TAMPA, Fla. — Former St. Cloud State defenseman Nick Perbix made his NHL debut for the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, Oct. 18 in the regular season home opener for the team at Amalie Arena.
Perbix, a 24-year-old from Elk River, Minn., played 13 minutes, 35 seconds over 18 shifts in a 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. Perbix had three shots on goal, one hit, one blocked shot, one giveaway, one steal and was a minus-1. His is the 38th former St. Cloud State player to play in the NHL.
Perbix began the season with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League. In two games with the Crunch, he had three shots on goal and was a minus-3.
Perbix was recalled by the Lightning on Oct. 17. He was listed on the second defensive pairing for Tampa Bay with Mikhail Sergachev against the Flyers.
Perbix was named to the All-NCHC First Team last season when he had a team-leading 25 assists, 31 points, 38 blocked shots, 14 penalty minutes and was a plus-1 in 31 games. Perbix also played for Team USA in the 2022 Beijing Olympics. As a junior, he was named to the All-NCHC Second Team, was named to the NCHC All-Rookie Team as a freshman and was a four-time NCHC Academic All-Conference honoree. In his college career, Perbix had 67 assists, 89 points, five game-winning goals, four power-play goals and was a plus-21 in 135 games.
A sixth-round draft pick (169th overall) of Tampa Bay in the 2017 NHL Entry Level Draft, Perbix played one season of junior hockey for the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League after being a four-year letterwinner at Elk River High School. .
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