McGill Redmen Francis Verreault-Paul (18) warms up during the 2011 CIS Men's Ice Hockey Championship on Saturday, March 26, 2011 in Fredericton, New Brunswick. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike Dembeck.Mike Dembeck/The Canadian Press
There's no particular reason for their affinity, although it may have to do with both of them being small hockey players with large ambitions.
It's as good an explanation as any for why the Chicoutimi Saguenéens coaches stuck two undersized, unheralded prospects - one 16, the other 17 - on the same line at rookie camp in 2003.
The why is not important though, the point is Francis Verreault-Paul and David Desharnais developed an instant and lasting kinship.
"It's a cliché but it's true: we're almost like brothers," said Verreault-Paul, a combative 5-foot-9 winger with the McGill Redmen.
In the four years since they left the Saguenay, Desharnais, the wry, quiet kid from Laurier-Station, near Quebec City, and Verreault-Paul, the hard-nosed battler from Mashteuiatsh, an Innu community on the shores of Lac St-Jean, have carved out remarkable success.
The 5-foot-7 Desharnais with the Montreal Canadiens, where he has been the leading scorer since mid-February - he has 17 points in his last 21 games - and Verreault-Paul at McGill, where he led Canadian university hockey with 28 goals this year despite sitting out nine games through injury.
"He's one of the toughest people I know, nothing about him surprises me," Desharnais said.
Making the NHL is hard for any player, but the 24-year-old Desharnais has had a particularly circuitous route.
He wasn't drafted, so he started his pro career in the East Coast Hockey League - winning a free-agent minor-league contract in 2007 courtesy of a training camp invite arranged through Saguenéens co-owner Guy Carbonneau, then the Habs coach.
Desharnais revealed himself to be a dominant ECHL player, and the following season began his apprenticeship in the American Hockey League, earning a cup of coffee in the NHL the year after that, 2009-10.
And after showing his stuff in the AHL - he led the Hamilton Bulldogs in scoring this year before his call-up in January - Desharnais is showing he is up to NHL standards.
The 24-year-old is quick to credit his pal, who is studying psychology and plans to go to graduate school when his hockey days are over, with helping him adjust to life in the NHL.
"He's been a big help, we talk pretty much every day, and he helps me see things sometimes that I might not otherwise notice," said Desharnais. "The NHL is a big adjustment, and it's nice to have someone like Frank to talk to."
Though Verreault-Paul might not be as big an offensive talent as Desharnais, he hasn't yet closed the door on his own professional dream.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see him play in this league some day," Desharnais said.
To understand why he thinks that, it's worth pointing out the 23-year-old Verreault-Paul is an uncommonly determined young man.
He'd always been a good student, but when he arrived at McGill after an underwhelming over-age season in junior, he spoke only pidgin hockey English (the university allows Francophone students to submit their papers and exams in French).
"Those first couple of months - I wouldn't start that over again, not ever, not for any amount of money," Verreault-Paul laughed. "But I'm not the first to do it the hard way, it's made me a stronger person."
Tampa Bay Lightning assistant coach Martin Raymond, who recruited Verreault-Paul when he was head coach at McGill and worked with Desharnais last year as Guy Boucher's assistant with the AHL Hamilton Bulldogs, said Verreault-Paul stands a chance to follow in current Hab and former Redmen forward Mathieu Darche's footsteps (Verreault-Paul, who will graduate in 2012, is the first McGill player to lead the OUA in goals since Darche did it in 2000).
"He's an incredibly relentless, hard-working player, so Francis can do it … but he'll need to show he can dominate in the minors like David did," said Raymond, who first coached Verreault-Paul on Canada's under-17 team - his job was to shut down another diminutive forward, the United States' Nathan Gerbe, who now plays for the Buffalo Sabres.
Whether or not that happens is only partly relevant to Verreault-Paul, who is getting to live the NHL dream vicariously through his frequent dinner companion Desharnais - "It's pretty amazing to see him in that Canadiens jersey, but he's worked so hard for it," he said.
Verreault-Paul reckons he would be the first member of his aboriginal community to play professional hockey, and while his sights are set on the minors or Europe - he had ECHL opportunities before going to university, and doesn't dare dream about the NHL at this point - he also has bigger plans.
Like grad school.
"When I first came to university, I studied kinesiology, but I had a teammate who was graduating in psychology and talked to me about it a lot, I realized that's what I wanted to do," said Verreault-Paul, who left home at 15 to play midget hockey. "I've been given a lot of opportunities, I'm studying at a very prestigious school, I'm still playing hockey - and I love it, so I want to keep playing for a while yet. But I also want to be able to give back to my community when it's all done, so I'm going to keep studying."