Welcome back to "Who Is That Player?" Today we head up Parliament Hill and demand to speak to our famous Senator,
Rourke Chartier.
Chartier, a 5th round pick out of the Kelowna Rockets' system, now enters his 27 year old season looking to break into the NHL. Having so far amassed 2 goals and 1 assist in 43 NHL games, Chartier will be playing tonight on Ottawa's 3rd line thanks to Vlad Tarasenko's absence for personal reasons.
But don't mistake him for a bruiser -- quite the contrary. Last year in Belleville of the AHL, Chartier somehow "pulled a Nichushkin" and was penalized zero minutes over the course of 40 games.
Perhaps a better Stars-related tie-in would be Stephen Johns of all people. Like Johns, Chartier took an extended leave-of-absence from his career due to concussions.
I sat out two full years. I don’t know if too many people know that. I basically had retired. To be on a roster means a lot to me. Opportunities have been few and far between in my career because of my inability to stay healthy, so I’m trying to make the most of every single one I get. (Gone) two years and to be playing again, let alone in the top league? I wasn’t so sure (it would happen). So, this is special to me. This is my dream, to play in the NHL.
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So far this year Ottawa coach DJ Smith has turned to Chartier primarily to kill penalties, clocking in as the Sens' 3rd-most-used PKing forward with 2 minutes per game.
This has been, "Who Is That Player?"
