'I'm Just Happy To Be Here': Veteran Netminder Dustin Tokarski Joins Carolina For First Practice

Just a month ago, Dustin Tokarski was sitting at home, wondering what was going to become of his career.

The 35-year-old netminder, a veteran of over 500 professional games, wasn't offered a contract in either the NHL and AHL to start the year and so he was just biding his time, working out at home and hoping.

His opportunity came at the start of November when the Chicago Wolves offered him a professional tryout in the midst of the Carolina Hurricanes' goalie crisis.

Fast forward to today and he's now back up with an NHL club for the first time since February of 2023.

"I was just staying with it, working at home and doing what I could to get ready for an opportunity," Tokarski said. "I've played a while and things happen, so you always have to be ready for an opportunity. I was happy one came and I think I made the most of it. Just grateful to be up here and to have the opportunity."

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The Hurricanes recalled Tokarski this morning, two days after signing him to a two-way NHL contract for the remainder of the season, and he practiced with the team for the first time.

"I mean it's a great pace," Tokarski said about hopping right into the Canes' practice. "It's cool. It shows why they're so successful here. Practice hard and play hard. It was a lot of fun."

What seems to have impressed the front office in Carolina so much is that Tokarski hit the ground running with Chicago, posting back-to-back shutouts in his first two games and putting up a 4-1-0 record in five appearances with a 0.933 save percentage to boot.

"The guys in Chicago were doing a great job," Tokarski said. "I was able to hop into a good situation. They played great in front of me and I'm happy to be able to help the guys get a few wins there and get rolling. I had a lot of fun there. It's a great group of guys and they did well in front of me."

Tokarski knows he isn't going to be called upon to be a starter, but he hopes he can bring some experience to the locker room and knows the most important aspect of the job.

"Hopefully stop some pucks if needed," Tokarski joked when asked what he could bring to the team. "Been around a while so just another presence and some experience. Obviously the talent and group here speaks for itself so just going to be ready if called upon and be a good teammate and enjoy it."

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Luckily for the veteran he isn't entering a completely new room as he has experience playing with both Riley Stillman and Ty Smith in Chicago this year and he also played with Martin Necas on the Charlotte Checkers in 2018.

It was also in Charlotte where he had the chance to work for the first time with goaltending coach Paul Schonfelder.

"We had a run in Charlotte together and I got to know him," Tokarski said. "He's an amazing guy and a great goalie coach so that's a huge perk, having a guy like that here. Coming in to a lot of familiar faces."

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With Frederik Andersen set to be out until at least another two months, the Hurricanes are looking for ways to patch up their holes in net, especially after the shaky play of Spencer Martin.

So maybe Tokarski is that answer, maybe he isn't, but it seems that he's at least going to get a shot here and considering the position he was in just one month earlier, really, that's all you can ask.

"I've just been working, waiting for an opportunity and I was grateful to get one in Chicago and it led to an opportunity here," Tokarski said. "I'm just happy to be here."