(Poway, CA) Player development is not a standardized process. Everyone goes at their own pace, all organizations have their recipes, some being more successful than others.
Among the Anaheim Ducks, Jacob Perreault is somewhat of a guinea pig, under a special rule established in response to the pandemic. So far, the results are encouraging.
Despite his 19 years, Yanic Perreault’s son was indeed entitled to a waiver to spend the 2021-2022 season in the American League. After five games, he leads the San Diego Gulls with six points (two goals, four assists).
” I’m very good. In addition, I have chances to score, but I shoot at the post or I miss my shot. And I made backdoor passes, but we didn’t have the candy, said Perreault during the passage of Press at the Gulls’ training on Monday.
“Joël [Bouchard, l’entraîneur-chef] was clear to me: he doesn’t mind if I don’t score for 10 games. As long as I’m playing the right way. I got that into my head and I think it helped me score more goals. ”
“When you don’t have exceptional players, you have to make them the best players over 200 ft,” confirms Bouchard. Jacob has offensive talent, skills, but we are working to make him the best player over 200 ‘. ”
Seven exceptions
Normally, Perreault should have spent this season in the Ontario Junior League (OHL). Players 18 or 19 who play in one of the three Canadian junior circuits must indeed relate to it if they cannot carve out a place in the NHL.
However, an exemption was granted this season. As the OHL did not hold a 2020-2021 season, and the QMJHL and the Western League had shorter-than-usual schedules, several prospects played in the American League last season. .
A waiver therefore allows players who played 20 or more games in the American League last year to stay in this circuit this season. The decision remains at the discretion of the organizations and the players. For the Canadiens, Jan Mysak was the only eligible player, having played 22 games with the Rocket last year. The Habs, however, decided to send him back to the OHL in Hamilton for the season.
Perreault is one of the seven players who took advantage of this exemption. There are two cases with the Ducks: second, Jamie Drysdale, has started the season in the NHL, but is eligible for a dismissal if necessary.
Here is the complete list with the file* of each player. The offensive results of the players are variable.
- Jacob Perreault (Anaheim), choice of 1er round (27e rank) in 2020: 2-4-6 in 5 games in San Diego
- Jamie Drysdale (Anaheim), choice of 1er round (6e rank) in 2020: 1-2-3 in 10 games in Anaheim
- Jean-Luc Foudy (Colorado), choice of 3e tower (75e rank) in 2020: 1-0-1 in 8 games at Colorado (American League)
- Donovan Sebrango (Detroit), choice of 3e tower (63e rank) in 2020: 0-1-1 in 7 games at Grand Rapids
- Quinton Byfield (Los Angeles), choice of 1er round (2e rank) in 2020: no match (injured)
- Tyson foerster (Philadelphia), choice of 1er round (23e rank) in 2020: 1-1-2 in 7 games at Lehigh Valley
- Cole perfetti (Winnipeg): choice of 1er round (10e rank) in 2020: 2-1-3 in 4 games in Manitoba, 0-0-0 in 2 games in Winnipeg
“The idea of the rule is that it would be hard to fire a guy who has played a number of games in the American League,” Bouchard recalled. It’s nothing against the junior, I coached there! But when you have passed a stage, you can see if you can continue to progress in that stage. ”
Last season, Perreault played 27 games in San Diego, scoring 17 points. “I really liked having this chance last year, even though it was more of a period of adjustment. It helped me get into training this year and be an impact player. “
Perreault attributes his production this fall to increased use, especially in power play. “Last year, I didn’t have a lot of opportunities to show what I could do on the power play,” he argues.
Bouchard explains that it was above all necessary for Perreault to be physically ready, which is the case at 6 ft and 193 lbs. For the rest, keeping him in the American League this season was “obvious”.
“We really should have seen something in the camp, physically, that made us fear for him. But he is strong. It’s fun for me to start the journey so that it becomes professional. He’s a great listener, he understands that I’ll be on him all the time, but it’s for the right reasons. ”
Moreover, it is obvious that the performances of the previous season also weighed in the balance for the seven cases mentioned above. Cole Perfetti, for example, had 16 points in the last 11 games of the season with the Manitoba Moose. Returning him to the junior would have been curious, especially since he amassed 111 points there at 17!
If the experiment is a success, we can guess that it will give arguments to those who campaign for 19-year-old players from Canadian junior hockey to be entitled to play in the American League.
Lots of francophones!
Perreault gave the interview in French which remains excellent. Both his parents are from Quebec, but the young man did not live long in Quebec full time. He was born in Montreal while his father played for the Habs, but then moved to Chicago and played his junior hockey in Sarnia.
In San Diego, he will not miss opportunities to speak French on a daily basis, with the three coaches of the Gulls (Bouchard, Maxime Talbot and Daniel Jacob), in addition to Vincent Marleau, Morgan Adams-Moisan, Nikolas Brouillard and defenseman Simon Benoît, currently recalled with the Ducks.
“I knew Joël a little bit because of the television, and my father knows him too, he had a condo in Arizona and he loaned it to him during a Coyotes camp. And I know Max [Talbot] because he worked for my agent [Pat Brisson]. It’s good to see familiar faces! ”
* Statistics were compiled prior to Wednesday’s games.