Thrashers prospect Cormier moving forward

By Chris Vivlamore

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Though it lives in Internet infamy, Patrice Cormier insists he has put the incident behind him.

A video of the vicious elbow that left an opposing player convulsing on the ice and led to Cormier's suspension and an assault charge can easily be viewed online. However Cormier, the highly regarded Thrashers prospect, says he won’t let it affect his chance to one day become an NHL player.

In January, Cormier was playing for Rouyn-Noranda in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League when he leveled Mikael Tam of the Quebec Remparts. He was subsequently suspended for the remainder of the QMJHL season for the hit. In May, the prosecutor’s office in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, filed an assault charge.

“It’s unfortunate,” said Cormier, who characterized the hit as an accident. “I don’t forget it quick, but you have to. Life is too short to dwell on the past.”

Cormier, 20, was reluctant to speak in detail about the incident and Monday’s court hearing following the first day of the Thrashers’ prospect-development camp Thursday.

“I’ve talked about it a lot, enough,” Cormier said. “I don’t really want to dwell on that. There is court coming up on Monday. It’s in the past. The toughest part for me was not playing and not being able to help my team. First and foremost, I’m glad the guy is fine now.”

Cormier, who faces up to 18 months in prison if convicted, won’t be in attendance for the court hearing. His attorney will enter a plea, which Cormier would not reveal Thursday.

There have been several incidents of criminal charges being filed as the result of an on-ice incident. In 2008, Jonathan Roy, the son of former Montreal goaltender Patrick Roy, pleaded guilty to an assault charge stemming from a brawl in a QMJHL game. He received an unconditional discharge. The most recent in the NHL came in 2004 when Vancouver’s Todd Bertuzzi was charged after sucker-punching Colorado’s Steve Moore during a game. He was given a conditional discharge after pleading guilty to assault causing bodily harm. Neither served time in jail.

Cormier missed the final 31 regular-season and playoff games last season. Upon the end of Rouyn-Noranda’s season, he played nine playoff games for the Thrashers’ AHL affiliate Chicago. Tam, who was briefly hospitalized, eventually returned to play hockey last season.

“Even though I found it fair or not, you have to live with it,” Cormier said of the suspension. “The league made the decision. … We appealed it. We live with it, and we move on.”

Cormier did not have a point in those nine AHL games, but it gave him a chance to return to hockey. It was the first step in moving forward.

“You know that you missed it when you get back,” Cormier said.

The Thrashers obtained Cormier from New Jersey as part of the Ilya Kovalchuk trade in February. He admitted being surprised when he first heard he was being traded and spoke only to family and friends once he confirmed the deal on the Internet.

Thrashers general manager Rick Dudley says the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Cormier will come to training camp and will have an opportunity to make the roster. If he doesn’t do it this year, it won’t be long, said Dudley, who compared the forward to 19-year NHL veteran Kirk Muller.

“He’s going to play in the National Hockey League,” Dudley said. “It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. We’d like it to be sooner than later.”

Cormier was asked if he would rather play limited time with the Thrashers next season or gain experience playing more minutes in the AHL. The answer was easy.

“As a young kid, you always dream of playing in the NHL,” he said. “So here, 100 percent.”