Charge top pick Danielle Serdachny enjoying PWHL firsts with mom and dad, a former Oilers skills coach

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When most players score in their professional hockey debut it’s automatically categorized as the biggest goal of their life.

Not Danielle Serdachny. Not by a long shot.

Serdachny’s second-period wraparound bank off a defender Saturday night at Place Bell did give the Ottawa Charge a 2-0 lead over the Montreal Victoire in the PWHL season opener, a game from which the visitors left with one point in a 4-3 shootout loss.

But in the grand scheme of things, it pales in comparison to the goal she scored in Utica, N.Y., just seven and a half months earlier. That power play marker, off a rebound 5:16 into overtime, gave Canada a 6-5 win over the U.S., in the gold-medal game of the 2024 IIHF world women’s championship.

Not only did it avenge the gold-medal loss to the Americans in Brampton one year earlier, but it gave Canada a tournament-record 13th title.

“I think they were different in a lot of ways, but also special in different ways as well,” Serdachny said when asked to compare the two goals after the Charge practiced at TD Place on Monday. “It was probably a bit quieter (Saturday) but I guess in both situations we were the away team, so there was not too much going on in the crowd.

“Both were really exciting, really special moments for me, and definitely a lot of fun too.”

Adding to the occasion on the weekend was the fact Serdachny’s parents, Debra and Steven, were in attendance after making the trip from their home in Edmonton.

They’ll also be at the next two Charge games — the home opener against the Toronto Sceptres at TD Place on Tuesday and another showdown with the Victoire at Canadian Tire Centre on Friday.

“It was awesome,” the 23-year-old Serdachny said of making her PWHL debut with her folks in the building. “I think they had lots of fun too, and probably were a bit stressed, as well. But to have them there for my first professional game means the world to me, just based on the love and support they’ve shown me throughout my career. Having them there every step of the way means a lot to me.”

As the Edmonton Oilers skating/skills coach from 2006-15, her father was a strong influence in her decision to be a hockey player.

“I don’t know how much of a choice it was at a young age,” Serdachny, known as ‘Danny’ to her friends, said with a chuckle. “They put me in skating, I think at two and a half, and as I got older and more comfortable with the game, I fell in love with it a lot more. Pushing myself and getting into hockey wasn’t ever really an issue, just because I loved it and I loved being a part of a team and competing every day.”

Serdachny has fond memories of being around the Oilers, along with her sisters Brooke and Jordan and brother Noah,  during what she calls the team’s “first overall pick phase”, when they took Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov with the entry draft’s top selection in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Her favourite player, however, was selected 22nd overall by the Oilers in 2008 and went on to become a Team Canada hero — by scoring a game-tying goal with five seconds left in regulation time of the semi-final against the Russians — at the 2009 World Juniors, won by the home team, the last time the tournament was held in Ottawa.

She even wore the same No. 14 as Jordan Eberle when growing up playing minor hockey.

“Sometimes when (her dad) would be skating with the injured player or the scratches, we’d be pretty lucky and get to go to the rink and watch, which was definitely very special,” said Serdachny, who now wears 92 because was 9 her number at Colgate and 2 was worn by a few cousins on her mom’s side, including former WHL defenceman Dylan Busenius. “They weren’t winning a whole lot of games, but it was still a lot of fun to be around that. I remember after some Oilers games we were fortunate enough to be in the locker room, so it was definitely really special for myself and my siblings.”

Meanwhile, Serdachny is growing fast as a pro player.

The second overall selection at the June draft after the New York Sirens chose Sarah Fillier, she also scored in a mini-camp exhibition against Montreal 10 days ago and was one of Ottawa’s best players on Saturday.

“I thought collectively, we played a solid hockey game,” Charge coach Carla MacLeod said of the season opener. “Watching Danny out there, it was great. She’s a great hockey player, and she’s learning the league. I think staying patient and recognizing that it was her first ever PWHL game, there were lots of positives and lots of areas to grow, and that’s what you’d anticipate at this point in the year.”

Serdachny mentioned the “great environment” at the sold-out and loud 10,033-seat Place Bell.

“It was tough to come short with a loss, but pretty proud of how we kind of handled ourselves throughout that and earned a point out of it,” she said, admitting some nervousness entering the game. “But you have people around you feeling the same emotions, people you can kind of rely on if you need it. So just having rookies by your side and feeling those emotions together definitely was helpful.”

She also expects the home opener will be on a whole other level.

“I’m really excited, I’ve never played a home game here in Ottawa, so getting a taste for the fans and the support we bring in, I’m definitely looking forward to it,” said Serdachny. “I know the kind of the home crowd helped out Montreal in different ways. So I’m hoping in Ottawa the fans will be doing the same thing. It will be a great game versus Toronto, and hoping to walk away with our first one of the season.”