When Dale Hawerchuk's wife Crystal read out Cole Perfetti’s name during the NHL Entry Draft on October 6th, 2020, almost every facet of the Winnipeg Jets franchise – from the players, to the staff, to the fan base – rejoiced around the pick. While Crystal’s pick announcement came by way of a garbled Zoom clip that seems almost appropriate for the times, the superstar potential that Winnipeg had just selected was as clear as Mrs. Hawerchuk’s first name.

 

 

Perfetti is what you may call a more modern NHL archetype. Standing at 5’9 and weighing in at 175lbs, Perfetti is much more valuable in today’s game that prioritizes speed and skill, rather than the more traditional values like size and grit.

And if we’re talking speed and skill, we’re definitely talking Cole Perfetti.

Throughout his time playing as a teenager in the ETAHL and the GTHL, Perfetti averaged nearly two points per game. When he joined the OHL's Saginaw Spirit in 2018, he put up 185 total points in just 124 games.

Perfetti further bolstered his expectations when he began performing well on the international stage. Something about slipping on that Canada sweater seems to bring the best out of the Jets 1st round pick.

 

 

Perfetti’s stellar international play earned him an ‘A’ on the 2022 World Juniors squad, which was unfortunately only permitted to play a couple games before the tournament was shut down due to COVID-19 obstacles.

 

 

While his on-ice accomplishments are clear on any stat sheet or data page, entertainment seems to follow Perfetti around off the ice as well.

For example, Perfetti’s debut couldn’t come without a little bit more “UMPH” in the story. While it had nothing to do with Perfetti himself, his parents were almost unable to attend the game. Luckily, World Juniors teammate Jamie Drysdale had a couple parents on the way as well that were able to help out Angelo and Sandra Perfetti see their son take NHL ice for the first time.

 

 

Entertainment value just seems to follow some people around.

To wrap this story up in a tidy bow, Perfetti scored the first of what we presume to eventually be many NHL goals on Tuesday. Perfetti put one past Washington Capitals goalie Vitek Vanecek early in the game, but the bigger highlight was debatably his conversation with TSN’s Sara Orlesky between periods.

 

 

Everything this kid touches turns into entertainment gold, and we couldn't be more excited to watch him continue to develop.