FEATURE: Determined Desharnais

ANAHEIM, CA - It was a moment 10 years in the making for Vincent Desharnais.
The Bakersfield Condors had just finished playing a road game against the Calgary Wranglers on Sunday in an AHL affiliate version of the Battle of Alberta, and Head Coach Colin Chaulk called the towering defenceman into his office to inform him he had earned his first NHL call-up to the Edmonton Oilers.
"It's been crazy," Desharnais said of the past 48 hours. "Going into the office and for the coaching staff to tell me I was getting called up, it was such a great moment. I've been waiting for this moment my whole life and for it to actually happen, it was pretty special. I called my parents and FaceTimed my brother right after. Giving that news to them, after all the sacrifices they've done for me, it's just priceless."

Desharnais played varsity high school hockey in Quebec in 2011-12 and 2012-13 before moving to Lake Placid, N.Y. to attend Northwood School's prep program in 2013-14.
His play garnered interest from Canadian junior teams and took him west to the British Columbia Hockey League for one season with the Chilliwack Chiefs, with whom he earned a NCAA scholarship to Providence College way back on the other side of the continent in Rhode Island.
The 6-foot-7 rearguard suited up for 19 games as a freshman and was selected by the Oilers in the seventh round (183rd overall) during the 2016 NHL Draft -- an event he was following along with on his phone while on a boat with his brother and two friends back home in Quebec.
"My mom called me right after and she couldn't speak on the phone she was crying so much," Desharnais laughed. "I'll remember that moment for the rest of my life."
Another pivotal moment, or season's worth of moments rather, came last year with the Condors when he cemented himself as a bonafide prospect in the Oilers system. After three more years at Providence and two season splitting time between the AHL and the ECHL's Wichita Thunder, Desharnais spent all of 2021-22 in Bakersfield and played 66 games with five goals, 22 assists and the top plus-minus rating in the entire league at +36.
"That's when I kind of realized I was closer than I thought," he said of his breakthrough campaign.

His efforts last season earned him his first NHL contract in March -- a two-year deal that put him firmly on the radar to battle for a spot on the Oilers back end this year.
"It's a great success story for our organization," said Head Coach Jay Woodcroft, who was Desharnais' bench boss with the Condors before getting the call to Edmonton midway through last season.
"It's a credit to people that found him, our scouts. Then he worked his way through college hockey and signed an American League deal out of the gate. He came to us in Bakersfield. He actually spent some time in Wichita his first pro year, spent about half the year up with us. I thought he kept getting better. He's someone that kept getting better, trusted his process, trusted the team's development process and took steps along the way.
"I'm not surprised to see him up here in the NHL and as a success story for our scouting staff and development staff. To be able to see him get to the NHL, everybody's proud of that. Now it's about seeing what he can do at this level. I know he's excited about being here, but he wants to stay."
An injury during training camp delayed the start of his season and his quest to make his NHL debut, but he got back in the Condors lineup on Nov. 2 and has played 13 games since with a pair of assists, including one on Sunday prior to receiving news of his call-up.

"He's here for a reason -- we want to see what he can do at this level," Woodcroft said. "He's someone that we've developed, but the one question he has yet to answer is, what does he look like at the National Hockey League level? We want to make sure we have a good understanding of what he can do and we're excited about what he can bring, but he's got to show up."
While Desharnais practiced on Tuesday, his parents and brother were travelling from Montreal to Anaheim to be there in person at Honda Center when he emerges from the Oilers locker room for the customary solo warmup lap ahead of his NHL debut.
"You wait for your chance for such a long time, you want to make sure you give a great impression, but I'm going to go back to just being myself, having fun with it," he said. "My family is going to be here, so I'm just going to try to enjoy it. At the end of the day, we need two points, so I'll do everything I can to help the team win."
A big milestone for a really big player who has earned his shot in the big league.