Calgary Flames’ forward Jakob Pelletier leaves game with injury, will not return

Calgary Flames’ forward Jakob Pelletier has left tonight’s game against the New York Rangers after receiving a hard hit from Rangers’ defenseman Jacob Trouba. The play occurred during the first period of the game as Pelletier was making his way up the ice and out of the defensive zone. Trouba caught him with a big hit and the young forward had to leave the game right away.

The hit appeared to be mostly clean but there was some head contact and Pelletier ended up hitting the boards awkwardly. Trouba has a history of questionable hits and players getting injured due to his actions. He did not receive a penalty on the play and it remains to be seen whether he’ll receive any supplementary discipline from the league because of this.

Pelletier has dealt with injury issues in the past and has only been able to play a combined seven games this year. He played four games for the Calgary Wranglers in the AHL and three for the Flames in the NHL. He was originally selected in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft by the Flames and has proved to be a solid young player at the professional level.

Last season, he played 24 games for the Flames as a rookie and scored seven points. He was also a better than point-per-game player for the Wranglers with 37 points in 35 games. In his AHL career, Pelletier has scored 45 goals and 102 points in 105 games which are remarkable numbers for any player, especially one as young as he is.

Pelletier will be a restricted free agent at the conclusion of this season and is playing for his next contract right now. It would be terrible for the young player if he sustained yet another injury that will cause him to miss significant playing time.