CALGARY — His back against the wall, literally and figuratively, Jakob Pelletier stood outside the Calgary Flames locker room, speaking openly about how precarious his situation is.
Training camp auditions are over for the 23-year-old winger, and he hasn’t done enough to earn a spot on the opening-night roster.
The question now is whether the club will keep him as its 13th forward or put him on waivers with an eye toward sending him down.
It’s not the sort of place the effervescent first-rounder envisioned being, but a reality he addressed with class Friday.
“It’s my first time being in (this) position, so of course you don’t want to go on waivers,” said the team’s pick, 26th overall, in 2019.
“I want to stay here. I love the team, I love the players, I love the staff. I want to be a part of it. I want to be a part of what’s coming here. I want to play in the new arena. It’s on me to force their hand and play me each night and stay here.”
Minutes after his comments, Friday’s NHL’s waiver wire did not include his name.
But the reality exists the Flames need to make hard decisions between now and Monday’s roster deadline, when 23 players can remain with the club.
In camp, it’s clear he’s been surpassed by six-foot-eight, 235-pound Adam Klapka as a fourth-line candidate.
Sam Honzek’s breakthrough pre-season has essentially made him a lock to start with the big club, which can also serve as an example of what can happen when you have patience with a first-rounder, even if he’s shown little the previous year.
Flames GM Craig Conroy is loath to risk losing a first-rounder, especially in a rebuild of sorts. But given the organization’s simultaneous goal of making the playoffs, icing the best roster possible won’t be compromised.
You can bet Conroy has touched base with GMs around the league to see if there’s a fit for a trade, or to suss out whether anyone would consider plucking him for free.
There’s still a sense the Flames aren’t sure what they have in Pelletier, as his five-foot-nine, 170-pound frame has had a hard time staying healthy, limiting his ability to showcase himself to just 13 NHL games last season and 24 a season earlier.
It’s apparent he’s being passed by younger players in the organization, but he’s steadfast in believing he belongs.
“I think I can play in the NHL, but I think it’s on me to kind of force their hand to play me,” said Pelletier, who has four goals and 10 points in 37 NHL spins.
“If I’m being honest, I think last year I would have been the first one to say, ‘You know what, I’m not playing the type of game I used to play. I’m not playing the type of game that Jakob Pelletier should play to play in the NHL.’ But when I look at this camp, I watch each game, I thought the first game I was minus-1 in a 6-1 win but I think I played good too.
“I think the last game, I played probably one of my best games in a year.”
They love him in the room, as he’s one of the most likeable and energetic lads the Flames have employed in decades.
But that’s not nearly good enough, which is why the club would prefer to send him to the AHL for more seasoning.
The chances are he’d clear waivers, but the Flames wish there wasn’t a risk attached.
Team brass will gather over the weekend to debate his fate, and will do so without giving him one final chance to play in Friday’s last pre-season game.
Seems their mind is made up on his play, but what to do now?
Complicating the debate is the fact the Flames are also unsure how long they can keep Devin Cooley on the roster as a third goalie before ultimately trying to send him to the AHL via waivers. He could eat up a roster spot for a while.
With all the setbacks he’s faced through shoulder injuries and demotions, is Pelletier surprised to be in the predicament he’s in?
“I don’t think so,” he said.
“There’s a lot of good players in camp. You see a guy like Honzo — nobody put him there, but he’s right in the mix.
“We had a good camp so far. We’re 5-1-1. Pretty good. The players are making it hard to make some cuts.”
None more agonizing than the decision they face with Pelletier.
