Anthony Mantha brings all the physical traits a scout can ask for: size, smooth, coordinated skating and strength. You could group Mantha in with a few other names like Alexsander Barkov and Seth Jones whose freakish athleticism would see them suceed in almost any sport. Athleticism is not all Mantha brings to the table however - an innate ability to read the play from the perimeter, soft hands and an elite shot have helped Mantha cement his status as a 1st round talent early in his draft year.
Some things Mantha needs to work on are his compete level without the puck, which is an issue on the backcheck and his physicality. When a player with a big strong frame like Mantha doesn't use his size on the boards consistently it raises a red flag.
However, Mantha has been one of the dark horses leading the scoring race this year in the QMJHL, very few followers could have predicted his name at #5 in QMJHL scoring (tied for goal scoring lead) 25 games in. Mantha has gone from a disappointing 3 goal scorer through his first half of last season to scoring goals at a frantic pace, with 64 points (35-29) in his last 36 games played, split between the end of last year and the start of this year.
I spoke to Anthony after Sundays game in Halifax, and here is what he had to say.
Whats your biggest focus heading into your draft year?
I'm aiming for 90-100 points and I'd love to be invited to the U-20 camp in December.
What are your strengths and one thing you need to work on?
My biggest strengths are my vision and my shot. I'm definitely trying to work on my competitiveness, like battling harder on a consistent basis.
What do you think of playing on a smaller market team like Val d'Or?
It doesn't change much. Talent is spread all across the league, but it takes off a little off-ice pressure.
Whats something an average fan wouldn't know about you off the ice?
I'm a big fan of golf, I do it alot in the off-season.
Best of luck in your draft year Anthony!
Your blog for QMJHL scouting and articles!
Showing posts with label QMJHL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label QMJHL. Show all posts
Tuesday, 20 November 2012
Mr. Steady - Matt Murphy
When you watch the Val d'Or Foreurs, a team with several marquee names, Matt Murphy isn't likely jump out at you as a fan.
The Foreurs 5th overall selection in the 2011 QMJHL draft plays a quiet, steady game that can be relied upon in any situation. Coach Mario Durocher does just that, giving Murphy 2nd power play and 1st penalty kill minutes. Murphys style of play may not leave fans in awe, but NHL scouts appreciate his poise and puck-movement. One part of the game Murphy is trying to improve is his offense, something he didn't show as often as he would like last year as a 16 year old, with 3 goals and 13 assists for 16 points in 61 games. Through 24 games this season, Murphy has already reached last years point totals with a goal and 15 assists and is a +5 compared to last seasons -15.
Murphy shares duties on the Foreurs back end with more experienced defensemen Artyom Sergeev, Jérémie Fraser, Julien Leduc and Guillaume Gélinas and has had to earn the 2nd pairing minutes he receives. My personal take on Murphy when watching him he does all the little things a defenseman needs to do right to keep him on a coaches good side: taking a hit to dish the puck out of trouble, making quick reads on the breakout and being a step ahead defensively to interrupt the opposing teams possession. He has a fluid stride that can keep up with the fastest forwards the QMJHL has to offer, and isn't afraid to get physical on the boards.
I had the chance to speak to Matt Murphy after Sunday Afternoons 4-3 loss to the Mooseheads, and here is what he had to say.
RE: What is your biggest personal focus to start this year, where you're eligible to be drafted?
MM: I'm really trying focus on not paying to much attention to it all, I'm just trying to keep things simple.
Describe yourself as a player to someone who has never seen you play.
I keep things simple, I'm a two-way defenseman but I focus more on defense. Offence is definitely something I'm trying to bring more of this year. I've got good vision with the puck and my skating is a strength. I think I play a steady all-around game.
How do feel about playing for a smaller market team like Val d'Or? Do you think that it brings any advantages to you personally?
It's good. It keeps you more focused off the ice because sometimes it's easy to get distracted in bigger cities.
TSR wishes you the best of luck in your draft year Matt!
Friday, 21 September 2012
Up and Down - Where Q teams are trending this year
In a Junior level filled with turnover, here is an unbiased take at where QMJHL franchises appear to be trending this year.
Acadie Bathurst Titan walk into this season trending UP after a strong off-season where they bolstered their depth up front and made themselves known as contenders heading into this season. They boast average goaltending and defence but these are both things the Halifax Mooseheads overcame last season with a powerful offence. The Titan have Zach O'Brien, Brandon Hynes, Christophe Lalancette, Patrik Zdrahal, Adam Zboril and Matthew Bissonette in their top 6 along with strong depth forwards Raphael Lafontaine, Adam Stevens and Alec Jon Banville.
