Gourde mentoring Pelletier through first Lightning look

Yanni Gourde let a slight grin slip right as the words left his mouth, then snuck a laugh and a peek two lockers down in the direction of Jakob Pelletier in the locker room at TGH IcePlex on Friday shortly after a Tampa Bay Lightning training camp practice.

“Oh gosh, no. Not happening. He’s too close to me right now,” Gourde quipped when asked for his thoughts on Pelletier, one of the new faces at this year’s camp.

Gourde has seen plenty of the 24-year-old since Pelletier signed a three-year contract with Tampa Bay this offseason. The veteran forward reached out to Pelletier as soon as he learned the Lightning were signing the fellow French Canadian.

That initial conversation was short, but the intention was pure. It now has the 24-year-old Pelletier living with the Gourde family as he fights for an NHL roster spot in his first training camp with the Lightning.

Pelletier has stayed with the Gourdes since Sept. 1.

“I told him if he wanted to come before camp and kind of get familiar with the area and facility and just kind of feel better for camp that he was more than welcome to stay at my place and I was gonna have him over, and he said, ‘Absolutely.’ So he came early September and it’s been great,” Gourde said.

The elder Quebec native knows what it’s like to be in a new place surrounded by unfamiliar faces, and he wanted to provide Pelletier with some familiarity.

Pelletier holds 86 career NHL games on his resume since being drafted by the Calgary Flames in the First Round of the 2019 NHL Draft. He totaled seven goals and 19 points in 49 NHL games between the Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers in 2024-25, including eight points in 25 games for Philadelphia after a January trade.

He holds 11 career NHL goals and 29 career NHL points.

“I want to make him feel comfortable around his new team,” Gourde, an NHL veteran of 10 seasons, said of Pelletier. “I know last year he's been through two different teams, so it's a lot coming to a new team again this year. I wanted to make sure that he felt welcome and that he's feeling his best whenever he comes to the rink and puts all the tangibles out of the way and just makes him feel good, and when he shows up to the rink all he has to worry about is playing hockey and performing.”

The duo knew each other after training together in Quebec in each of the previous four offseasons.

“It’s good for me,” Pelletier said of spending training camp with the Gourdes. “His wife and kids are unbelievable. It’s kind of nice for a new guy to meet a few faces around here and get to know Yanni more and more.”

Prior to Friday’s game, Pelletier led all Tampa Bay players with six shots on goal in two preseason games played and scored the game-tying goal with two minutes remaining in regulation during Tuesday’s 3-2 road shootout win over the Nashville Predators.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper on Thursday described Pelletier’s skillset as “exceptional”, also saying he was impressed by the 24-year-old forward’s leadership qualities through two preseason games.

“In the exhibition games he was great for us. Especially when you’ve got all these kids in there and a bunch of teenagers, I thought Peltz, he showed maturity,” Cooper said. “He affected us in a positive way. And now he's just got to get used to our systems and how we play and how we do things, but I’ve been impressed so far.”

The Lightning prospects aren’t the only youngsters he’s helped out, either.

Pelletier has been quick to lend a hand around the Gourde house and has become a big brother figure for Gourde’s children, often enjoying time in the pool. He helps the Gourde kids with their homework and has made multiple meals for the family.

“We even had a dinner date night, my wife and I, and he watched the kids that night. So, he's been awesome. It's really fun to have him around,” Gourde said. “We watch a French Canadian, Quebec reality TV show, the three of us. It's pretty funny. Me, him and my wife are watching it after we put the kids to bed. It's just fun.”

Pelletier has been trying to learn each day here in Tampa, he said, adding that staying with Gourde has allowed for a sense of normalcy in what has been a year full of ups and downs. Now on his third NHL organization in the last year, he aims to stick around with the Lightning.

“It’s A1,” Pelletier said of Tampa Bay so far. “You can see why they’ve had so much success in the last 10 years. It's a team that wants to get better. As soon as I walked in here Sept. 1, I think three quarters of the team, if not the whole team, was here already to practice with each other and to get better, so I think it shows a lot. And for us, like the young guys and guys who want to play there, it kind of sets the bar as well.”

Gourde was here for much of that success, and Pelletier likened his playing style to his new roommate.

“I'm trying to play like Gourdo to be honest,” Pelletier said. “I'm trying to be first on the loose puck, trying to be a pain for the defenders. I think I can bring some offense and I think I'm kind of a glue guy as well. I think I can go on the fourth line or on the first line and can kind of bounce around a little bit. So for me, it's just to kind of showcase that I'm versatile.”

Pelletier’s goal remains to make the opening night roster for the Lightning, but he also acknowledged that he must earn that spot. The preseason is the time to do that.

Pelletier’s contract with Tampa Bay is a two-way deal this season before converting to a one-way deal in the final two years. Still, Pelletier hasn’t ruled out time with the Lightning this season, and that remains his goal.

“Every time you get a chance to play in the NHL, you don't take anything for granted. To play with a team like this, I mean half of the team are superstars here. So I think you can learn a lot, but also you get a chance to go in the playoffs and to win a Cup,” he said.

“So for me, it would mean a lot, but I know I’ve got a few steps to go through. And for me I’m gonna have to force the hands of the coaches and staff so they don't think I'm gonna go down. I want to play here. I think if I play my type of game, I think I can play in the NHL as well.”