get that puck out of the zone and (Jeff Malott) had great speed taking the puck to the net and left it easy for me to score right in front of the net. So, it felt great.”

NHL.com Independent Correspondent Darrin Bauming contributed to this report.