The Boston Bruins liked Jesse Gabrielle and his skillful bull-in-a-china-shop approach to patrolling the left wing enough to pick him in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL draft.
Gabrielle grew up loving the big bad Bruins. He lists gritty Boston forward Brad Marchand as his favourite player and the 18-year-old expects to play a similar style this season with the Prince George Cougars.
As tough as he is to play against, Marchand also led the Bruins in goal-scoring last season and Gabrielle is entirely capable of doing the same for the Cougars in the 2015-16 WHL season.
"I'm real excited to be in Prince George, I know the team is doing well and getting better and I'm happy to be here and will do whatever I can to make the team win," said Gabrielle. "Being an agitator is a big part of my game but I want to put pucks in the net as well.
"I always like the way the Bruins play with (Milan) Lucic and Marchand and (Zdeno) Chara pushing guys around. I've always looked up to those guys and to be part of that organization now is a huge honour. It was an unbelievable experience being there (at the draft in Sunrise, Fla.) with my friends and family, it's a feeling you'll always remember."
The Cougars acquired Gabrielle and a fourth-round pick in the 2016 bantam draft from the Regina Pats three weeks ago for 17-year-old forward Lane Zablocki and a fourth-round pick in 2017. Gabrielle split last season equally between the Pats and Brandon Wheat Kings, playing 33 games with each team to finish his sophomore season with 23 goals, 44 points and 112 penalty minutes. He also brings 18 games of WHL playoff experience over two seasons, collecting four goals and 10 points in that time.
Gabrielle was born in Edmonton and started his minor hockey career in Moosomin, Sask., a town of about 3,000. When he was 12 his parents made the decision to move the family to Minneapolis, Minn., to help advance his hockey skills and he played there until he joined the Wheat Kings as a 16-year-old in 2013. His second-year bantam numbers at Osseo-Maple Grove in Minnesota were eye-popping - 130 goals, 129 assists for 259 points in 117 games.
The Cougars are counting on the six-foot, 205-pound Gabrielle to fit in as a top-six forward and he appears ready to step into that role. In Wednesday's fitness testing at UNBC he was among the top of the Cougar class, scoring off-the-chart marks in push-ups, bench press and the dreaded Wingate test to measure peak anaerobic capacity.
"I wasn't taller but I was always a fatter kid growing up and I've turned that into maybe more muscle than fat," Gabrielle said. "I'd say being stronger helps my game, being able to manoeuvre around guys, and also helps back things up when I'm out there being an agitator. I think the fitness tests showed what kind of shape I'm in and I hope the management can appreciate that."
The Cougars could potentially return 17 regulars from last year's squad and Gabrielle likes his team's chances of an extended life in the 2016 post-season.
"They made the playoffs last year and got knocked out in the first round but I think we're going to make a jump this year with the talent we have and I don't think it's out of the question to make a run for Kelowna for first place in the division and who knows, maybe take it to the championship," said Gabrielle.
He'll be around for the Cats' training camp this weekend, then has 10 days to prepare for the Bruins' rookie camp which starts Sept. 11 in Wilmington, Mass. Cougars head coach Mark Holick has watched Gabrielle skate a couple times over the past week and can't wait to see him in action this season, playing either left or right wing.
"I know he plays the game hard and intense and he's a big physical kid and he gets around the ice real well, so to have a guy that size and stature moving like that is going to be a plus," said Holick. "He's got some touch around the net, so if we can play him with some skill players and he brings that little bit of sandpaper it's going to serve him well. And whatever he does extracurricular-wise, as long as he's a disciplined player, we'll be fine.
"He's been to an NHL camp already and he's going to a pro camp in the fall and anytime you can have kids going to pro camps and getting that experience it gives them something to shoot for and to continue to get better, knowing what it takes. I like what I've seen so far."
After more fitness testing today at the Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre, training camp scrimmages start Friday with the Young Guns game at 4 p.m. at CN Centre. The main camp begins Saturday at 10 a.m. and continues on Sunday, leading up to the Black versus White intrasquad game Monday at 7 p.m.
The Cougars play their first preseason game in Kamloops on Friday, Sept. 4, then head to Kelowna to face the Rockets the following night. The following week they will be in Kennewick, Wash., to play Portland (Sept. 9), Everett (Sept. 10) and Kootenay (Sept. 12). The Cougars' only preseason home game is set for Saturday, Sept. 19 against the Kamloops Blazers.
