It is 9:15 p.m. Sunday evening in Switzerland, eight hours less for Gaëtan Haas. As a green wave sweeps away the certainties of his native Helvetia, the Biel man is about to embark. His journey took him from Edmonton to Bakersfield, a city of 380,000 people located 150 km north of Los Angeles. "I'm being offered a two-week vacation in California." A laugh, a little sarcastic, punctuates his sentence through the circuits of his cell phone.
On Saturday morning, the 27-year-old international centre learned that he was assigned to AHL, the second tier of North American hockey, after playing five of the Edmonton Oilers' first nine games of the season (1 assistant).
"Healthy scratch."
The episode is a summary of the harshness of hockey from there. Before facing the Detroit RedWings at home on Friday night, Haas had suffered three "healthy scratches", literally "healthy course", a dry, barbaric term for supernumerary players for no particular reason. "This game even went pretty well for me," he says.
Rich with this certainty, he showed up Saturday at Rogers Place for morning training. "When I arrived at the rink, coach Dave Tippett called me into his office, general manager Ken Holland was also present. They informed me that I was sent to Bakersfield for six matches," Haas said. "Overall, they said that I was doing a good job, that they appreciated my defensive behaviour. They then explained to me that they were now waiting for their third and fourth lines to start scoring goals, too, so that they could be productive."
A promise of ice cream
The idea: to prevent a slowdown in the frenetic pace of star strikers Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and James Neal. Of which act. The Biel's assignment to the floor below is offset by Sam Gagner's recall, attacking in 813 games and 450 points in the NHL, a winger with a contract worth 3.15 million this season. Considered a brake on the game at a high speed by the new Edmonton Oilers management, the 30-year-old Canadian was first sent to Bakersfield, where he just scored 2 goals and 2 assists in four games.
Winning must bring his verve in front of the Oilers' opponents' nets, Haas must find his own with the Condors, that's the deal. "If I'm sent to AHL, it's to have a lot of ice, especially on the power play, and to regain confidence in my attacking game," observes the Biel man. "This passage in minor leagues can be positive for me, for the future, that's how I take it."
Day by day, Haas is learning a new way of approaching human relations in his sport, rites that are far removed from the standards of the Swiss National League, where the player is king. "The NHL is another world, where we are just names on jerseys," he says. He supports by example: "The first time I was traced for a game, I was informed shortly before I got on the ice, when I was normally preparing for the warm-up. There was no discussion with the coach, it's not the type in North America."
Full experience
Under contract with the CP Berne in our latitudes, Haas has a pleasant lifeline. The leaders of the Alberta franchise are fully aware of this. A little, still, they handle the Haas file with tact. "I'm going to AHL for six games, that's what's planned, there's nothing else to understand about my situation," he says. "Then it's North American hockey, where everything goes very fast." In either direction. An injury, a phase of misfortune and the Oilers repatriated him. Or not. "My girlfriend was supposed to meet me in Edmonton this week. Finally, she will come to California," he explains.
In its ultimate form, hockey becomes business, the NHL its playground on a continental, global scale. Dollars, contracts, exchanges, transactions, the puck turns day and night. "Whatever happens, I will be able to say that I will have lived the North American experience to the fullest, an experience I greatly appreciate." Rock'n' roll!