The Baie-Comeau Drakkar are trending UP this season, mostly based on the ideal of player progression. The Drakkar iced a young, competitive team last season and with 2 new Euros and a young scoring core of Félix Girard, Raphael Bussières and Frédéric Gamelin alongside veterans Carl Gélinas and Jean-Philippe Caron. Their back-end is a good mix of veterans and young talents such as 2012 1st rounders Alexis Vanier and Loik Leveille. Phillipe Cadorette is in the lower echelon of goaltenders in the Q this year, but remains a solid starting option.
The Blainsville-Boisbriand Armada are trending UP this year as well, walking into this season steadily ranked with premier teams such as Halifax and Quebec as contenders. The Armada acquired Devils' first round pick Stefan Matteau in the off-season, and his agitator presence will make them even tougher to play against this year. Blainsville possesses likely the best two-way depth in the league, and likely the best defensive squad as well. Xavier Ouellet and Samuel Carrier could both be argued as the best defenseman in the league this year and could be on the same powerplay unit this year. The Armada also have Etienne Marcoux tending the crease this year, who should build on last years excellent season.
The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles walk into this season trending to be the SAME as last year. While Denis Kindl, Jonathan Brunelle and Sebastian Payette graduated, David Hoznik, Justin Haché and Jonathan Oligny replace them. Young talents like William Carrier, Bronson Beaton and Kyle Farrell are expected to progress, there is no outstanding trait to this young team that leads me to believe they will build on last year.
The Chicoutimi Saguenéens lost significant talent and are trending DOWN this year. The Sags loaded up last season acquiring J.P. Pageau, Mathieu Gagnon and Christian Ouellet from Gatineau in an attempt to win the Presidents cup. They fell short in the 3rd round, losing 4-1 to Saint John. What is left is decent offence, suspect defense and solid goaltending. They will be down a few spots from their 8th place finish last season.
The Drumondville Voltigeurs head into this season trending SAME as last season. The Voltigeurs did not go out and acquire talent this off-season, and will have to overachieve to avoid being a bottom feeder. This is fully in reach considering how well coached Mario Duhamel keeps his team, but it is difficult to imagine a team headlined by Olivier Archembault, Marc-Olivier and Nikolas Brouillard will make noise in the QMJHL this year.
In Gatineau, the Olymipiques are trending UP without a doubt. After a middling season in 2011-2012, the Olympiques had an action packed off-season acquiring scoring winger Yannick Dubé from Victoriaville, and Acadie-Bathurst starter Robert Steeves. They proceeded to take the talented scorer Martin Reway in the Euro draft and had 1st round picks Alex Carrier and Kameron Keilly make the roster out of camp. The Olympiques are young and have improved at every position. Robert Steeves went down until at least Christmas with an injury which hurts the club. When you factor in the fact that Benoit Groulx always has a disciplined, two-way team on the ice, the injury becomes less of a factor than expected.
The Halifax Mooseheads have big expectations heading UP to this season, mostly based on the fact that their young core that includes Nathan Mackinnon, Jonathan Drouin, Martin Frk and Zach Fucale has another year of progression under their belt. Add in veterans such as Konrad Abeltshauser, Stefan Fournier, Darcy Ashley and Brent Andrews and you have a unique contender. The Mooseheads have no glaring holes heading into this season, though another premier forward or defenseman would certainly help separate the Mooseheads from other teams at the top of the pack.
The Moncton Wildats are trending UP after an electrifying off-season where they finished a trade with Shawinigan, sending back picks for top 4 defenseman Jonathan Racine and starting goaltender Alex Dubeau. They also acquired arguably the best Euro tandem in the league in St. Louis Blues draft pick Dmitri Jaskin and #1 Euro pick Ivan Barbashev. Moncton now has weapons up front, even more abundant depth on defence and a quality starting goaltender to replace Roman Will. They are my dark horse to go deep in the playoffs because of their excellent depth.
In P.E.I., the Rocket (amongst a well-needed name change) are trending the UP this season, acquiring some solid players in the off-season in the off-season in Alex Micallef and waiver pick-ups Erik Robichaud and Charles Johnson. They used the #2 overall pick to select Alexis Pépin who should make his presence felt immediately on a PEI team starved for offence. The Rocket are by no means contenders, with progression of young players like Yan Pavel Laplante, Ryan Graves and Matthew Bursey another last place finish doesn't seem likely on the Island.
The Quebec Remparts appear to be headed into this season the SAME as last year. It will be difficult ot imagine the Remparts improving much on a borderline dominant season like 2011-2012, but after losing Louis Domingue, Gabriel Desjardins and Mikael Tam this off-season I feel like the Remparts only offset their losses by bringing in Nikita Kucherov and having their young core progress. The Remparts will still fill the net with ease, but the goaltending and defence are suspect enough that the QMJHL is not any more afraid of this years Remparts than the year than last year.
