Rafaël Harvey-Pinard
Born (1999-01-06) January 6, 1999
Jonquière, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb)
Position Left wing
Shoots Left
NHL team Montreal Canadiens
NHL Draft 201st overall, 2019
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 2021–present

Rafaël Harvey-Pinard (born January 6, 1999) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). Harvey-Pinard was selected in the seventh round, 201st overall, by the Canadiens in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He made his NHL debut with Montreal in 2021.

Playing career

Harvey-Pinard entered the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) via the 2015 entry draft, in which he was taken in the eighth round by the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.[1] Despite his late selection, he had impressed the scouting staff of Rouyn-Noranda, who described him as "something like a first-round or second-round pick" in value.[2] He was not taken in either the 2017 or 2018 NHL Entry Drafts, though after the latter he was invited by the Vegas Golden Knights to attend their 2018 fall training camp, where he drew encouragement from Vegas star Jonathan Marchessault, an undrafted player of similarly short stature.[3] In his third and fourth seasons in the QMJHL, Harvey-Pinard was the captain of the Huskies. In the 2018–19 season, he led them in a historic year that included a 25-game winning streak and saw them win both the President's Cup as league champions and the Memorial Cup as champions of the Canadian Hockey League.[1][4] Harvey-Pinard registered 40 goals and 45 assists during the regular season, and 20 points in 27 playoff games, almost half of those coming in the final round against the Halifax Mooseheads, including a hat trick and two two-goal games.[3] Despite his successes that year, he was not optimistic about being picked in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, and did not travel to Vancouver to attend in-person. He was ultimately selected by the Montreal Canadiens in the seventh round, 201st overall.[4][5]

After being deemed to have excelled at his first Canadiens rookie camp, he was sent back to the QMJHL.[6] Rouyn-Noranda traded Harvey-Pinard to the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in advance of the 2019–20 season, and he was immediately named team captain.[3] The Saguenéens proved to be one of the best teams in the league, with Harvey-Pinard recording 34 goals and 44 assists in 62 games.[7] However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the remainder of the season being cancelled, and both the President's Cup playoffs and the Memorial Cup were not held as a result.[8] At the time of the cancellation, the Saguenéens were third in the league standings.[9]

Following the completion of junior career, Harvey-Pinard was signed to a one-year contract with the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League (AHL), the primary affiliate of the Canadiens, on May 29, 2020.[10] In the pandemic-delayed 2020–21 season, Harvey-Pinard embarked on his professional career and registered 9 goals and 20 points in 36 regular season games. Towards the final stages of his rookie season, Harvey-Pinard was signed by the Canadiens to a two-year, entry-level contract, on May 13, 2021.[11] He became known among many fans as "Lavallagher", a portmanteau of the city name and the surname of Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher, to whom he was frequently compared in terms of stature, work ethic, and style of play.[5]

Harvey-Pinard was recalled by the Canadiens following an outbreak of COVID-19 among the team's regulars in December 2021. He made his NHL debut on December 28, 2021 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He scored the first goal of his NHL career in the game while skating on a line with Ryan Poehling and Cole Caufield.[12] He played in two more games before being sent back to Laval. On April 20, 2022 he was recalled again from Laval.[13] He scored his first career hat trick on March 25, 2023, in an 8–2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.[14] During this stretch of the 2022–23 season, with many of the team's players sidelined by injury, he earned the opportunity to play on the Canadiens' first line with team captain Nick Suzuki.[15][5]

On July 3, 2023, Harvey-Pinard signed a two-year contract extension with the Canadiens with a value of $2.2 million.[16][17]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
2014–15 Jonquière Élites QMAAA 40000 20000
2015–16 Jonquière Élites QMAAA 451834524 74262
2015–16 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies QMJHL 30000 —————
2016–17 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies QMJHL 501013236 71012
2017–18 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies QMJHL 6726507638 75382
2018–19 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies QMJHL 6640458524 2013142710
2019–20 Chicoutimi Saguenéens QMJHL 6234447816 —————
2020–21 Laval Rocket AHL 36911202 —————
2021–22 Laval Rocket AHL 6921355620 1555106
2021–22 Montreal Canadiens NHL 41010 —————
2022–23 Laval Rocket AHL 4016153120 20000
2022–23 Montreal Canadiens NHL 341462010 —————
NHL totals 381562110 —————

Awards and honours

Award Year
CHL
Memorial Cup champion 2019 [4]
QMJHL
President's Cup champion 2019 [4]
Marcel Robert Trophy 2019–20 [18]

References

  1. 1 2 Nazareth, Dylan (March 29, 2023). "Hard work pays off for Rafaël Harvey-Pinard". Daily Faceoff. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  2. ↑ Boulay, Mathieu; Richard, Mylène (March 27, 2023). ""Il est comme le lapin Energizer": le succès de Rafaël Harvey-Pinard ne surprend personne" ["He's like the Energizer rabbit": Rafaël Harvey-Pinard's success surprises no one]. Le Journal de Montréal (in French). Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 McKenna, Ryan (June 16, 2019). "Harvey-Pinard enters NHL Draft again with Marchessault comparisons". Sportsnet. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Mercier, Pierre-Antoine (July 5, 2019). "It's been one crazy year for Harvey-Pinard". Montreal Canadiens. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Cowan, Stu (February 1, 2023). "Canadiens' Harvey-Pinard living his dream and it shows". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  6. ↑ Engels, Eric (December 28, 2021). "Dream debut for Canadiens' Harvey-Pinard marred by poor officiating". Sportsnet. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  7. ↑ "5 Questions with Rafael Harvey-Pinard". Canadian Hockey League. February 23, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  8. ↑ "CHL playoffs, Memorial Cup cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic". CBC Sports. March 23, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  9. ↑ "COVID-19: The QMJHL cancels the rest of the regular season". CTV News. March 17, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Rocket agree to terms on one-year contract with Harvey-Pinard". Laval Rocket. May 29, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Two-year, entry-level contract for Harvey-Pinard". Montreal Canadiens. May 13, 2021. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Canadiens' Rafael Harvey-Pinard: Scores in first NHL game". CBS Sports. December 29, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Canadiens bring in backup, recall Rocket forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard". CTV News. The Canadian Press. April 20, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  14. ↑ Lejion, Eric (March 26, 2023). "About Last Night: Harvey-Pinard notches hat-trick in blowout win". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  15. ↑ Thibault, Marc-Olivier (February 21, 2023). "L'ancien Huskies Rafael Harvey-Pinard écrit son histoire avec le Canadien" [Former Husky Rafael Harvey-Pinard writes his history with the Canadiens]. Radio-Canada (in French). Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Two-year contract extension for Rafael Harvey-Pinard". Montreal Canadiens. July 3, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Harvey-Pinard: Contract with Canadiens a dream come true". Montreal Canadiens. July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Rafaël Harvey-Pinard remporte le trophée Marcel-Robert" (in French). Canadian Hockey League. May 13, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
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