To say that it has been a tough year for Jakob Pelletier could be an understatement. After suffering a shoulder injury in pre-season that kept him out of action until February, Pelletier made his return to the lineup and it may not be going the way many anticipated it to.
Another injury just a few games into his return sidelined Pelletier for a few games, and now after sitting as a healthy scratch Saturday night against his childhood team the Montreal Canadiens, concerns about his future have been in question. What do the Flames really have in Jakob Pelletier?
An uphill climb for Pelletier
Things could not have gone more wrong for Pelletier to start this season. Like I mentioned above he missed a significant amount of time to begin the season after having shoulder surgery before the seasons officially kicked off. During that time, multiple players in the Flames pipeline passed Pelletier when it came to their spot in the Flames lineup. Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil both came up to the big club and made an immediate impact on the team, their spots have been solidified in the Flames top six.
Upon his return, head coach Ryan Huska made the decision to ease Pelletier back into the NHL game, so he played primarily on the fourth line before getting injured once again in just his fourth game back after a hit from Jacob Trouba. He would miss a few weeks and once again return on the Flames fourth line. Pelletier would see some time spread out higher in the Flames lineup, but it usually only came if someone got injured, or in the case of Pospisil, kicked out of a game. He has not had a consistent run of time in the Flames top-nine where he could make an impact, but he has not shown the flare that he showed a year ago either.
Missing time due to an injury is tough, and coming back after missing so much time when you haven’t been a full time NHL player is tougher. For Pelletier, he has a long way to go.
Pelletier caught the attention of the head coach, for all the wrong reasons
Everything came to a head Saturday night when Huska decided to scratch Pelletier against the Montreal Canadiens. Pelletier had spoke about it just the day prior about how excited he was to play against the team he grew up cheering for, so him being a scratch i’m sure left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth.
Sure, at the end of the day hockey is a business and Huska has to do what he feels gives the Flames the best chance to win on any given night, and Pelletier’s counting stats this year have not been all that impressive as he only has one goal and three points to his name in thirteen appearances.
However, going into Saturday’s contest, the Flames sat eight points back of the final wild card spot in the western conference and unless they go on some miracle run and everyone in front of them begins to slide, the Flames are not making the playoffs. So, to scratch a young player in Pelletier in favour of veterans like AJ Greer and Dryden Hunt made little sense to me, but then again, what do I know. There is a chance Pelletier is still fighting his injury, but Huska had some comments just a couple days prior that made the scratch a little less head scratching.
What does the future hold for Pelletier?
I really thought after Pelletier’s short stint with the Flames a year ago that he would break out into a big role with the Flames. I thought he was going to be doing what Zary has been this season. The shoulder injury set him back, and he has had lots of trouble finding his footing so far this season. That begs the question, what kind of ceiling does Pelletier have?
I think Pelletier can still be a very solid player in this league, he has all the raw tools to do it, and like we saw a year ago, he has that fight and heart in him that can be infectious on a team. You very rarely see him pout, he just wants to put in the work to help his team win. I think at his peak however, he will be a middle six two-way forward that may have a forty to fifty point ceiling in him. At very best, you can hope for another Andrew Mangiapane, but that would be a really big ask.
The problem right now is that the Flames have a logjam of middle six forwards on their team as it is currently assembled. Zary and Pospisil like I mentioned have established themselves as formidable players, Blake Coleman and Mangiapane are key players to the team, and the team is still trying to find room to give Matt Coronato more time to season in the lineup.
They just have too many guys, and if Pelletier is not pulling his weight he can be the odd man out at any given time. Maybe this is the push he needs to get his game into gear, it has worked for plenty in the past.
Getting back to the basics
Pelletier was so effective not only in his time with the Flames last season but all his time in the AHL because his motor was always going at 110% at all times. Pelletier at his best is when he is in the opponents face and playing an uptempo game that is always keeping defenders on their toes.
He may not be the biggest player around, but he has a knack for getting to the tough areas of the ice to make plays. It is all about getting back to his roots that make him and effective forward. It may take a little more time for him to fully figure it out, and he will need more minutes and to be put in more key situations, but if he can do all of that, I am sure that he will have the trust of his head coach back in no time.
