Hockey is about winning but it’s also about firsts, so on Wednesday night we had 29-year-old Czech-born David Tomasek and 21-year-old U.S.-born Ike Howard making their NHL debuts for the Edmonton Oilers while Russian teenager Matvei Gridin was getting his ceremonial lap with the Calgary Flames, too, before pre-game warm-up at Rogers Place.

There are 393 players who only got this one NHL game, going back 108 years, including Don Cherry and the late local goalie Ken Brown, who played 18 minutes one night for Hall of Famer Tony Esposito in Chicago before he joined the early-days WHA Oilers, then was the club’s NHL sales manager after retiring.

Also, Calgary coach and former centre Ryan Huska, for more immediate significance. He got into one game for the Blackhawks in the late ’90s.

Hopefully, Tomasek, Howard and Gridin get a Game 2 or 200.

But the first game is a very big deal, or any NHL game for that matter.

Just ask Oilers centre Adam Henrique, who played Game 994 Wednesday. He was just down the way from Howard and Tomasek as they talked about their firsts.

“This is amazing, David playing his first game at 29 while Howie is coming right out of college,” said Henrique, who was centring for the wingers against the Flames.

“It’s kind of funny to think about how many games I’m at, while they’re making their debut. But I still get nervous for the first game. I’ll feed off their excitement.”

With Henrique close to the magic 1,000 games — he’ll hit it in Ottawa later this month — he’ll be the 409th player to do so.

Almost the same as the one-gamers.

“I’ve had my journey and he’s just starting out,” said Tomasek, commenting on the gap in age between him and Howard. “I wish I was in the NHL at 21, but I wasn’t that good. I know I’ll be proud of this moment when I look back on it.

“I heard I’m not an NHL rookie by their standards … there’s some age thing, but I’m doing the first lap.” NHL players aged 26 or older don’t qualify as rookies.

Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch, while an excellent college player at the University of Alberta, never made it to the NHL, even for a game as a winger. He knew he wasn’t good enough.

But, he can certainly appreciate Tomasek’s journey. It’s been a much longer road than Howard’s, leaving Michigan State with no league pro games until this one.

But they were both on Cloud 9 for the opener.

“I’m sure they have different emotions. Safe to say, both are excited,” said Knoblauch.

“A 29-year-old probably enjoys it more. He had more blood, sweat and tears.

“There’s probably times he thought it was never, ever going to happen. He’s had quite a career in Europe with success. Now he signs an NHL contract. Now he has his first NHL game,” he said.

Howard’s parents, two of his three brothers (one had to work but will be here for Saturday’s home game against the Canucks), and his girlfriend and her folks, were all at Rogers Place to support him.

“It’s great to be able to share it with them,” said Howard.

Tomasek’s mum and dad weren’t in the building Wednesday.

“Too much planning. Hopefully they’ll come later,” he said.

Maybe they’ll be watching on TV? Cheering from their couches?

“The game starts about 4 in the morning there. Maybe the last period,” said Tomasek.

Howard was a first-round draft pick of Tampa before the trade for Sam O’Reilly this summer. First-rounders always play some games in the NHL. But for Tomasek this is the final stop on a very long and twisting road to the NHL. He has played maybe 800 games in Europe, in his home country, in Finland, Russia and Sweden, too.

His teammate Leon Draisaitl turns 29 in three weeks. The Calgary game was No. 791 for Draisaitl as he entered the game one goal shy of 400. Only three other Oilers have had that many regular-season goals — Wayne Gretzky (583), Jari Kurri (474) and Glenn Anderson (417) — so he was shooting for something, just like Tomasek and Howard.

There’s not many 29-year-olds playing their first NHL game, though. It has been a very long trip to the best league in the world.

“This has taken a lot of work, a lot of belief, a bit of luck … obviously is has been a long journey, playing 10 years of pro,” said Tomasek.

Tomasek, who won the Swedish Hockey League scoring title last year in Farjestads, never wanted to end his hockey playing without giving the NHL a shot.

“It was always there in the back of mind, but not the primary focus. It was more the journey. I was playing all these leagues in Europe and had some success with the (Czech) national team. You start to have confidence in yourself,” he said.

“Obviously as you get older your chances go down. But I actually think I’ve been getting better. When I was 23-24, I had some NHL offers but they were two-way. I had some injuries the next two years. I didn’t think I was ready. You get this chance now, and you have to take it. These are the moments you play for,” he said.

Tomasek actually came to North America to play midget AAA hockey in Michigan — “My mum had done something similar when she was young, but when I left she wasn’t too happy.” He played against current NHLers Dylan Larkin and Zach Werenski as a 15-year-old in the U.S. and then had two years in junior in the OHL before going home to play in the Czech city of Pardubice.

Then he hit the road.

“All the moving around Europe … some of it was circumstance. I was in the KHL when the war started and it became political. If you wanted to play for the national team, you had to leave Russia. So I went home,” he said.

“I wanted to experience different stuff, challenge myself. Lots of guys play for one team. They get their families early and they stay and I’m fine with that. I thought I could always come home to play.”

That will have to wait, now that he’s a member of the Oilers, however.

He only signed for one year at $1.2 million, but he’s fit in seamlessly after training camp. His first NHL game was on right wing, rather than his usual centre slot, but no sweat because he played on the wing on national teams. He also had the plum assignment, with Zach Hyman out, at net-front on the first power-play unit with Connor McDavid and Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard and Ryan Nugent Hopkins, who played Game 960 Wednesday.

His welcome-to-the-NHL moment.

“That’s awesome. Obviously a bit nerve-wracking. I don’t want to complicate things or mess up, just help them around the net. Could be just one game. This is all just fun for me,” he said.