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Of course, being back in time to participate in the all-star weekend is also good for Chabot. Some players don’t want to take part in the skills competition and the three-on-three tournament, but nobody had to ask Chabot twice about the opportunity.

This will be his first all-star weekend and he’s excited about it. His parents will travel to San Jose with him to be part of the festivities and take in the game.

“It’s never something I expected,” he said. “Being there is an honour and it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be a great experience. My parents are going to enjoy it as well.”

The key to Chabot’s success, Boucher says,is the way the club has been patient with his development starting with sending him back to junior in his first year and his strong work ethic.

Photo by Wayne Cuddington / Postmedia

He spent part of last season with the club’s AHL affiliate in Belleville honing his skills defensively and it’s paid dividends.

“He’s going to be a top, top, top-end guy and he already is with the puck and to be honest I think he progressed a lot fast defensively than a lot of people expected,” Boucher said.

“It’s because of his attitude, he’s such a good person. You never have to tell him that he’s got to go to the gym, that he has to come and do some video. Nothing is ever too much. (His attitude) is “I want to get better, I want to get better”. He recognizes where he is.

“There’s a whole journey behind all that greatness that you see from him. It’s impressive. It really is but there’s a lot of work and it’s not just talent. There’s a lot of guys who have talent and they don’t get it or they get it but it’s five years down the road.

“We’re lucky he’s getting it now. He’s the perfect example of doing it the right way. With all that talent, it would have been easy to keep him, but it would have been the wrong thing.”

bgarrioch@postmedia.com

Twitter: @sungarrioch