“He convinces everyone, but the most important person to convince is himself, and he is doing it. »
Martin St-Louis could hardly find better words to praise Rafaël Harvey-Pinard on Friday.
It must be said that the head coach of the Canadian had already spoken the day before, in the universal language of the minutes of play. In Thursday’s defeat against the New York Rangers, Harvey-Pinard indeed played 23 m 54 s, an impressive figure for a striker, let alone a striker who was playing his 25e NHL game.
“Of course, 24 minutes is a lot, I didn’t realize it, apologized St-Louis. But sometimes, players force you to play them. »
Game time can be very circumstantial. Last season over the holidays, an outbreak of COVID-19 left the Canadiens roster bare like a Sunday night garage league team on Super Bowl day. Under these circumstances, Jonathan Drouin, who was not at the heart of a dream season, had played 23 min 10 s on 1er January in Florida.
PHOTO DAVID KIROUAC, USA TODAY SPORTS ARCHIVES
New York Rangers’ Alexis Lafrenière (13) and Rem Pitlick (32) battle for the puck Thursday night at the Bell Centre.
On December 12, Rem Pitlick acted as fourth center, but clearly did not have the confidence of St-Louis and ended the duel against the Flames with five minutes of play. The CH had therefore played most of the match with three centers , and the meeting had required an extension. Result: Christian Dvorak, an honest worker, certainly, had spent 23 min 15 s on the ice.
Nevertheless, such evenings are rare. Since the 2012 lockout, Harvey-Pinard was only the 13e Canadian forward to reach 23 minutes in a game. Among the 12 others, we find names such as Phillip Danault, Tomas Plekanec and Max Pacioretty, but also, since we talked about him, Rem Pitlick.
If there’s any evidence that this stat may be circumstantial, it’s there.
The qualities
A year later, everything suggests that last year’s Pitlick was more of a shooting star. So what can suggest that Harvey-Pinard is establishing himself as a real National League player?
Encouraging point for him: he is entitled to the confidence of St. Louis even if his offensive production has slowed. In his last seven games, he has been limited to one point.
“I count a little less lately, for one reason or another, I miss the nets, recognizes the number 49. But for my game in general, my passes, my games in the offensive zone, I am still confident, I feel GOOD. »
He is always in the right place. He does all the details. It’s rare that he doesn’t do the right reading. If it doesn’t work, it’s because it lacks a bit of execution, but the intentions are still there.
Martin St-Louis, about Rafaël Harvey-Pinard
His ability to win battles along the ramps certainly works in his favor. This stat isn’t compiled by benchmarking sites, but it seems to generate a scoring chance or two per game by winning such struggles before putting the puck back in the slot.
Defensively, he’s blocking shots at an unparalleled rate, so even though he inherits hefty tenures as a Suzuki winger, he’s posted a +6 performance. The crosses he’s faced most often this season : Tim Stützle, Mika Zibanejad, John Tavares and Sebastian Aho.
“I can’t be impressed by big lines, otherwise it won’t go well! launches the young man. I feel comfortable on the rink; no matter who I play against, I want to play the same way. »
He admits that he could have been impressed last year, during his first recall. “I was really stressed before the games. It was normal, these were my first experiences. This year, I feel more comfortable, and I know the guys in the locker room, so it makes a difference when I get on the ice. »
If he retains St. Louis’ confidence, it will be interesting to see how he forces management’s hand into next season.
As of this writing, the Habs are full of wingers who hold a valid contract for 2023-2024: Brendan Gallagher, Josh Anderson, Mike Hoffman, Joel Armia, Juraj Slafkovsky and Rem Pitlick.
To these six wingers is added Cole Caufield, in negotiation for a future agreement. Denis Gurianov, Jesse Ylönen and Michael Pezzetta are in the same situation, and prospect Sean Farrell should theoretically be added to the team at the end of his university season.
That said, the summer period is one of exchanges and even contract redemptions, for those who are dragging their feet. Irreplaceables are rare in the list above, and it’s safe to say that Harvey-Pinard has already supplanted a few names among them. It remains to be seen if he will overtake others in the last 17 games of the season.