MONTREAL – Jakob Pelletier played 37 games in the National League, but none against the Canadiens. In its summer screenings, it probably took place yesterday at the Bell Center.
The reality was quite different. While Jonathan Huberdeau and Anthony Mantha were on the blue line for the national anthem, Pelletier was in Calgary. With his teammates from the Flames’ farm club, he was preparing for a big Tuesday night against the Bakersfield Condors.
Water has flowed under the bridge (frozen, perhaps?) since Pelletier learned that not only would he start the season in the American League, but that the other 31 teams in the National League had not judged that they would improve by claiming him on waivers. He came to his senses, got back up, came up with a new game plan.
So far, he’s been rewarded for his resilience. He has ten points in his first eleven games, a production that is consistent with what he has been able to deliver since turning pro at the age of 20. Between his two ears, it’s the calm after the storm.
But God, the slap was difficult to take.
“It affected me. To be honest, I questioned myself, confides Pelletier in a telephone interview with RDS. When it happened, I really wasn’t expecting it. But I think you have two choices in life: either you give up or you keep working harder. »
The Quebec native estimates he needed three or four days to recover from his emotions. “Afterwards, you have to move on,” he reasoned. You need to understand what you did that wasn’t good enough and you need to move on. »
“I looked at myself and said, ‘Jake, for real, you’re still young, you make your living playing hockey. It’s up to you to prove that you can still do it.’ That’s my mentality since I got cut. »
Pelletier advocated a two-pronged approach with his critics. First, he gagged them by deleting the X app, formerly Twitter, from his phone. “When you see people all the time saying that you’re not good enough, it’s going to affect you a little. The fact of no longer being on it makes a big difference for me,” he candidly admits.
Then he got busy taking away their arguments. He recorded eight points in his first four games with the Calgary Wranglers. He and his center player Rory Kerins form a fiery duo. Of Kerins’ nine goals, Pelletier was his accomplice seven times.
Paradoxically, Pelletier wants the criticisms and doubts to continue to reach his ears.
“Since I was young, I have been told all the time that I am not good enough to do this, not good enough to do that,” recalled the former Blizzard of Saint-François Séminaire. I’m smaller, I don’t have a big shot either, you understand? When I was a Bantam, everyone told me that it wouldn’t work out for me in the Midget. Afterwards it was “you’ll see in junior”, “you’ll see in pro”… It’s always been that for me and once again, that’s it at the moment. I think I’ve always responded in the best possible way and that’s what I want to do again. »
A shadow above his head
Pelletier recognizes that a good part of his incomprehension comes from the fact that the Flames, after having liquidated a lot of veterans in recent years, are in a position to make room for young people. Connor Zary and Matt Coronato, first-round picks a little younger than him, are seen as part of the solution currently.
He is left aside while “two years ago, I finished the season there, I played with Naz and Huby”, the pet names he gives to Nazem Kadri and Huberdeau.
But as much as he is looking for accelerant to fuel his inner fire, Pelletier is capable of lucidity and honesty. Last season was not easy for him. He missed the first half of the schedule due to shoulder surgery. His return to play was cut short by another injury.
“When I came back after that, my season was downhill. Not that I wasn’t playing good hockey, but I wasn’t playing like I was capable of,” he confesses. This summer, at training camp, he feels that the shadow of those old injuries has followed him. “It was up to me to prove that I could play and I didn’t do that in the preseason games,” he said, refusing to publicly place blame on coach Ryan Huska and general manager Craig Conroy.
Everything in its time, therefore. For now, Pelletier is healthy and playing a leading role on a team that is struggling. It’s not perfect, but there are worse things. The rest is up to him.
“I haven’t given up hope of having a career in the NHL. Do I want to be in the American League? No. Do I want to play up top? Yes. But it’s up to me to prove myself. »
