Hard work pays off for Rafaël Harvey-Pinard

This article was written by Dylan Nazareth, who is part of the Professional Hockey Writers Association x To Hockey With Love Mentorship Program. This program pairs aspiring writers with established members of the association across North America to create opportunities for marginalized people that do not traditionally get published on larger platforms covering hockey. 

To Hockey With Love is a weekly newsletter covering a range of topics in hockey – from the scandals of the week to providing a critical analysis of the sport. 

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When Rafaël Harvey-Pinard started working his way into the Quebec hockey world, few scouts or industry professionals thought he would go the distance. Critics dismissed him early, saying he was too small, not strong enough, not a good skater. But former coach Mitch Giguère saw something different.

“After the first practice of the training camp with 40-plus players on the ice, I told myself, I told my wife, I told my friend and all of the coaching staff there, Harvey-Pinard is gonna play pro someday,” Giguère says.

Originally from Saguenay, Quebec, Harvey-Pinard was drafted seventh round by the Canadiens in 2019. He made his NHL debut last season, scoring in his first of a four-game call-up from the minors. Now after another call-up in January, Harvey-Pinard has stunned the hockey world with his impressive play, netting seven goals in his first 11 games and quickly working his way onto the top line alongside captain Nick Suzuki. For the people he met along the way though, this is no shock at all.

Giguère coached Harvey-Pinard at age 15, at Saguenay Midget Espoir in the QMEAA, and remembers this time well. “He was a shy guy, but always smiling, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he recalls. “His work ethic on and off the ice was beyond and above everything. And still to this day, he has the best work ethic on the ice that I have ever seen, ever coached,” 

In 2015, Giguère was also working as a scout, and says he advised teams that Harvey-Pinard was easily a second round pick for the upcoming QMJHL entry draft. Despite this, Harvey-Pinard wasn’t taken until the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies selected him in the eighth round. True to his character, he didn’t let this deter him and continued to push himself in the QMJHL, where he made quite an impression.

Former teammate Taylor Ford recalls playing against Harvey-Pinard prior to joining him on the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, saying he had something of a reputation in the league early on. “I’m a shutdown defenseman, and he was kind of a point guy. So we were on the ice our fair share together,” says Ford. “I’ll tell you, he always gave me a hard time, and I kind of joked about that with him when I got to meet him.”

One thing Ford recalls more than anything is how funny Harvey-Pinard was. “His English wasn’t very good and my French wasn’t very good, so our communication would be a little broken… but the guy just seemed happy all the time. He was goofy and he would goof around, he just kind of brought a positive, happy energy that you love being around.”

Harvey-Pinard became captain of the Huskies after two years, which came as no surprise to Ford, who had overseen him as assistant captain. “I saw there was leadership and I saw that immediately,” recounts Ford. “He’s got to be the hardest worker I’ve ever played with. And it’s kind of cliche to say, you know, guy’s a hard worker, he deserves to be a leader. But when I say that he’s the hardest worker I’ve ever played with, that’s the truth.”

Mathieu Gagnon, another former Huskies teammate, was new to the team when Harvey-Pinard was captain. He tells a similar story of Harvey-Pinard’s leadership. “I have never seen someone work that hard every single day in practice, one-on-one battles, off the ice when we’re doing workouts,” Gagnon says. “It was truly impressive, and it was just a good role model for me as a young player to follow right away.”

Gagnon eventually became captain of the Huskies himself, and remembers how Harvey-Pinard’s leadership style inspired him through his strong work ethic and “the way he had fun coming to the rink every day,” he says. “[That’s] something that I picked up.”

Gagnon even remembers the energy he brought to a basic drill like shuttle runs, a high-intensity sprinting drill often unpopular with athletes at all levels. “He was the fastest guy I have ever seen. It was a simple drill, just running back and forth. But I don’t know, he did it so fast, man. That stayed in my mind. To this day, I don’t think I’ve seen someone run those as fast as him.”

William Cyr played for three years with Harvey-Pinard on the Huskies and remembers this time well, all the way back to their first time meeting. “I remember at 16 our first game, we were both two really small guys… we looked like we were 14 years old with a bunch of old guys,” he jokes. “But our first camp we both did really well, he was a small forward but he is just always at 100 percent, and he always surprised you the first time you saw him because he’ll never quit.”

As captain, Harvey-Pinard oversaw a record-breaking 2018-19 season for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, which included a 25-game win streak, a President’s Trophy, and a Memorial Cup win. And Cyr saw how his leadership pushed the team in the right direction. “He is just always smiling, always happy, and everybody in the room will do everything for that guy,” says Cyr. “Without him, I don’t think the chemistry would be the same—when you see your captain working hard like that, everyone just keeps buzzing.”

Now, Harvey-Pinard is impressing at the highest level. Last weekend, he recorded his first NHL hat trick, making his mark in the league on national television. “The success he’s having in the NHL right now, there’s no surprise,” says Ford. “He never quit on a puck, he’ll never quit on a backcheck, forecheck. That’s how you get success.”

Unsurprised to see his decade old prediction come true, Giguère says Harvey-Pinard’s success at the pro level comes “because he loves playing hockey, he loves having fun, and he is working harder than anybody else. That is his trademark.” He says that to this day they still stay in touch.

Despite being dismissed early on, Harvey-Pinard has worked hard his whole career to earn every opportunity he’s gotten. As the Canadiens top players recover from injury and return to the lineup, roster decisions will need to be reevaluated, sending some of this year’s call-ups back down to the minors. For Harvey-Pinard, if he continues to display the hard work that surprised people from the start, he is sure to earn his place on the team for a long time.

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