from Chris Johnston of Sportsnet,

Joonas Donskoi had been dreaming about this moment almost as long as San Jose Sharks fans.

You see, basically from the minute he was born back on April 13, 1992 – days before the end of the Sharks’ inaugural season – he’s been obsessed with the NHL. The youngest of three boys, he had a hockey stick in his hand much earlier than most.

“I’ve always been crazy about hockey,” Donskoi told Sportsnet a couple days before scoring the biggest goal in Sharks history.

“It’s my No. 1 passion. Right away when I learned to speak I was speaking about the NHL. I’ve been playing all the time hockey. It’s just a passion for me. It’s been a lot of hard work and I never thought it would become a reality for me.”

He’s hardly alone there.

After being drafted by Florida in the fourth round six years ago, he was never signed. Heck, it barely made a ripple when the Sharks emerged from a couple interested NHL teams to get his signature on a free agent contract in May 2015.

Even they figured he would spend time in the American Hockey League this season. Wrong.

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Watch the goal below, in Finnish...