'Lot of excitement:' Hopkinton's Sean Farrell settles into NHL life with Canadiens

His first National Hockey League shot brought the fans to their feet and thoughts of “Odie” Cleghorn back into the spotlight.

Skating down the left wing during his second professional game, Sean Farrell wristed what looked like a harmless, low-angle shot at the net. After a quick delay where the puck was not visible under the pads of Florida Panthers goalie Alex Lyon, Farrell’s new teammate, Jake Evans, jumped into the air.

Farrell had scored his first NHL goal 83 seconds into his home debut.

In front of a raucous crowd at the Bell Centre on March 30 – just six days after playing his final college game – the tally lifted the Montreal Canadiens to a 1-0 lead. Farrell, a First-Team All-American at Harvard University who grew up in Hopkinton, talked to the Daily News on Monday after his team’s practice about his first weeks as a professional.

The 21-year-old, who played one season at St. Mark’s School in Southborough, said his time has involved non-stop hockey, although he is still finishing up course work from the four spring semester classes he is taking at Harvard.

“It took me a week to settle in and realize where I’m at and get my footing and really focus on finally playing hockey,” he said. “There was a lot of stuff going on right after I turned pro and throughout my first couple of games – a lot of excitement. Now, finally being able to settle in, it’s been nice.”

Farrell played his first NHL game at Philadelphia on March 28, taking 19 shifts without taking a shot. His home debut two nights later was a bright spot in a 5-2 loss to the Panthers. His goal was the fastest for a Canadiens player in a home debut since James Albert Ogilvie "Odie" Cleghorn scored exactly a minute into his first game in 1918.

“Doing it in front of the home fans was really amazing,” Farrell said. “The Bell Centre is such a great place to play and the fans are so passionate about hockey. To be able to score there and have that reaction from the crowd was really awesome.”

The 2022 U.S. Olympian was not the only local former Harvard player to shine in a debut that night. A few hours after his goal, Southborough’s Henry Thrun, also a First-Team All-American, earned two assists in his first game with the San Jose Sharks in a 4-3 overtime victory over the Vegas Golden Knights.

Thrun helped set up Mario Ferraro’s goal just 4:16 into the game and added another helper 10 minutes later when Oskar Lindblom scored. Thrun was named the No. 2 star after the Sharks won just their 21st game of the season.

“It’s nice to have someone like Henry doing that at the same time; someone you’ve been working out and training with all these years,” Farrell said. “To be able to go to the NHL together, it’s really cool.”

'We're always doing something'

Farrell, who was born in Milford, played two seasons at Harvard and finished this past season second in the nation with 1.56 goals per game. Only Hobey Baker Award winner Adam Fantilli of Michigan had a higher average (1.83).

Farrell led Harvard in points (53), but his season ended on March 24 with a loss to Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament. The Canadiens, who drafted him in the fourth round in 2020, signed Farrell to a three-year, entry-level deal two days later.

When he joined the Canadiens, familiar faces greeted him. Farrell knew Jordan Harris, who plays at Northeastern University, and third-year pro Cole Caulfield, who was Farrell’s teammate on the U.S. National team.

The biggest adjustment from college to pro? Hockey 24/7.

“We’re always doing something,” Farrell said, “whether it’s travel and getting extra workouts in. The life’s a little more fast-paced. For me, I try to take it as it goes as much as I can.”

The Canadiens are last in the seven-team Atlantic Division, more than 60 points behind the first-place Bruins. They will miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season after making a surprising run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2021.

But fans still pack the Bell Centre on a nightly basis.

“They’re very passionate about hockey,” Farrell said. “The biggest thing that happens up here is watching the team and being able to cheer on the team. Even though we’re out of playoff contention, it’s packed every night and they’re loud every time we touch the puck.”

The spotlight found Farrell early last year when he skated for the U.S. Olympic team in Beijing. He scored a hat trick in the team’s first game against China and his five points that game set an American record. His Olympic bio listed his favorite player as Brad Marchand.

See how: Our local Olympians fared in Team USA's win over China in men's hockey prelims

From Olympics to playing the Boston Bruins

If both players are in the lineup on Thursday, Farrell will go up against Marchand when Montreal hosts the record-setting Bruins in the regular-season finale.

“It’s definitely a fun rivalry; an Original 6 rivalry. Any time there’s one of those games, it’s always exciting no matter what the stakes are,” said Farrell, who also admires Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane. “It will be cool to play the hometown team for me and it’ll be even cooler for some of my buddies back home and my family, who all grew up watching the Bruins.”

“I’m a hockey fan in general. I like to follow everything. But with the sports environment in Boston, we would definitely watch more Bruins games than not.”

When the season ends, Farrell will take two summer classes to finish his Economics degree. The off-season will also help him prepare for his first full season as a professional after his two-week stint this spring.

“It’s definitely a lot on the body and a lot on the mind,” he said. “For me to get this experience now, going into the summer knowing how hard I have to train and how I have to get my mind and body ready for a full 82-game season is going to help a ton.”

Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tdumas@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimDumas.  

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Hopkinton's Farrell making an impact with NHL's Canadiens