Michael Pezzetta is noted for more than his hair with Canadiens

“It was quite an amazing feeling,” says the 23-year-old forward of scoring two goals in his preseason NHL debut against the Maple Leafs.

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Michael Pezzetta waited a long time before he could play in his first NHL preseason game.

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The Canadiens selected the 6-foot-1, 212-pound left back in the sixth round (160 total) of the 2016 NHL Draft and finally made his preseason debut Monday night.

The Toronto native certainly made the most of it, scoring two goals as the Canadiens beat the Maple Leafs 5-2 at the Bell Center.

“I’m quite happy with how it went and I don’t think it could have gone much better,” 23-year-old Pezzetta said after Wednesday’s practice at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard. “It was quite an amazing feeling. Every time you play at the Bell Center and put on the Montreal Canadiens sweater, you feel amazing. Spending the night had felt good and I was pretty proud of myself and then seeing the reactions of the guys and everyone was supportive and happy for me, it was nice to see. I know you look up to those guys and have been watching them play during my time here and also as a younger player. So having the support of those guys is good.

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“My phone blew up a bit,” Pezzetta added. “It is quite amazing. The game was on TSN and against the Leafs, so many of my family and friends were watching at home. It was a pretty crazy last few days and I got a lot of messages and support from everyone, and I appreciate it. I try to put that in the back of my head and focus on the next few days of camping and hopefully get into another game. “

Pezzetta has spent the past three seasons with AHL’s Laval Rocket, posting totals of 10-9-19 and 170 penalty minutes in 107 games. He is an energetic type player who is not afraid to take off his gloves and fight. He also has a good shot and the ability to throw pucks in front of the net, which is how he scored his first goal Monday night against the Leafs. His second goal was a blank on a shot he fired from behind the center of the ice that hit the top of the net.

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“I installed a shooting platform in my backyard probably like five years ago and I just shot, I try to do 200 or 300 records a day in the summer in addition to whatever training I am doing and I think that is something that has improved a lot.” He said. “I like standing in front of the net and dumping records and I know in my first year (with Laval) this is how I found most of my goals. But just like in evolution, I know I can add layers. and get more shots from the outside. I have the power and precision to put those disks on the net from different ranges and add that element to my game. So it’s something I’ve been working on. “

One of the favorite lines of Canadiens head coach Dominique Ducharme is that there is no player who comes too late to the NHL, but there are players who come too early. Pezzetta is 23 years old and hopes to eventually make it to the NHL.

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“It is a process and I know that I have to develop my game and keep improving and it is something that I have worked on from the beginning and I know that it is a longer process with someone who plays the type of game that I do.” he said. “I just work hard every summer and pick up little things and if it’s getting a little better each day so that when I get a chance, I’m ready for it. So for me, it’s just making sure I’m ready when I get the chance and then showing that all that hard work that I’ve put in is going to pay off. “

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It’s hard not to see Pezzetta on the ice with her long curly hair sticking out from under her helmet. But with the arrival of new defender Sami Niku, signed as a free agent last Friday, Pezzetta has some competition for the best hair in training camp.

‘”I saw it get picked up on Twitter and I cut my hair about 4 inches right before camp and said,’ God, I shouldn’t have cut it. I should have left it longer, ‘”Pezzetta said with a smile. “I think it’s pretty close. Different styles. Her hair is a little straighter, I have curls. So it’s good. “

Pezzetta hopes his performance Monday night will be enough to get him a second NHL preseason game before training camp ends.

“I want to build on that and I hope I get a chance to play another game and build on that,” he said. “Maybe I turned some heads and maybe some people who maybe didn’t believe in me and thought I could play that way, I showed them that I can.”

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Reference-montrealgazette.com

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