CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Pierre-Olivier (P.O.) Joseph is looking forward to the opportunity to skate over the blue-line and try to beat his buddy Matthew Welsh.
“Oh, for sure, I’ve been waiting for that moment my entire life,” he laughed Wednesday during a phone interview from Sydney, N.S. “It’s going to be special to just play against the guys that I’ve been practising with for a long time. I feel like I am going to be playing against my brothers.”
The Charlottetown Islanders selected the two 16-year-olds at the 2015 draft in Sherbrooke, Que. They grew and matured and were key ingredients in the past two runs to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) semifinal.
Now Joseph, the longest serving captain in Charlottetown Islanders history, makes his return to the Eastlink Centre to play his former teammates for the first time since a December trade to the Drummondville Voltigeurs. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.
“I can’t wait to see everyone, see the fans. . . and just see everything I have been part of for the last four years,” Joseph said. “I wouldn't be where I am right now without (everything) that happened in P.E.I., so I am really grateful.”
Welsh said it’s going to be an exciting, yet emotional, night.
“P.O. was always the first guy to come and see me after a goal against or at the start of every period. He always had something to say that was positive,” the goalie said. “He always had my back and there’s lots of memories that I’ll never forget with him.”
Joseph was selected in the fifth round (78th overall) of the QMJHL draft as a six-foot, 150-pound, left-shot defenceman.
He shone in his first training camp with his hockey IQ and ability to transition the puck up ice.
While the team’s brass debated the merits of keeping him, they thought he was too small to play in the league and needed time to physically mature. With the team floundering in November, they decided to bring him up. He was a major junior player to stay.
Immediately, players started to gravitate towards him.
“I remember Oliver Cooper telling me about two months into this kid’s stay, ‘There’s your captain. You don't have to worry about anything. This kid’s unbelievable’,” head coach Jim Hulton recalled. “He had pegged it right away. To me, he’s one of the most natural leaders I’ve ever been around.”
He said Joseph treated everybody with respect and was able to form relationships with each guy on the team.
“He’s one of those guys that can really lighten up a room,” Welsh said. “Right away he kind of had that impact.”
Hulton said Joseph’s family is so refreshing to be around it’s no surprise people rave about the young man.
“They’re one of the most positive families I’ve ever been around,” he said. “It’s not all about hockey for them. They just want good people first and foremost.”
Joseph went on the become the club’s first player in franchise history taken in the first round of the NHL draft.
In a world where so much of the game is dissected on analytics and science, it doesn’t tell the full story, Hulton said.
“There’s still a huge element of this game that’s based on the intangibles of heart, of compete, of leadership, of quality and of professionalism. And to me, he’s off the charts in those marks.”
And while Joseph is now wearing the sweater of another team, his impact on the Islanders is still being felt inside the team’s dressing room today and will be for years to come.
Brett Budgell could often be seen with Joseph during his rookie season last year and this year, 16-year-old Lukas Cormier got to jump into the league playing next to the veteran.
“He really helped me with my transition to the Q and I really like him as a teammate,” Cormier said. “He helped me every step of the way.”
Hulton added: “The benefits off the ice are the ones that are hard for people to see but they are probably the biggest legacy he’s leaving.”
Tidbits
A couple of items about defenceman Pierre-Olivier Joseph.
Did you know? Joseph made his major junior debut with the Charlottetown Islanders on Oct. 14, 2015, at Drummondville, Que.
Trade – The Islanders traded Joseph to the Drummondville Voltigeurs in December for defenceman Xavier Bernard, prospect William Trudeau, a second-round pick in 2019 and first- and second-round picks in 2021.
Numbers game – Joseph has switched from jersey No. 15 to 17 with the Voltigeurs.
Islanders head coach Jim Hulton said: “It’s hard to properly express, I think, what he’s meant to this franchise and this dressing room. . . When I think of him, I just think of winning.”
Joseph’s message to Islanders fans: “I can’t thank them enough for the everything they did for me. The unconditional support that they brought to the team and to the players, is more (important) than they can imagine. . . I won’t forget the fans of Charlottetown that’s for sure.”
