Jakob Pelletier is not afraid to admit it: he received two good slaps in the face in a few hours when he was placed on waivers by the Calgary Flames and none of the 31 other NHL teams would take him. demanded.
“To be honest, I find it hard,” he said bluntly when contacted by The JournalWednesday afternoon.
The 23-year-old striker has received more than one slap in the face in recent months. During last year’s training camp, he required surgery after suffering a left shoulder injury and subsequently missed four months of activity. Then, in February, in his fourth game following his return, tough defenseman Jacob Trouba of the New York Rangers hit him in that same shoulder, sending him to the floor again for a few weeks.
Photo AFP / GETTY IMAGES
Returning to Flames camp this year, “in shape like I’ve never been in shape,” the former first-round pick was unable to establish himself offensively, forcing the organization to send him back to the American Hockey League but, above all, taking the risk of losing him for nothing on waivers.
And Pelletier does not hide it, moreover: he would have liked to be claimed.
“I’m happy in Calgary and I like playing for the Flames, but it’s certain that if a team had asked for me because they saw me in their NHL roster, I wouldn’t have said no. That being said, I’m not a guy who gives up and this situation motivates me more than anything else.”
Not the same player
Pelletier is capable of introspection and knows full well that he has a share of responsibility in what happens to him.
“I think I haven’t played a single good game hockey since I came back from my second injury, he humbly admits. Maybe I came back a little early and, without saying that I was fearful, I always had in the back of my mind the idea that if I received another big hit, I could get hurt again.
The last season had a detrimental effect on his morale, he adds.
“You’re gone for four or five months, you come back and, bang! Not even a week and a half later, you’re still hurt. It knocked me down. […] Afterwards, it was as if I had lost a little spark. But I came back to camp in great shape and I was doing all the right things except the puck wasn’t rolling for me.
The CH and social networks
When he was placed on waivers, Pelletier’s name circulated in Montreal as an interesting candidate for the Canadian. Pelletier admits not having heard of it.
The reason: he deleted his X account.
“You always remember the one negative thing that is said about you, even if there are 1000 positive ones. I would open Twitter and see people saying I wasn’t good enough, that I wasn’t the same anymore. In the end, I realized that I believed it too, after reading it.”
But, he no longer believes it: he has confidence that he will be a permanent NHL player. And sooner rather than later.
“I still believe in it. It’s one more challenge that will mean that, when I establish myself in the NHL, I’ll enjoy it even more. In 10 years, when I look back, I’m going to remember how angry I was and how it slapped me in the face, for the better.”
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