From Canada to the White House to Raleigh, Canes goalie prospect’s NHL dream lives on
Yaniv Perets is one of four goalies in the Carolina Hurricanes prospects development camp this week.
He might also be the happiest guy in camp, goaltender or skater.
In the past three months, Perets has won a national championship with Quinnipiac in an overtime thriller, been feted at the White House and signed an entry-level NHL contract with the Canes.
Beating Minnesota for the NCAA title was over-the-top thrilling, he said. The White House outing was impressive. But signing with the Canes …
“Super emotional,” Perets said Monday. “That was always my goal, to sign an NHL deal. You can think about it all you want, but when that phone call comes. … I remember I was crying so much. I was so choked up I could hardly talk.
“It was a super emotional moment and I just wanted to call my parents and tell them, you know.”
Funny thing. Joshua and Nancy Perets already knew. When Yaniv’s agent couldn’t immediately reach the player, he called his parents.
“My wife was crying, everyone was crying as the emotions took over,” Joshua Perets said Tuesday after watching his son in the camp’s on-ice drills at Invisalign Arena.
Perets, 23, who grew up in Montreal idolizing Canadiens goalie Carey Price, dreaming the NHL dream, was not drafted by any NHL team. He took the collegiate route, going to Quinnipiac University, waiting his turn, getting his chance, honing his technique, and it was hard passing him up after his scintillating sophomore season in 2022-23..
Perets had a 34-4-3 record. His goals-against average was 1.49 and he finished with a .931 save percentage, notching 10 shutouts in the season.
And a championship ring. He has that, too.
“One thing college affords guys is the opportunity to develop,” Jason Muzzatti, the Hurricanes’ goalie development coach, said Tuesday. “They’re there for a while, they get a little bit older and you never know when it comes together.
“Part of scouting (Perets), he’s very detailed in his tracking. His focus is good. Very smart, positionally. And then it’s the competitor in him.”
Among those scouting Perets was Rod Brind’Amour. The Canes coach watched videos of the Quinnipiac games the past two seasons to see his son Skyler compete and critique his play at forward. He also got a good look at the guy in net, who also happened to be Skyler’s roommate.
“I watched every game and (Perets) played every game and they won every game,” Brind’Amour said Tuesday. “For me, when you have that extra intel … you get to know what’s this guy all about. And he’s great. He fits everything we’re all about.
“In two years of watching him play, I didn’t see a bad goal go in. And there’s something to be said about bringing in guys who have won. They know what it takes. “
The NCAA title game against Minnesota in the Frozen Four produced “high-end pressure,” as Muzzatti called it. The Bobcats scored late in regulation to tie the score, setting up a sudden-death OT.
And then, in 10 seconds, the Bobcats won the school’s first national championship.
Moments after the faceoff to start OT, Quinnipiac’s Jacob Quillan took a pass from Sam Lipkin racing into the Minnesota zone and scored for the 3-2 victory. Bam, game over.
“I blinked and it was over,” Joshua Perets said.
And for Yaniv Perets, standing in the opposite net?
“I kind of blacked out after the puck went in,” he said, smiling. “It was pretty crazy. The boys worked so hard for it. Now we’ll all go down in history as champions forever.”
Perets joked that he did not sleep for a few days, that the celebration was a long one. On April 11, he celebrated again after signing a two-year entry-level contract with Carolina. In June came Quinnipiac’s White House visit as part of “College Athlete Day.”
“That was pretty cool and honestly and it was just nice to see all the guys (again),” Perets said
If hockey is a team sport, it’s also a family sport. Joshua Perets flew down from Dollard-des-Ormeaux, a suburb of Montreal, to be at the development camp this week, dutifully sitting in the stands, observing his son as he has so many times.
“He’s always hard on himself, always wants perfection, perfection,” Joshua Perets said. “There’s always pressure at his position, but when he goes on the ice it’s like he’s somebody else and there is no pressure on him. I get more nervous than he gets.
“He has played for a lot of teams and his journey was long. But whenever people gave him the chance, he went in and proved he was good, proved that he belongs.”
For Perets, the Canes have given him the chance. The journey continues.
This story was originally published July 12, 2023 at 12:43 PM.
