Forwards set to march up depth chart
It might've been a misunderstanding.
Calgary Flames forward prospect Jakob Pelletier had just finished heaping praise on fellow first-rounder Connor Zary, seated a few feet to his left and smiling wide as he listened.
“(Our friendship) started at U-18s when we were in Sweden. We were there for almost a month,” Pelletier said. “Just to play with Z, it's great. I think we complete each other on the ice and off the ice, also. So it's kind of great to have a guy just like him here.”
After that spiel, certainly Zary had a couple of compliments ready.
Or maybe a one-liner.
“I'm usually just trying to figure out what (Pelletier) is saying half the time with his French accent,” Zary quipped. “No ... he's really funny and a great guy to be around. You see what he can do on the ice, so he's fun to play with. We've been here for a month together in the summer, working out and being on the ice together and hanging out, so it's been a really good time.”
Pelletier and Zary have a history, and a future together, too.
They were teammates at the 2019 world under-18 hockey championship and again with Canada's silver squad at a bubbled edition of the world juniors last winter in Edmonton.
In consecutive years, they were welcomed to the Flames organization as first-round picks — Pelletier called to the stage at No. 26 overall at the 2019 NHL draft, Zary selected two slots higher during the virtual proceedings in 2020. That lofty billing makes them two of the marquee attractions at rookie camp this week in the Saddledome, which is why they were seated side by side in the media conference room after Thursday's practice.
They are a pair of important pieces of the long-term plan in Calgary, although their immediate future seems to be in Stockton, home of the American Hockey League's Heat.
When the Flames swapped for Tyler Pitlick and signed two of Darryl Sutter's championship-winning depth dudes in Trevor Lewis and Brad Richardson, they didn't leave much — if any — opportunity for a young forward to crack the opening-night roster. (You could say the same about their decision to re-up Brett Ritchie, although that transaction was necessary to meet expansion draft requirements.) “We're just here to play,” said Pelletier, a 20-year-old left-winger who was both leading scorer — 13 goals and 43 points in 28 appearances — and captain for the QMJHL'S Val-d'or Foreurs last season. “There's a whole staff who is going to make some decisions, and our job is kind of just to play.”
Zary, who turns 20 next week, nodded in agreement.
No misunderstanding this time.
Besides, the up-and-coming centre didn't expect to arrive and immediately find his name on a locker-room stall between Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk.
“You're coming into the NHL, it's the best league in the world, and every team is going to have a roster full of guys that have already played and veteran guys who have been around for a while,” said Zary, who opened eyes during a nine-game audition with the AHL'S Heat last winter and then piled up 24 points in just 15 outings with the WHL'S Kamloops Blazers. “I think that what's communicated through probably every team is that a young guy coming in is always looking to take an older guy's spot. I think that's what pushes the competition every single day.”
But until main camp opens next week, it's just young guys.
The 26 rookie-campers at the Saddledome have combined for a grand total of zero games of NHL experience. If you're betting on the first to earn a shot in the big league spotlight, Pelletier and Zary would be the favourites.
“The one thing that really intrigues me about both of them is they're highly competitive, and I think we want all our prospects and all our players that come through our system to hone in on that competitiveness,” said Mitch Love, who worked with both Pelletier and Zary as an assistant coach for Team Canada at the world juniors and has since been hired as the new bench boss for the Heat. “But the thing that I've really been impressed with both of them is their hockey IQ. They think the game at a high level.”
They're sharp enough to realize they'll probably be headed south to Stockton for some minor league seasoning, but there was determination — not discouragement — in their voices after Thursday's first skate with the prospect pack.
“The goal is to make the Flames team,” Pelletier said.
“For sure, you come in here with the mindset that you want to be with the big club and I think that's how you're going to go out on the ice,” Zary said. “You want to be the best player out there every single time you're going. I think for both of us, we put in a lot of work this summer and we come into camp not really worried about the depth charts. Everyone has to do their job and everyone has to go out there and perform. Just because your name might be higher than someone else on the list doesn't mean they can't come out here and be better than you.
“Every day, you have to put your head down and go to work.”