Jakob Pelletier still feeling love from Flames fans as he waits to join Flyers
Former Flames forward Jakob Pelletier bids farewell to Calgary: ‘Everybody was so nice to me here. All the fans?were great to me.’

Over the weekend, as he toured a visiting friend around what is suddenly not his home city anymore, Jakob Pelletier was repeatedly recognized as the just-traded fan fave.
On Friday, as he grabbed a bite in Calgary’s Mission neighbourhood with two of his best buddies and now former Flames teammates, the restaurant staff even surprised the buzzsaw winger with a sweet send-off.
“I went to dinner with (Connor) Zary and Matty (Coronato) and they brought me out a cake to kind of say goodbye,” Pelletier told Postmedia. “Everybody has been thanking me a little bit. But it’s more me who is thanking them. Because everybody was so nice to me here. All the fans?were great to me. I really appreciate the time that I was here for.”
Pelletier still is here, waiting on the visa/immigration process to be finalized so he can get rolling with the Philadelphia Flyers.?
Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost, who arrived from the City of Brotherly Love in Thursday’s blockbuster trade between the Flames and Flyers, have already logged a pair of appearances with their new crew. Frost even has a goal.
While the waiting game has been tough on the 23-year-old Pelletier, all those interactions over the past few days have chased the good-riddance feeling that can come with being shipped out of town — especially when you get the news in the first intermission of a game, left to wipe away tears as your pals head back to the ice.
“If you think about it, it’s pretty crazy. You don’t see that often,” said Pelletier, who was packaged to Philadelphia with fellow forward Andrei Kuzmenko and a pair of picks. “Some guys knew that, with Kuzy being a late scratch, something was up. But it never crossed my mind that I could be part of the deal.
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“But after the first period, I got pulled into the office and they said that they traded me to the Flyers. Of course, it was a shock. But now that the emotions are gone, I’m really excited.
“Anytime a team trades for you, you feel that they want you there, that they love you as a player. So for me, it’s a great opportunity. I’m really excited to join the Flyers and to prove that I can be a good player for them.”?
That doesn’t mean the farewells were easy.
There was a heart-wrenching hug with his friend and father figure, Jonathan Huberdeau, just moments after Pelletier had been informed of the change-of-address.
There was that dinner with Coronato and Zary, a meeting of the Flames’ first-round picks from 2019, 2020 and 2021.?
There have been kind words from complete strangers, plus complimentary cake.?
“You know me — you know how much I care about the team and how much I care about the city,” Pelletier told Postmedia. “On the human side, it’s hard to say goodbye to close friends, to an organization that you cared so much about and you battled for for the last four years.?
“But knowing me, I know I’ll care a lot about the Flyers. I know I’ll care a lot about that organization, that city, as well. So I’m just going to keep doing what I’ve been doing for the last 10 years of my life.”
Pelletier’s positivity and endless enthusiasm and his habit of smooching teammates on the top of their helmets after a goal or a clutch contribution of some other sort will surely make him a popular addition in Philly.
He’ll be missed in Calgary, where he was so widely adored that it’s easy to forget he has played only 61 games at the NHL level, with eight goals and 13 assists so far. ?
“This is a great city to play in. It’s a great fanbase,” Pelletier said. “People are passionate about the Flames, they love the Flames and you can sense they want the Flames to do well and they treat the players with so much respect. Just all class acts. People were great to me for the time that I was here.
“I wish all the best for the Flames. I’m sure I’m going to keep an eye on them, but the mindset I have right now is to help the Flyers win and help the Flyers make the playoffs.”
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