'Come Back Stronger'

Jakob Pelletier knows the feeling all too well.

When a shoulder injury sidelined him for the better part of last season, there were times when he felt alone.

Sequestered.

Like the world was moving on without him.

Now, with his pal, Connor Zary, out indefinitely with a knee injury, Pelletier is making sure he has all the support he needs.

“The best news is that he doesn't need surgery,” Pelletier said following Saturday’s morning skate. “So, honestly, that’s great.

“But the most important thing is that he knows he doesn't need to rush back. I know it can be tough – you can kind of feel lonely at points. Last year, during my rehab, I was with Roons (Kevin Rooney) and that helped, but then I got injured again and you have those feelings again. So, that's the positive for Zar – we have Mo (Anthony Mantha) and Kirky (Justin Kirkland) working hard with their rehab, so that helps keep the mood positive while they push each other to get better.

“We have a great support team here, too. The medical staff is incredible and they take great care of us.

“But my message is to him is to come back stronger. Just come back stronger, man. I think that's the most important thing from me to him.

“And we want Zar at 100%, not 80%.”

Pelletier and Zary have formed a tight kinship since they broke into the pro ranks together back in the 2021-22 season as members of the Stockton Heat. Ever since, they’ve been inseparable – be with it with the Wranglers or Flames, and especially on the road.

So, when Zary was cut down in the middle of the ice with a gruesome, knee-on-knee Tuesday in Anaheim, it should come as no surprise that Pelletier was there to respond.

“That’s out of the comfort zone for a player like (Pelletier), but it’s important,” Head Coach Ryan Huska glowed in his postgame address. “I really do feel that way.”

For Pelletier, shedding the mitts and throwing a few punches on the offender, Drew Helleson, was instinctual.

“Honestly, I didn't even see the hit,” he admits. “I just saw him on the ground.

“\\\\ it, you know?

“He's one of the best players on our team and where I'm from, you can't touch one of our best players. I would’ve done the same thing for anyone on our team.”

Since being recalled from the Wranglers in early December, Pelletier has added plenty of energy to the Flames forward ranks, contributing five points (1G, 4A) while being a positive possession player and earning an expected-goals-for rate of 57.47% – good for sixth among forwards.

In Zary’s absence, he’ll find himself on a new line tonight (to be determined at warmup), but the task remains the same with the Pacific rival LA Kings in town: Win.

And continue to bring the power of positivity that’s added so much to this group.

“It's a playoff game,” he said, clasping his hands as if to say it’s ‘go time.’ “It's absolutely a playoff game, you know?

“We're fighting for a spot and each game is going to be a huge one. It doesn't matter if it's against the first-place team or the last-place team. For us, it's a playoff game and we have to have that mindset. If we play the same way we played against the Ducks – I think we could've had three or four more goals – I think it's going to come and when it comes, it's going to come in big waves.

“We've just got to do the same things over and over again, wear teams down and be the hardest-working team on the ice.

“And if we are, everything's going to be alright for us.”