Jakob Pelletier sees a future at the Saddledome — and then at Scotia Place.
“It’s my first time being in that place, in that position … Of course, you don’t want to go on waivers,” Pelletier told a pair of reporters Friday. “I want to stay here. I love the team. I love the players. I love the staff. I want to be a part of it. I want to be a part of what’s coming here. I want to play in the new arena.
“But I think it’s on me to kind of force their hand to play me each night and to stay here.”
Pelletier was scratched for Friday’s pre-season finale against the Winnipeg Jets, stuck spectating during the last dress rehearsal.
“He’s had a lot of opportunities in exhibition,” Flames head coach Ryan Huska explained when asked about Pelletier’s status as one of the scratches against the Jets. “So now it’s an opportunity for us to see someone else in a game against an NHL lineup, which we felt was important.”
The question is: Will Pelletier be in an NHL lineup at Monday’s roster deadline?
All signs point to the Flames keeping both Sam Honzek — the 19-year-old ranks among the league leaders in pre-season points and plus-minus — and Adam Klapka, who seems to have crashed and banged his way to a role on the fourth line.
When you add the rest of the lineup locks, that would leave Pelletier as the 14th forward.
The alternative would be trying to sneak this should-be sparkplug to the AHL’s Wranglers, which would require a 24-hour period on waivers.
Would he clear? Is it worth taking the chance, especially if it’s so they can keep an eighth defenceman or a third goaltender around? It’s not like the Flames are strapped for salary-cap space.
On one hand, you’d like Pelletier to be playing games, even if that’s at the minor-league level. He is far from a finished product and a stint as a spare part is not necessarily dynamite for development.
But, for Flames general manager Craig Conroy, it certainly would sting to see him in another uniform.
This franchise is, remember, committed to a youth movement.
They’d like to be faster.
They’re always looking for more positive voices inside the locker room.
Pelletier, a first-round selection in the 2019 NHL draft, checks those boxes.
Keep in mind that last fall, before he suffered a major shoulder injury in an exhibition contest, he was considered by many to be Calgary’s top forward prospect. In fact, when it was confirmed that he would require surgery, Huska described him as a guy who was pegged to be a full-timer.
Pelletier ultimately was limited to 13 big-league outings during the 2023-24 campaign with Martin Pospisil and Connor Zary emerging as every-nighters during his absence.
“I think I can play in the NHL,” said Pelletier, reminding of a string of scratches after he earned his first career call-up in January of 2023. “Two years ago, I started two weeks without playing. I don’t know if you guys remember that six games. And then I played my first game and then I played for 24 straight. Started on the fourth line, played on the third a little bit, played on the second or the first or whatever it was.
“So I think I can play in the NHL. But again, I think it’s on me to force their hand to play me and to play good and to help the team to win each night. Because the mindset here is to make the playoffs, even though we’re young. I think it’s on me to help the team to win.”
Pelletier finishes the pre-season with an underwhelming stat-line — zero points, four shots on net and a minus-2 rating in five auditions.
He leaves Conroy & Co. with a difficult decision to make. The left winger realizes his future is a hot topic.
“I thought my best game (of pre-season) was my last game,” Pelletier said, referring to Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to the Jets in Friendly Manitoba. “I thought I was good on forecheck, was good trying to force some turnovers and some takeaways, as well. And I think our line was good.
“If I’m being honest, I think last year I would have been the first one to say, ‘You know what, I’m not playing the type of game that I used to play. I’m not playing the type of game that Jakob Pelletier should play to play in the NHL.’ But when I look at this camp, I watch each game, I thought the first game, I was minus-1 in a 6-1 win but I thought I played good too, you know what I mean? And I think the last game, I played probably one of my best games in a year.
“I think I just have to focus on the positive side, on the good things that I did the last game. I kind of see more of myself in that game. I look back and say, ‘Alright, that’s the thing you’ve gotta do to play in the NHL.’ I think it’s going towards the right path here.”