On September 30, after a week of training camp, the Canadians announced their first wave of cuts. Of the 23 players eliminated, some have come rain or shine this season with the Trois-Rivières Lions in the ECHL. None have been seen in the NHL.
One of the 23 will eventually go there: Joël Teasdale, who was recalled on Tuesday.
For Stéphane Dubé, a fitness trainer who has known Teasdale for ten years, it was further proof of his client’s determination.
“You have to put yourself in context. On day 1 of camp he was kicked out. The guys know that, they see the bands at the beginning and he wasn’t in the main band. It is certain that you will not play an exhibition game,” Dubé recalled over the phone.
Teasdale didn’t play a single preseason game before being cut. And he wasn’t done drooling, because it was from the bridge that he attended the first four games of the Laval Rocket.
“He showed so much character,” continues Dubé. You arrive at the camp, you don’t sniff, you tell yourself that the organization doesn’t trust you. You arrive at the minors, you don’t play.
“We met and I said to him, ‘This can turn around quickly.’ And sure enough, when they brought him in, he took his chance and worked super hard. The way it started, it was even more of a challenge than his two knee injuries. You arrive and you are not part of the plans, young people pass you by. »
The main prospect confirms it: The autumn was not rosy. “It was really hard, it had never happened to me that I was left out when I was healthy. So I had to work on myself. But that’s my character. I always come out stronger and took my chance when I had it. »
Twice the same knee
This character has been tested twice rather than once. Teasdale suffered a first ACL tear in his right knee in August 2019. His 2019/20 season was in the water, the next one didn’t start until February 2021 due to the pandemic.
The same pandemic had also prompted him to set up a makeshift training center in his backyard, a situation that The press had documented.
So he had been without a game for two years and it had only taken him two months to come back. April 23, 2021, new crack. New operation.
That’s why everyone is excited for the 24-year-old to get his first chance in the NHL. Starting with Daniel Jacob, who led Teasdale as Joël Bouchard’s assistant with both the Armada and the Rocket.
“It’s mostly his story,” says Jacob. He has returned [dans le junior] at 16 and he had a weight problem. He went a month without playing until he got in shape. He didn’t have it easy with his knees. Several would have put the key in the door. Then he trained in his yard. He kicked several doors before opening one. »
“We’re not going to hide his injuries, it hasn’t been easy for him,” added Alexandre Alain, Teasdale’s former team-mate at Boisbriand and Laval. “He’s a gamer who wants to perform. I’m not surprised but really happy because he worked so hard. »
A day to hunt
Teasdale is also working on his player identity. “It’s not the biggest, it’s not the biggest, but you get to the edge of the band and you know you can’t win that easily,” Alain concludes.
The problem is that to many, his identity seemed already defined. Even before his injuries, Teasdale had to work on his skating, and that kind of label is hard to tear off at times.
“He’s not a natural, super-perfect skater,” describes Jacob. But that’s not because he’s not trying to improve. We see it. And he’s doing something else to compensate for that, so he’s still grist to the mill. It is a very good addition to other players due to its work in a confined space. He’s not spectacular, but all coaches like him because he can play in all situations, understands quickly and converts well. »
“He’s not an aunt. He heard everyone saying: “Second surgery, he’s not super fast, will he come back to 100%?” But mentally he’s strong, he was able to block that,” adds Stéphane Dubé.
Teasdale doesn’t try to embellish its story; he worried about his future. “It’s safe to say that my second injury in less than three years might have given me a little thought. But my character is one of my strengths. I emerge stronger from these trials.
“I lost two years of development. But I took those two years off and in my head it’s like I’m 21. I’m here to fight, I want to play for the Canadiens and I’m going to try and get an audience. »
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