The Canadiens are thrilled he jumped at the offer.

In two seasons with Guelph, he scored 49 goals and 125 points during the regular season and in his final year he lead the team in playoff scoring with 28 points in just 15 games.

After two full seasons with the Hamilton Bulldog of the American Hockey League, he got the call from Bulldog coach Don Lever that he was going up to the Montreal Canadiens.

“That moment was an incredible feeling,” said D’Agostini. “You just pick up your phone and call your family and friends to share the news. Then you walk out onto the ice in the Bell Centre for your first game –it gave me goose bumps.”

If he was nervous, he sure didn’t play like it. While he didn’t score in his debut, he scored in each of the next four games and had six goals in his first 11 contests.

“Every time I’ve scored, especially at home, it is kind of a shock,” said the native of Sault Ste. Marie. “It’s like it takes you by surprise.”

After that early success, he went 10 games without a goal but scored two in his last three games before the all-star break to get rolling again.

“When I first came up they played me with Saku Koivu and then he got hurt, but he recently came back and it is pretty nice playing with him,” he said with a laugh. “It felt strange walking into that dressing room and seeing guys you have watched your whole life like Koivu and Alexei Kovalev and you’re now (playing on the same ice with them). But it was a great confidence booster knowing that the coach (Guy Carbonneau) trusted me to play with Koivu.”

The lightning-quick snap shot Storm fans grew to love is still serving him well in “the show” and so are the experiences he gained in the Royal City.

“(Coaches) Dave Barr, Jason Brooks and Trent Cull taught me the things I needed to learn about being a professional hockey player,” said D’Agostini, who enjoyed the All- Star festivities in Montreal this past weekend. “When I arrived in Guelph I didn’t have a clue about being a professional player but they taught me how to prepare.”

“He always had a high level of skill in junior,” said Brooks. “But he had to work on his consistency and work ethic day in and day out. With his skill level he could coast through a couple of games and get away with it, but to get to the NHL he had to learn to give his best every night and I’m so glad to see him doing that now in the NHL.”

He comes from hard working, down-to-earth parents in Vince and Anne and still carries a humbleness that made him such a fan favourite in Guelph. Still, it is incredible to go back and look at the goals he has scored as a Canadien. He has punched in rebounds, scored on breakaways and snapped most of them into the top corner just like he did in Guelph. But, he also realizes it could come to an end any day.

“I’ve played (parts of ) three years in the minors and I could go back there any day so that keeps me motivated,” said D’Agostini.

People may have not noticed him when he was younger but there is no missing him now with his arms raised in celebration as the crowd at the Bell Centre goes crazy.

From the Land of Oz . . . With scorers like John Tavares and Taylor Hall in the OHL, it comes as somewhat of a surprise that the Storm’s Matt Kennedy is leading the league in powerplay goals with 14.