LAVAL – Watching Xavier Simoneau play with the Laval Rocket, it makes sense to wonder if the forward is aware that he’s 5’6” tall.
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The 21-year-old Quebecer is constantly in front of the opposing net, shouldering, taking stick shots and not missing an opportunity to taunt the opponent.
On Wednesday, his tenacity was rewarded by the Montreal Canadiens, as he signed a two-year entry contract into the National Hockey League (NHL). The skater drafted in the sixth round of the 2021 auction joined the Rocket in 2022-2023 with an American League agreement in his pocket.
“As a hockey player, you always work hard to achieve your dreams. I have just taken a new step and I am really proud of myself,” said Simoneau.
The Saint-André-Avellin native is confident that his small stature won’t stop him from continuing his ascent, even if he has to do more than a ‘beef of the West’ type player.
“There are more and more small players who are making their mark. However, I believe that you have to do more when you are little, he analyzed. I’m not a first-round pick and I’m not the biggest. I play with a lot of aggressiveness and I want to prove to the world that I have my place in professional hockey.
Freed from his cage
Met in the Rocket locker room, Simoneau was overexcited. It wasn’t his contract signing, however, that made him so feverish, but rather the fact that he was about to play a first game without a full face protector. This gives a good idea of his personality and the style of player he is.
“I think it’s as satisfying as signing a contract,” he said with a smile.
“With my style of play, I didn’t like playing with a grid. It doesn’t work with my identity”, then explained the one having been forced to play with this piece of equipment for a good while after receiving a stick in one eye.
As a player who likes to destabilize the opponent, Simoneau felt he was less serious with what is commonly referred to as “the birdcage”. His rivals did not fail to point out to him.
In training
The style that Simoneau advocates comes with its share of challenges and he had to adjust.
“I think I’m one of the most hated players in the league. I’m not a bastard, but I like it, disturbing and getting under the skin of my opponents.
“At the beginning of the year, I often got into trouble and I got stupid penalties. I found the balance and it is my opponents who go to the penalty box now. […] I find it funny and it’s an important facet of my style.
Rocket head coach Jean-François Houle discussed this aspect with Simoneau quite early in the season.
“We talked about it. There is a balance to be found so as not to overflow the vase and end up in the penalty box. It’s part of the learning you have to do when you make the leap from junior to professional hockey and Xavier did it well.
“It must be tiring to play against him,” added Houle. Players like that, you need them. Guys who allow you to obtain numerical advantages, it is sure that they help your cause.
Like Rafael Harvey-Pinard
LAVAL – Even if they don’t exactly advocate the same style on the ice, it’s hard not to draw a parallel between the story of Xavier Simoneau and that of forward Rafaël Harvey-Pinard.
Both young men are products of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and are late draft picks. In addition, they made their debut in the organization of the Canadiens with a one-way contract in the American League.
Simoneau signed his first NHL contract a few months after his professional debut, as Harvey-Pinard had done two years earlier.
Recalled by the CH in mid-January, “RHP” is doing very well and seems to be making its niche in the Bettman circuit. He has seven goals and four assists for 11 points in 16 games so far.
“He’s one of my good friends on the team and it’s so nice to see him excel in the NHL. It’s encouraging to see him go, because we have similar paths,” said Simoneau.
Jean-François Houle also made the comparison between the two skaters.
“It’s like Harvey-Pinard,” said the Rocket head coach. He arrived here without an NHL contract and he evolved in the organization. I think it will be the same with Simoneau.”
Something to make supporters of Sainte-Flanelle dream.
