Pelletier anxious to get back
Wildcats forward having hand checked Tuesday
Moncton Wildcats star leftwinger Jakob Pelletier is looking forward to his medical appointment on Tuesday.
The 17-year-old Quebec City native will have a hard cast removed from his hand and get an update on how his recovery is going. He suffered a fractured wrist on Aug. 8 while playing for Canada at the 2018 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, a world under-18 championship hockey tournament that took place in Alberta.
The injury happened in the third game of the tournament and he was a spectator from there onward as he watched Canada capture the gold medal. Moncton will begin the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League regular season on Sept. 20 and play the first two games on the road before its home opener against the Saint John Sea Dogs on Sept. 28 at the Avenir Centre.
“I’ll see what the doctor says when I go for the checkup on Tuesday,” he said. “He may put a soft cast or splinter on my hand. There’s no pain, but it’s a little weird because now I have just one hand. I’m on the ice skating, but I can’t shoot. It’s a little boring, but it’s part of the process.
“It was disappointing when the injury happened because it was such a great experience to be there playing for Team Canada. I was excited to be there. They chose the 22 best players (under age 18) and I was proud to be part of that group. It was bad luck, but injuries are part of the game.”
Moncton, 2-5-1-0, will continue the 11-game exhibition schedule when it meets Saint John on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Harbour Station.
Pelletier, the third overall pick in the 2017 QMJHL draft, lived up to all the hype last season and finished third in the rookie scoring race with 23 goals and 61 points in 60 games. He finished fourth in Wildcats scoring and then added five points, including two goals, in 10 games in the playoffs.
The Wildcats expect that Pelletier will miss the first two games of the regular season and then return to the lineup for their home opener on Sept. 28. The question is how long will it take him to get back into top form given that he missed the entire training camp and played no exhibition games.
“I’m anxious to get back in the lineup and help the team, but I don’t want to break my hand again because I come back too early,” he said. “I want to make sure that I’m really ready when I do come back. It’s going to be exciting this season. We have a great team and I’m really excited about playing in the new building.”