The Rimouski Oceanic head into this season the SAME as well. The Oceanic replaced some of the veteran losses they sustained this off-season by adding to a pool a 1995s that is as deep as any in the league. They turned heads by getting Anthony Deluca, Maxime Gravel and Frédérik Gauthier to report, players who all had NCAA commitments and are capable of making significant impacts this year. Two new Euros Vladimir Bryuvikin and Jan Kostalek should fill the void of Petr Straka and Jakub Culek. It is impressive that even after losing Jerome Gauther-Leduc, Alex Belzile and Alex Mallet they will likely finish in and around the 6th seed again this year. Cheers to GM Phillipe Boucher for such a stand-up job.
The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are trending UP after a solid off-season where they acquired some good veteran talent in Gabriel Desjardins and Andrew O'Brien. The Huskies have solid Euros returning that will drive there offense once again, Denis Kamaev and Sven Andrighetto and with some more depth could turn heads by improving on last years 15th place finish by a good margin. The pressure will be on 2011 defensive rookie of the year Robin Gusse to find consistency to enable the Huskies to do so.
The Saint Johns Sea Dogs are undoubtedly trending DOWN heading into this season, losing 6 of their top 9 scorers from last season. The Sea Dogs will have a transition year on their hands this year, after 3 years of dynasty-like dominance. With two less talented new Euros and a rookie-laden roster, the Sea Dogs will fight with the bottom feeders to keep out of the Bottom 5 this year. Jonathan Huberdeau will return until the end of the NHL lockout, which is a nice boost for the young players and franchise but Huberdeau is no superman.
The Shawinigan Cataractes appear to be walking into one of the biggest DOWNwards turnarounds the CHL has seen in a long time. After winning the Memorial Cup last season, the Cataractes will bring back only 9 players, all of whom played depth roles on last years squad. The Cataractes will be a living example of how quick fates can turn after genuinely 'going for it', which turned out well worth it in the end. On the bright side, they will ice a lot of youth this year and will bring in Slovak standout Patrik Koys next year, so the future looks fairly bright the franchise that seems to almost be the consensus pick for last in the league this year.
The Sherbrooke Phoenix are not really capable of being judged, but I will say that I expect the group to take time to bond and that Sherbrooke will finish in and around 15th.
The Val d'Or Foreurs are trending UP headed into this season, after this up and coming team took a big step forward acquiring Memorial Cup hero Anton Zlobin, and Bathurst defenceman Jérémie Fraser. This bolstered the Foreurs already solid roster. With solid goaltending, a strong mobile defence group and some marquee forwards up front such as Zlobin, Anothony Mantha and Cedrick Henley.
Last but not least, the Victoriaville Tigres are trending DOWN based on the talent they traded away this off-season and lack of depth. The Tigres, clearly not happy with what happened in last years playoffs traded away Stefan Fournier, Brandon Hynes, David Hoznik and Yannick Dubé in a span of two days. That leaves them with leaving them with a few impact forwards such as Phillip Danault, Phillippe Halley and Phillippe Maillet. Behind them are a few solid top 9 forwards, but nothing to write home about. The young defense corps is below average with Stars draft pick Troy Vance leading the way. One of their strong points should be Chicago draft pick Brandon Whitney in net, who is big atheletic and ready to step into the upper echelon of QMJHL goalies.
There you have it, my take on the turbulent trends that you see every off season in Junior, and the excting parity that comes with it!
Acadie Bathurst Titan walk into this season trending UP after a strong off-season where they bolstered their depth up front and made themselves known as contenders heading into this season. They boast average goaltending and defence but these are both things the Halifax Mooseheads overcame last season with a powerful offence. The Titan have Zach O'Brien, Brandon Hynes, Christophe Lalancette, Patrik Zdrahal, Adam Zboril and Matthew Bissonette in their top 6 along with strong depth forwards Raphael Lafontaine, Adam Stevens and Alec Jon Banville.
The Baie-Comeau Drakkar are trending UP this season, mostly based on the ideal of player progression. The Drakkar iced a young, competitive team last season and with 2 new Euros and a young scoring core of Félix Girard, Raphael Bussières and Frédéric Gamelin alongside veterans Carl Gélinas and Jean-Philippe Caron. Their back-end is a good mix of veterans and young talents such as 2012 1st rounders Alexis Vanier and Loik Leveille. Phillipe Cadorette is in the lower echelon of goaltenders in the Q this year, but remains a solid starting option.
