Login

***skyrrhawk*** · 12-02-2023, 12:28 AM

Here’s the thing.

Sometimes, information doesn’t process quite as quickly as you’re actually able to react. So when young Quebec City Citadelles star and alternate captain Celeste Desjardins heard their name called out for the next shift, they just swung over the boards, an unthinking reaction built up by years of conditioning.

It was only after their skates hit the ice that their brain caught up enough for them to realize that they’d been sent out on the penalty kill. Shorthanded.

In their own words, it’s quite frankly not somewhere they’re meant to be. And it’s somewhere they’d only been for exactly two erroneous seconds of ice time in their rookie season in the SMJHL.

“Don’t put me on the penalty kill,” they’d begged the NA team leadership. “I really don’t have the skills needed for it, it’s just going to hurt the team!” But no one listened to their protests, and out to the penalty kill they went.

Now back in Quebec City, they sit hunched over on a chair, still trying to process all of the events of the WJC tournament that led them to these full penalty kill shifts. “I mean. I told them I shouldn’t be out there! I didn’t even realize we were on the kill, I just heard my name and hopped the boards. I never get shorthanded ice time here, so when I heard my name I just kind of assumed we weren’t! So that was kind of terrifying to be honest. I didn’t like it at all.”

Now back under the caring, sheltering wings of the Citadelles leadership and safely away from the terrifying prospect of shorthanded ice time, they’re able to sit and deconstruct the tournament, and have gone to their teammates to seek out advice.

But there’s little real advice to be had. There’s an ongoing joke within the team about Desjardins’ single-minded drive toward offense and points production, a goal and playstyle that often leads them to completely neglect the defensive aspect of the game. Teammate Leo Roze, who played in the WJC tournament on Team Ice alongside Citadelles teammates Sonja and Froya Solberg and Fredrik Gronlund (who at the time of the tournament was yet to be drafted) simply told Desjardins to “play better defense”.

“I don’t think I’ve legitimately backchecked since I was like, twelve,” says Desjardins. “The whole point is to put up absolute video game numbers. Like Nolan Ryan, y’know? And everybody’s like, ‘noo, Celly, you need to backcheck, you’re a defensive black hole, it’s a free lane down the boards’. One, it’s not, I have defenders behind me? That’s like their whole job. Cardio is healthy.”

Desjardins’ Team North America linemates, Shadow Fenix and Entropy Sanchez, play for the Colorado Raptors and Newfoundland Berserkers in the SMJHL. Neither player could be reached for comment, but were present on the first penalty kill unit during the WJC tournament. Fenix additionally played on the 3 on 5 and 3 on 4 units.

Unlike their even-strength linemates, Desjardins was assigned to the third penalty kill unit, seeing less than a minute of shorthanded ice time. The defenders behind them: Newton Campbell and young standout Bog Damsel. But even that small bit of time- a whole 0:38, most of it coming in Team NA’s first tournament matchup, against UCORCAL - left a deep impression on the young forward.

“I think I cried,” they confess. “Like, right out there on the ice. I was panicking! Swear to God I saw Beer coming at me and was just like, chu dans marde! Holy shit!”

“Beer” is Citadelles teammate Juan Tymer, a native of Latvia who was a member of Team UCORCAL. In that game, he saw 21:22 of total ice time, 0:53 of which was on the power play; he additionally took the game’s first trip to the bin, a two-minute minor for tripping at 5:39 in the first period.

“To be honest? I think I’ve had nightmares about it. I had to go to the coaches and GMs and be like, please don’t ever put me on the penalty kill. I had enough of that in the WJC tournament. I’ll turn into a totally nonfunctional player if you try putting me out there. I’ll get crushed. It won’t be good for any of us.”

Tymer’s thoughts on the matter? “Told Celly I would steamroll. So I did. Learn defense.”
From the next table over, Roze, his defensive partner, chimes in. “Playing defense good, yes? Celly needs.”

Despite their shorthanded struggles (which, combined with a lower than typical amount of power play time for this Lewiston native, probably contributed to the -3 that they put up over the course of the tournament), Celeste still managed to put up three goals and three assists. This is, obviously, much lower than their typical point production rate, which saw them put up a rookie record 87 points over the 66 games of the SMJHL’s regular season, but it’s still respectable, especially for a player who had to readjust to seeing top six minutes rather than outright top line.

“I’m a little bitter about being on the second power play unit,” they admit. “And I’m definitely bitter about not being in the shootout order at first. And it was definitely nice that they had me up as one of the extra attackers for the 6 on 5- that’s not a role I’ve gotten to play for the Citadelles yet, so for Team NA’s leadership to put that faith in me on an untested basis was appreciated. But that penalty kill time is for sure messing with my head. I hated that.”

About their Citadelles teammates, Desjardins says that “[they’re] very glad that they’re [their] teammates and not the opposition”.

“Thank God Jagrbomb and I got drafted to the same team, too,” they point out. “He terrifies me a little bit as an opponent. The rest of them I think I can figure out how to handle. Like, Sonja? All she’s got on me is a little bit of faceoff skill. Come on. And I’m a little glad I didn’t end up scoring on Net Man in our last game against Team USA. Like, I’m not glad I didn’t score. But I’m glad I didn’t score on him. It would’ve felt like a pretty lousy sendoff.”

Between the trip home to Lewiston after the end of the World Junior Championship tournament and the downtime they have before the season begins in earnest now that they’re back in Quebec City, Desjardins hopes to be able to shake off the lasting effects that they feel the tournament is having on them.

“I have a lot to live up to after last season. I can’t let this whole penalty kill thing shake me too bad. Like, it’s definitely bothering me. I didn’t deal with it well. Super scary. But I have to be able to shake it off and get back to form and back up to speed, and I have my teammates and the whole support system the Citadelles have here to do that.”