LEWISTON – An old, familiar face found his way back to the Twin Cities over the weekend. The question now is whether he will be welcomed back with open arms.
Jonathan Paiement, one of the Lewiston Maineiacs’ two 20-year-old defensemen, surprised many, including head coach Clem Jodoin and assistant Ed Harding, by returning to Lewiston while the team was finishing up its season-opening, six-game road trip in Moncton and Prince Edward Island.
“We heard about it (Sunday) night,” said Harding. “Neither of us had spoken to him. Basically, I asked Clem if he knew that (Paiement) was back, and he didn’t.”
Paiement left the Maineiacs after a brief stay in their training camp for the New York Rangers. He remained in the Big Apple for most of training camp before being shipped to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL, the Rangers’ affiliate. He didn’t stick around for long. After conferring with his agent, he didn’t report to the Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL, which is the next step below Hartford in the Rangers’ organization.
“I was cut at the end of the Rangers’ camp,” said Paiement. “They sent me down to Hartford, but they signed two guys, and there was no more place for me there. I felt comfortable there, but I don’t make the decisions, you know. I talked with my agent and I knew I could make more money going to Charlotte, but I would be the No. 5 or No. 6 defenseman there. Here, I think, I will get more time on the ice as a top-four defenseman.”
But the Maineiacs will have to decide whether or not there is indeed a place for Paiement on their team, something that could be called into question after such a successful (4-1-0-1) season-opening road trip.
“I’ve been very satisfied with the six regular defensemen that we have been playing so far,” said Harding, who is also the team’s assistant general manager and works primarily with the defensemen. “The other guys, (Matieu) Ricard and (Shane) Peterson have been working really hard in practice, too, and we’re happy so far with their progress. We feel we have a chemistry on this team. They’ve meshed well. I’m not afraid to use any of the regular six so far in any situation.”
Paiement, who last year wore an A’ on his jersey as one of the team’s four assistant captains (no one wore a C’), doesn’t seem to mind that he is coming back to team that has done well in his absence.
“I don’t care about a C’ or an A,'” said Paiement. “That doesn’t matter for me. I am here to play hockey and win some games with the team.”
Paiement also tracked the team’s progress during the long road trip.
“It’s exciting to see,” said Paiement. “On the road, too, and it was a long trip. I hope I can help the team do even better now.”
Neither Harding nor Jodoin had met with Paiement by Monday evening, but Harding, at least, expected to do so today.
“This will be an issue between Jon and Clem, and then Jon and Clem, myself and Jeff, too,” said Harding.
Last season, Paiement had 51 assists and 62 points in 67 games for the Maineiacs, good for fourth among the league’s defensemen, but he also registered 198 penalty minutes, which ranked him in the league’s top 10 overall. In 2003-04, prior to being drafted by the Rangers, Paiement had 65 points in 68 games, second among the league’s defensemen, and took just 140 minutes in penalties.
Roach tabbed for weekly honor
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Monday named Brandon Roach, the Maineiacs’ captain, as the league’s top defensive player for the week ending Sunday, Oct. 2. Roach, who played in five games games over seven nights and posted four goals and six assists for 10 points in that span, was a plus-2 and quarterbacked the power play to a 24.6 percent efficiency rating. Rookie Angelo Esposito of Quebec garnered the week’s offensive award with seven goals and seven assists in four games.
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