If Rafaël Harvey-Pinard managed to make it to the National League and take his spot with the Canadiens, it’s because the forward has always viewed hockey as “one game,” says the coach who guided him to Midget AAA level has.
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In fact, Steve Thériault knew “RHP” even before the little player joined the Élites de Jonquière. They were both part of the same hockey structure and the coach remembers young Rafael well when he was just a pee.
“A sport is a game, it’s for fun at grassroots level,” Thériault emphasized in an interview with the Journal. And every time Rafaël arrived in the arena, he greeted the speakers with a smile.
“He thought no further than playing hockey,” he continues. I think that’s why he’s progressed beyond talent, improved. If it worked, it was because he just came to play every day.
crazy about competition
Thériault, who still keeps in touch with the Canadian from time to time, also recalls that the 16-year-old athlete was very fond of competition, even outside of the Games.
“In training, even if it was in the middle of the week, in the middle of the season, he always wanted to be the one who scored the most goals,” says the coach. No matter what aspect we were working on, he found a way to take it to another level by taking on a challenge with a teammate.
Harvey-Pinard had also shone during the Elite’s 2015-2016 season, a campaign notably crowned with the title of regular calendar champion. “RHP” had amassed 52 points, including 18 goals, making him the team’s second-best scorer.
Small but tough
However, that didn’t stop him from falling behind because of his “physical” nature, as he did during the NHL draft session, at the QMJHL auction where he was drafted into the eighth round, Thériault points out.
“It’s flat, but even we, in midget AAA, cut it when we were 15. Not because we don’t like him. But he wasn’t as mature physically as he is now.”
At his junior debut, the Canadian’s new darling was 5’7″ and weighed just 140lbs. Since then, Harvey-Pinard has grown two inches and tips the scales at 181lbs.
Despite everything, Harvey-Pinard always “always smiled,” affirms his former coach. “I’m not surprised to see him in the NHL. When you think about all that he’s accomplished… […] He’ll kick down any door that’s in front of him just by focusing on the right things.”