A ffiliated sports.sports_team_roster the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League , Smart was called up to the NHL in 1943 and , on January 14 , became the first player in league history to score a hat trick in his NHL debut ( this feat was later matched by Réal Cloutier of the Quebec Nordiques in 1979 , Fabian Brunnström of the Dallas Stars in 2008 , and Derek Stepan of the New York Rangers in 2010 ) .