Joël Bouchard has loved the game and the personality of Rafaël Harvey-Pinard for several years. His former Laval Rocket coach doesn’t hesitate to compare him to the Calgary Flames’ Andrew Mangiapane.
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A nice compliment knowing that the latter has already scored 35 goals in the 2021/2022 season.
“They have similar characteristics,” explains Joël Bouchard. They are intense and they are always in the opponent’s face.
“You always feel comfortable in awkward situations. What happens to Rafael comes as no surprise to me. »
Bouchard coached Harvey-Pinard on his American League debut. At that time, the coach put him on the first unit with Jesse Ylönen and Jordan Weal.
“The Canadian thought I liked him a lot. And it was. I let him play on the first power play.
“Alexandre Burrows was behind the bench with me. Rafaël is a Swiss army knife. He can play anywhere and in any situation. »
Fast decision making
According to Bouchard, it’s hard not to like the player and the man.
“He’s small, smiling and contagious. If you don’t like Harvey-Pinard, it’s because you don’t like Christmas, apple pie, Halloween and the sun. you love nothing in life »
Going back to hockey, he believes the Canadiens forward has a quality above the norm.
“He can play fast. He is able to make decisions in the moment, which are often the right ones. It’s not perfect, but its ratio is very high.
“It allows him to play the right game at the right time. »