NEW YORK - Former Lake Superior State junior defenseman Kevin Czuczman made his National Hockey League debut in Nassau Coliseum during Tuesday's 6-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild.

The Port Elgin, Ontario, native was -2 during the contest, that was 3-0 after two periods.

Czuczman skated 20:06 TOI with one shot and three blocks. The 6-3, 205-pound free-agent defenseman was paired with Travis Hamonic and saw increased ice time after Brian Strait left the game in the second period with a broken hand.

"I felt more comfortable as the game went along, and all I could control is how hard I worked," Czuczman said during his post-game interview. "Guys can obviously match you a lot faster, and a lot stronger on their sticks. Sometimes you have more time than you think you do because they're so positionally sound. Everyone works. Everyone competes at this level. It's a lot different than college.

"As the game wore on I settled in a little bit. All of the 'D' and forwards, and the coaches as well were talking to me. That helped big-time."

Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images

Czuczman post-game interview