Calgary Flames forward Jakob Pelletier had a pretty challenging 2024.

He began 2024 on the National Hockey League’s season-opening injury reserve list, an after effect of a hit into the boards by Seattle Kraken prospect Marian Studenic on Sept. 25, 2023 that wrecked his shoulder and resulted in surgery. When the calendar flipped over to 2024, he was working his way back to action.

Pelletier was activated from the season-opening IR on Jan. 8. He made his debut for the Wranglers on Jan. 26. He played four games for the Wranglers, posting two points, and he was called up to the NHL when the All-Star Break ended in early February. He played three games with the Flames and looked pretty close to his old self.

Early in his fourth game back, a road game in Madison Square Garden, Pelletier’s year got derailed off a hit from Jacob Trouba. Simply put, Trouba clobbered Pelletier, sending him flying to the ice… and out of the Flames’ lineup for a little while. While initial fears were that perhaps Pelletier had re-injured his shoulder, it didn’t turn out that badly.

But when Pelletier returned to action 12 days later, he wasn’t quite the same, and some understandable tentativeness crept into his game. He wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t the Pelletier that the Flames hoped they were getting. He played nine more games for the Flames, posting two points, before the he was re-assigned to the Wranglers on Mar. 19.

Pelletier remained a pretty productive AHLer, posting nine points in the final 14 games of the 2023-24 regular season. He played all six playoff games for the Wranglers, posting three points. Again, he wasn’t bad by any stretch, but the usual tenacity, aggression and pace weren’t quite there for Pelletier and so he wasn’t as effective as he had been in prior AHL stints.

When Pelletier returned in the fall for training camp, he continued to look a bit tentative. He played five exhibition games, registered zero points and was placed on waivers on Oct. 6. Pelletier being waived drew some controversy – it was a bit against the spirit of the team’s youth movement to waive a recent first-round pick – but he simply hadn’t been one of the team’s 12 or 13 best forwards in camp, and probably needed time in the AHL to get his mojo back.

Well, he cleared waivers and played 20 games in the AHL. He registered 19 points while playing primarily on a line with Rory Kerins and Dryden Hunt. But more important than the numbers were how he was getting those points. He looked a bit tentative for the first few games, but he found his rhythm fairly quickly. Pelletier played in every game situation and was first over the boards at five-on-five, on the power play and the penalty kill.

When Justin Kirkland was lost for the season with a knee injury in early December, Pelletier was summoned from the Wranglers.

Speaking prior to the Flames’ pre-Christmas finale against Chicago, head coach Ryan Huska discussed the difference he’s seen in Pelletier since the pre-season.

“Probably the one thing for me, like he’s handling the puck a little bit more,” said Huska. “That’s one thing. I think he’s comfortable with it on his stick. But the biggest change for me is he’s getting engaged physically. So you often talk about bigger guys that you need them to be physical, harder players. Well, everybody has to be a competitive hard guy in their own way. So for Jakob, a lot of that means he’s got to get proper body position. He’s got to work to be first into scrums. And I think over the last few games, he’s been doing a good job of that. Probably the other thing is we’ve talked about it before is he’s getting a little bit of time on the penalty kill now. I think he’s really trying to embrace that role, and he’s done a good job with it so far.”

Speaking prior to the Chicago game, Pelletier shared that he feels back to where he was.

“It’s more like the confidence that I didn’t have,” said Pelletier. “And now I think I’m fully back to myself.”

Pelletier’s played a bit on the fourth line with Ryan Lomberg and Kevin Rooney, but more recently he’s found a home on the club’s second line alongside Yegor Sharangovich and Connor Zary. He’s also carving out a role for himself on the penalty kill, which Huska suggested is helping his even strength play.

“Sometimes when you feel like you’re bringing some value to the team, you know, maybe you feel like you’re starting to put your stamp on it a little bit,” said Huska. “And I do feel he is that way. And I think it’s also helped his five-on-five play with the way he is now skating and showing more compete for the puck, on the puck, all that stuff.”

In eight games with the Flames in 2024-25, Pelletier has four points. While he’s not as high up in the rotation as he was with the Wranglers, Pelletier has tried not to change how he’s playing the game.

“Yeah, but at the same time, you just want to play the same game,” said Pelletier, acknowledging his different role in the NHL. “So, of course, you want to score. But, you know, I think we kind of play good in our own zone. And to be honest, the past two or three games that we play together, I think we spend more time in the old zone than in our zone. So, I think it’s a good thing for us.”

When 2024 began, Pelletier’s future was hazy. As the year closes, he seems well on his way to finally cementing his spot in the Flames lineup.