If there’s one player that Calgary Flames players, brass and fans seem to root for, it’s 2019 first-rounder Jakob Pelletier. He’s a bit small, sure, but he’s been a highly-effective player at various levels and combined with his gregarious and cheerful nature, he’s an easy kid to like.
So naturally, everybody was very concerned when he left the Flames’ game on Saturday against the New York Rangers in the first period.
The concern was magnified by the fact that Pelletier only recently returned to NHL action – after a brief AHL stint – after missing several months due to a shoulder injury suffered in a pre-season game with the Seattle Kraken. So seeing Pelletier get blown up by Rangers defender Jacob Trouba in front of the Flames bench made a lot of people anxious.
Well, good news, it appears that Pelletier is doing reasonably well after that collision.
Per our pals at the rink – thanks Pat! – Pelletier wasn’t on the ice for practice on Wednesday, so it seems safe to assume that we won’t see him on Thursday night against the San Jose Sharks. But after that? We’ll see.
Pelletier is in the third year of his entry-level deal. He was named to the AHL’s All-Rookie Team in his rookie year, and pushed for NHL duty (and regular call-ups) in his second year. He was essentially locked into an NHL roster spot heading into Flames’ camp this season – head coach Ryan Huska admitted as much to the media – before his injury against Seattle in the pre-season.
Needless to say: Pelletier is a really good, versatile young player, and he could be a really valuable piece for the Flames going forward. We’ll see how much time he ends up missing, but it certainly seems like he dodged a potentially significant injury against the Rangers.
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