Twenty-seven-year-old Julien Brouillette has spent his entire career in the ECHL and AHL. In his NHL debut for the Washington Capitals on Thursday night, Brouillette got his first NHL assist, and on Saturday he scored his first NHL goal. Here in DC to watch all that hard work pay off were two of his biggest fans, his parents, who barely made it in time for the milestones.

This story involves 20,000 chickens and a 10-hour drive, so try to get your head wrapped around that now.

Al Koken explained on CSNDC:

We talk about Julien Brouillette. Well, his parents are in town. They own a poultry and dairy farm 45 minutes north east of Montreal. When Julien called Wednesday to share his good news, they were in the midst of preparing 20,000 birds for shipping to a processing plant. They didn’t get that done until 1 am. Then they spent the rest of the morning cleaning everything up. Then they had to make a ten-hour drive here to DC, and they arrived at the start of the third period Thursday, just in time to see their son get his first NHL point in his first NHL game. Guys, they say timing is everything. What a great story of dedication.

Here’s his first NHL point.

On Saturday, Julien’s parents Alain and Lucy attended again, and this time they got to see their son score his first NHL goal. It was the game-winner.

20,000 chickens, 10 hours in a car, and two sloppy high-fives.