“Well, let’s see, Rafael! It's the Canadian's helmet and you have it! It is yours! » As Guylaine Gauthier sat in the front row to see the dedication that Rafaël Harvey-Pinard brought to hockey, she couldn't believe it when she saw the equipment that the legendary hockey club gave to its protégés during a trip to Saguenay Sent times had been 3 years.
“I remember that, son [Jean-Félix] said to me: “Well let's see, mom, it's just a Canadian helmet and pants, it's not the sweater,” she says again with a smile in her voice. But it was like the ones you see on TV!”
Harvey-Pinard spent three years at boarding school with Ms Gauthier, at the time he played for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
Guylaine Gauthier's son Jean-Félix poses with Rafaël Harvey-Pinard, Félix Bibeau and the Memorial Cup won by the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in 2019. Photo provided by Guyaline Gauthier
She saw him carry the President's Cup (now called the Gilles Courteau Trophy) at a distance in 2019, then the Memorial Cup at the end of that spring.
She looked for him as he stepped off the plane during the team's triumphant return.
“I told him: ‘Rafaël, give me your keys, your wallet and go celebrate with the fans!’ There was a huge crowd, but we just wanted to see him quickly,” she remembers.
Then she heard him give the captain's speech during the Celebration of Champions parade.
Rafael Harvey-Pinard in the Huskies uniform. Archive photo, John Morris
Humble and positive
She can therefore attest to much of the effort and detours that led Hervey-Pinard to receive a two-year contract with the Canadian last summer, as we said at the beginning.
Hence her emotional reaction when she saw this famous blue helmet shortly after Montreal selected him in the seventh round in 2019.
The “little” player refused to take that $2.2 million contract for granted, even though he had finished the season outstandingly, she recalled when she asked him what happened to the negotiations.
“I had texted him […] and I talked to him about visiting him [à un match à Montréal cette saison]. He said to me: 'Wait a bit, whether I'm with the Canadians or whether I'm going back to the rocket.'”
“He was always humble […] and he likes the concrete. That's right, that's what defines his personality. And he’s such a positive person.”
Dedicated to study
After arriving in the Gauthier family, “RHP” quickly integrated. On some evenings, for example at “dessert,” she says, he went down to the basement with Jean-Félix, who was 10 years old at the time, to play mini hockey.
And he showed the same fighting spirit as he did on the ice, adds Ms. Gauthier with a laugh (see below).
But Harvey-Pinard wasn't just a hockey player, even though he played hockey most of his life.
Guylaine Gauthier also remembers a young man who devoted himself to his studies, revising his courses in an office in the living room while taking breaks to chat with her and her son.
The relationship was so strong that in the summer the little family visited their big spaghetti eater (it was undoubtedly his favorite pre-game meal) in Saguenay.
“It was really pleasant with Rafael. It was easy. […] He's like when he's on TV. “He’s a funny guy,” she praises him.
He wanted to win, even in the basement
Rafael Harvey-Pinard probably wouldn't have made it to the professional hockey ranks if he wasn't a competitive athlete. And Guylaine Gauthier can attest to this competitive spirit that drives her.
“RHP” and his little son Jean-Félix had made it a habit to play mini hockey together after dinner.
“Jean-Félix told me: 'Mom, I always lose to Rafael!'” she says. I told him that it was normal for him to be bigger and faster than him, even though they were both on their knees.
Ms. Gauthier later discussed her son's disappointment with Harvey-Pinard. “He replied, 'But I can't let him win!' If I play, I have to win!”