Bawa, the first-ever player of South Asian heritage to make the NHL, can certainly relate to Khaira's sense of pride and belonging once he reached hockey's grandest stage.

He grew up playing minor hockey in Duncan, B.C., on Vancouver Island, reaching the junior ranks with the WHL's Kamloops Blazers before embarking on a 12-year pro career between 1987 and 1999. Bawa played 61 NHL games with stops in Washington, Vancouver, San Jose and Anaheim, with the majority of his career spent in the International Hockey League.

Bawa said he grew up playing with and against players of similar South Asian descent, so it wasn't until he reached the pro level that he realized he had made hockey history.

"When I was young, I didn't even think about playing in the NHL," said the 51-year-old, who now resides in Richmond, also part of the Vancouver Metro area. "I just played because I loved the game and thought of myself as a hockey player rather than an East Indian kid playing hockey. I thought I was one of the guys. But as I got older I realized I was the only one coming up through the systems. Then there was Manny (Malhotra) and now Jujhar."

Much like Singh, Bawa took great interest in Khaira's career and great pleasure in his progression to the NHL level.

"I knew about him when he was in Prince George, and then when he got drafted I was quite pleased to see that," he said. "I was quite proud to see a kid of our minority doing well and getting a chance."

Both Singh and Bawa see the potential for more South Asian players to start playing hockey and one day make the NHL with Khaira as their role model.

"It's going to help inspire more kids to play the game," Singh said. "It's not necessarily about making the NHL as much as it is about participating in the game. Hockey, as a sport, needs to find more of those avenues for growth and Khaira's success is certainly going to help inspire more youth."

"Hockey has become very popular within the South Asian community," said Bawa, who coaches his son's peewee team. "As far as playing-wise, I would still like to see a lot more. And hopefully now, with Jujhar playing in the NHL, it might bring more kids out. They see that he made it and hopefully they want to try… He's going to have a huge impact on the younger kids. I hope he really grasps that."

He definitely does.

"I have a lot of support back home and from all over the South Asian community," Khaira said. "It's really eye-opening being a role model like that. Sometimes you don't really realize how much of an impact you actually make, but I just try to work hard and relay a good message to all the kids I meet… I remember when I was young and got to meet NHL players, it was the best day of my life. Being able to have an impact like that is really special."

The effect is already quite evident in Khaira's hometown. Harbs Bains, President of Surrey Minor Hockey, noted roughly 70% of the association's 1,000 registered players for the 2017-18 season are of South Asian heritage, in addition to many coaches and other volunteers, including himself.

"It's a great source of pride for our community," he said. "It's something special when a young man from your community makes it to the NHL… It's a very good measuring stick for young kids to look at Jujhar and say, 'Hey, I too can make it.' Whether they're from Surrey, whether they have a Sikh background, wherever they're from. You've got kids who are trying their best to get to that level, so it's important for them to have role models like that."