Since his first meeting with Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Mario Pouliot has never ceased to be impressed by his progress and his perseverance. However, he is not surprised by his success since his recall to the Montreal Canadiens.
In this sense, the former head coach of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies product sees in him the fiber of a hockey player worthy of the NHL and who has constantly confounded skeptics with his game.
See the second part of the interview with Mario Pouliot, on Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, in the video at the top of the article.
“When I see the plays he makes (in Montreal), I’ve seen him perform them at a high level of competition. He’s such a brilliant guy on the ice, he said in an interview with TVASports.ca over the past week.
“A lot of times the window for a hockey player isn’t very big. At the start of the season, the Canadian recalled a few players before him. They brought him back once and they traded him to Laval, then they called him back before the star break. Honestly, hats off to Rafaël and hats off to Martin St-Louis.
“Not all coaches are going to take the guy coming in from the American League, injuries notwithstanding. He wasn’t afraid to put him on the top line and give back to him for what he was doing. I think that Rafael, wants, does not want, forced the hand of Martin St-Louis and the Canadian.
With nine points in 12 games since crossing the A-15 in January, the Saguenean has become a crowd favorite as he dispels doubts regarding him. And doubts, there have always been according to his former pilot.
“People knew the potential on the ice, maybe they had doubts regarding his physical strength or his skating, whether he is able to get to (the next level). The concerns that the National League scouts had were the same as those in the QMJHL.
Remember that all the teams have turned their noses up at RHP in his first and second years of draft eligibility, in 2017 and 2018.
Photo credit: Martin Chevalier / JdeM
It was following a season of 40 goals, then winning the Memorial Cup with Pouliot in 2019, that the Habs selected him in the seventh round for the third time.
“I think it was, first of all, very deserved, then it was one of the best bets the Canadian might make at that time,” Pouliot believes.
Indeed, before the games on Sunday evening, Harvey-Pinard ranked 25th among players in his vintage, which includes Jack Hughes and Cole Caufield among the chosen ones, with his 10 points in 16 games.
A decisive decision
After a first Memorial Cup title with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in 2018, Pouliot traveled more than 1,400 km to take the helm of the Huskies with the goal of leading a second consecutive championship team. No driver had accomplished such a feat before in the Canadian Hockey League.
Among the veterans of the team, several stood out for the role of captain. At the end, one athlete stood out from the herd.
“My first decision – and it was probably my best decision of the year, I would tell you – was to name Rafaël Harvey-Pinard captain of the Huskies, Pouliot confides. It was easy for me. It was a privilege to be able to direct it. He is always in a good mood. He arrived every morning with his hardworking reputation and a smile.
Photo credit: John Morris / QMI Agency
“He was as hard working off the ice as he was on the ice and in his studies. He was a “hyper” guy focused on every phase of a major junior hockey player’s life. It was his first quality.
“People liked to call it the ‘Husky Game’, but to me it was the ‘Pinard Game’.”
If Pouliot never regretted his decision, once once more, the doubt settled with regard to his protege in this role.
“When I made him captain, some questioned my choice. At that time, they thought it would have been Jacob Neveu or Peter Abbandonato, who were four or five season veterans. They were very, very good candidates. Rafaël Harvey-Pinard represented exactly how you want your hockey club to behave with the work ethic and the way you want them to play.
“From there, throughout the season, all the meetings we had with the leaders, it was Harvey-Pinard who beat the clock and that club followed suit.”
Harvey-Pinard and Abbandonato, top scorer on the circuit that year, offered their coach peace of mind. They were all whipped by the desire to win. A culture that would see his efforts be rewarded in the final once morest the Halifax Mooseheads, an edition that included CH defender Justin Barron.
Photo credit: John Morris / QMI Agency
“I had Peter Abbandonato, Félix Bibeau and Samuel Harvey. I was privileged. I had a very tightly knit group of players raised in the same organization, all drafted and developed.
“The group chemistry was so strong and beautiful to see. I am lucky to have been able to experience this epic. Rafaël Harvey-Pinard was definitely the great leader.
The following summer, Pouliot was on hand in Vancouver to attend the amateur auction. He experienced not one, but two satisfactions.
“I think the round before (Harvey-Pinard), Félix Bibeau had been claimed by the New York Islanders. Then it was Rafael’s turn. For me, this is a great accomplishment for two hard-working young enthusiasts. They were good friends on the ice and off, they were often together.
“The following year, they both met in Chicoutimi. Yanick (Jean) had succeeded in bringing them together.”
Pouliot indeed made one of the toughest decisions of his time at Rouyn-Noranda heading into the 2019-20 campaign.
“We made the tough decision to trade Rafaël to Chicoutimi. What was important for the managers was to make sure that the players ended up in an ideal place. We traded Rafael in his hometown. He was therefore able to live his 20-year season close to his family with the supporters of the Saguenéens.
Photo credit: ROGER GAGNON/QMI AGENCY
An Invitation to Golden Knights Camp
When Nick Suzuki was acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights, he showed some great things with Caufield at Habs development camp. Today, it is ironically in the absence of the latter that Harvey-Pinard has been inserted on the left wing of the first line.
If it is fresh in Montreal, the Harvey-Pinard-Suzuki duo has already existed in Vegas for the time of a hockey clinic. Mario Pouliot’s son, Raphaël, is an amateur scout for the Golden Knights and he had invited him to the team’s camp following his 18-year-old year.
“’Raf’ had been to development camp. This is where he played a (first) match with Nick Suzuki. He had come back with us for the season.
To know what is the difference between the player who played four games for the big club in 2021-2022 and the one who establishes himself as an important cog this year, confidence has a lot to do with it.
The 24-year-old winger has gained experience and the skill set he is honing is not to be underestimated.
“He is more experienced, recalls Pouliot. As Martin St-Louis, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard says, “he’s a hockey player”. He has a high level of competition. His hockey intelligence is above average and he’s a guy with skills that he uses very well with high level work.
Confidence on the rise
The fact remains that some recruiters, although they saw his relentlessness, doubted that he might reach the National League and that he might maintain a pace over 82 games, which the main interested party will seek to do next year from camp. training.
Even in the Midget Espoir, his future was not guaranteed at the next stage. He had to wait until the eighth round before a team selected him.
“The world was saying ‘he’s not the strongest, he’s not the best skater, he’s not the biggest. It’s going to be tough when he gets to major junior.’ He did his learning and he made his way to become one of the best players of the year 2019, to then be drafted by the Canadian.
“Sometimes it takes longer for some players to mature physically and become more explosive or stronger. The relentlessness was already first level. Rarely have I led such a fierce and intelligent player on the ice as Rafaël Harvey-Pinard.
“Make no mistake, he has good skills with the puck. When you add all that with his determination and his desire to accomplish things, he becomes a player who is constantly improving.
In Laval as in Montreal, the defensive skills of Harvey-Pinard do not go unnoticed either. But still, Pouliot is not surprised. He saw the young man molding and perfecting his game constantly.
Photo credit: Martin Chevalier / JdeM
“When I ‘coached’ him, honestly, I’m convinced that if you got the stats out, he was probably the player with the most forced turnovers in the whole league. It was unbelievable how many times he applied back pressure when lifting an opponent’s paddle, and picked up the puck.
“The number of times he’s had one-on-one battles… Rafael isn’t the strongest or the fastest, but he’s probably one of the brightest players I’ve had the opportunity to play. to manage.”
In short, an inspiring lesson in perseverance for a generation of young hockey players.
