Huberdeau takes Flames rookie Pelletier under his wing
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After Flames rookie Jakob Pelletier got called up following the team’s bye week in early February, one of the first texts he got was from Jonathan Huberdeau.
Calgary had a road trip coming up and the veteran forward wanted to know the rookie’s plans in New York City. A Manhattan dinner awaited the new teammates from Quebec and blueliner Connor Mackey. They dined at Catch Steak in Chelsea.
“A good meal, a couple of glasses of wine,” Huberdeau said of the outing. “I enjoyed it. I think it was his first time in New York, so I took him out to a nice dinner, him and [Connor Mackey]…get to know them a little bit more. It was a fun dinner.”
“He picked a steakhouse and was like, ‘Pelts, it’s on me tonight,’” Pelletier said. “I was like, ‘Do you want me to pay you back?’ and he’s like, ‘No, you’re good.’ It’s nice to spend time with him off ice…It’s huge. You’re with the boys.”
Pelletier, who has played well on Calgary’s second line with Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri, is still soaking in life as an NHLer, including visiting many cities he’d never been to and assimilating into one of the oldest teams in the league.
“For me, I’m the only guy that’s 21,” he said. “Most of the guys are 23, 24, and older. I’m kinda young, so to see young guys and old guys like that, Huby taking care of me, it’s crazy.”
Huberdeau first reached out to connect with Pelletier shortly after the July blockbuster trade that brought the veteran forward to Calgary.
“Since the summer when he texted me, I was like, ‘Man, wow,’” Pelletier said. “I’d seen the trade and was pumped that a French guy was coming. Him too, a superstar, it’s great. He’s a great player, but firstly he’s a great person – just the way he is with guys. A class person.”
For Huberdeau, it’s simply paying it forward in the way veterans did when he was a rookie with the Florida Panthers in the 2012-13 season. Kris Versteeg, Ed Jovanovski, and Jose Theodore played a similar role for him.
“Living with Versteeg my first year made me more comfortable with guys around the room,” Huberdeau said. “A guy like [Pelletier], being from Quebec, you try and take him under your wing a little bit, show him around, and make him feel comfortable. [It’s] just being there for him, helping him…taking him out for dinners, talking to him about anything on the ice, the game, or how he’s feeling. …It’s making sure he’s comfortable around here. You were there once.”
Pelletier has soaked in all of Huberdeau’s advice, which has been simple and straightforward.
“Just play,” Pelletier said, of Huberdeau’s words of wisdom. “As a young guy, sometimes you’re scared to make plays, you’re scared to play the type of game that brought you here because you don’t want to make mistakes. But with him, the big thing he’s told me since day one is to just play…we talk on the bench and off the ice about the plays. So, I think the more we play together, the more the chemistry will come.”
Huberdeau and Pelletier don’t actually communicate often in their mother tongue during games. Pelletier will only speak it if he can’t think of a particular word in English.
“If sometimes I’m not sure of a word, I’ll just ask him in French,” he said.
Pelletier was drafted (26th overall in 2019) in large part for his character. He was a captain in the QMJHL for Val-d’Or, and many Canadian hockey fans remember the image of Pelletier consoling teammates after their 2021 defeat in the gold-medal game at the World Juniors.
Like Huberdeau, Pelletier is intent on paying it forward when it’s his turn.
“For me to see [Huberdeau helping me], I know in five or six or 10 years it’s gonna be on me to do the same thing with young guys,” Pelletier said.
Rookie Rolex
Huberdeau said that one of the more unique moments of his rookie season came at the very end, when Theodore took him to buy a Rolex. Huberdeau laughed at the memory of paying $9,000 for the watch. No word yet if he’ll bring Pelletier in for his first Rolex after the season.
Surprising Flames Stats
- Elias Lindholm’s even-strength time on ice per game (13:24) is his lowest since his rookie season – shocking for the Selke-nominated centre, who’s widely lauded for his two-way game.
- Fellow newcomers Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar are also adapting to playing fewer minutes. Weegar is down 2:41 per game and Huberdeau is down 2:26 per game.
- It’s been written and discussed at length as to why Calgary can’t score. Craig Button and Mike Johnson had an interesting conversation last week about the team’s system and if this personnel just isn’t built for a high shot-volume strategy. Right now, the Flames are first in shots on net per game, but 22nd in inner slot shots. Their goals per game is 16th.
Paul Jerrard remembered
Paul Jerrard, an assistant coach in Calgary from 2016 to 2018, recently passed way after a battle with cancer. Mikael Backlund remembers him fondly.
“Paul was always just positive in the locker room,” Backlund said. “You could tell he loved working and helping players develop…I really enjoyed working with Pauly…During his time here, he was really caring about the players, asking questions about what we do off the ice. Just a great human being.”