The Blainsville-Boisbriand Armada are trending UP this year as well, walking into this season steadily ranked with premier teams such as Halifax and Quebec as contenders. The Armada acquired Devils' first round pick Stefan Matteau in the off-season, and his agitator presence will make them even tougher to play against this year. Blainsville possesses likely the best two-way depth in the league, and likely the best defensive squad as well. Xavier Ouellet and Samuel Carrier could both be argued as the best defenseman in the league this year and could be on the same powerplay unit this year. The Armada also have Etienne Marcoux tending the crease this year, who should build on last years excellent season.
The Cape Breton Screaming Eagles walk into this season trending to be the SAME as last year. While Denis Kindl, Jonathan Brunelle and Sebastian Payette graduated, David Hoznik, Justin Haché and Jonathan Oligny replace them. Young talents like William Carrier, Bronson Beaton and Kyle Farrell are expected to progress, there is no outstanding trait to this young team that leads me to believe they will build on last year.
The Chicoutimi Saguenéens lost significant talent and are trending DOWN this year. The Sags loaded up last season acquiring J.P. Pageau, Mathieu Gagnon and Christian Ouellet from Gatineau in an attempt to win the Presidents cup. They fell short in the 3rd round, losing 4-1 to Saint John. What is left is decent offence, suspect defense and solid goaltending. They will be down a few spots from their 8th place finish last season.
The Drumondville Voltigeurs head into this season trending SAME as last season. The Voltigeurs did not go out and acquire talent this off-season, and will have to overachieve to avoid being a bottom feeder. This is fully in reach considering how well coached Mario Duhamel keeps his team, but it is difficult to imagine a team headlined by Olivier Archembault, Marc-Olivier and Nikolas Brouillard will make noise in the QMJHL this year.
In Gatineau, the Olymipiques are trending UP without a doubt. After a middling season in 2011-2012, the Olympiques had an action packed off-season acquiring scoring winger Yannick Dubé from Victoriaville, and Acadie-Bathurst starter Robert Steeves. They proceeded to take the talented scorer Martin Reway in the Euro draft and had 1st round picks Alex Carrier and Kameron Keilly make the roster out of camp. The Olympiques are young and have improved at every position. Robert Steeves went down until at least Christmas with an injury which hurts the club. When you factor in the fact that Benoit Groulx always has a disciplined, two-way team on the ice, the injury becomes less of a factor than expected.
The Halifax Mooseheads have big expectations heading UP to this season, mostly based on the fact that their young core that includes Nathan Mackinnon, Jonathan Drouin, Martin Frk and Zach Fucale has another year of progression under their belt. Add in veterans such as Konrad Abeltshauser, Stefan Fournier, Darcy Ashley and Brent Andrews and you have a unique contender. The Mooseheads have no glaring holes heading into this season, though another premier forward or defenseman would certainly help separate the Mooseheads from other teams at the top of the pack.
The Moncton Wildats are trending UP after an electrifying off-season where they finished a trade with Shawinigan, sending back picks for top 4 defenseman Jonathan Racine and starting goaltender Alex Dubeau. They also acquired arguably the best Euro tandem in the league in St. Louis Blues draft pick Dmitri Jaskin and #1 Euro pick Ivan Barbashev. Moncton now has weapons up front, even more abundant depth on defence and a quality starting goaltender to replace Roman Will. They are my dark horse to go deep in the playoffs because of their excellent depth.
In P.E.I., the Rocket (amongst a well-needed name change) are trending the UP this season, acquiring some solid players in the off-season in the off-season in Alex Micallef and waiver pick-ups Erik Robichaud and Charles Johnson. They used the #2 overall pick to select Alexis Pépin who should make his presence felt immediately on a PEI team starved for offence. The Rocket are by no means contenders, with progression of young players like Yan Pavel Laplante, Ryan Graves and Matthew Bursey another last place finish doesn't seem likely on the Island.
The Quebec Remparts appear to be headed into this season the SAME as last year. It will be difficult ot imagine the Remparts improving much on a borderline dominant season like 2011-2012, but after losing Louis Domingue, Gabriel Desjardins and Mikael Tam this off-season I feel like the Remparts only offset their losses by bringing in Nikita Kucherov and having their young core progress. The Remparts will still fill the net with ease, but the goaltending and defence are suspect enough that the QMJHL is not any more afraid of this years Remparts than the year than last year.
The Rimouski Oceanic head into this season the SAME as well. The Oceanic replaced some of the veteran losses they sustained this off-season by adding to a pool a 1995s that is as deep as any in the league. They turned heads by getting Anthony Deluca, Maxime Gravel and Frédérik Gauthier to report, players who all had NCAA commitments and are capable of making significant impacts this year. Two new Euros Vladimir Bryuvikin and Jan Kostalek should fill the void of Petr Straka and Jakub Culek. It is impressive that even after losing Jerome Gauther-Leduc, Alex Belzile and Alex Mallet they will likely finish in and around the 6th seed again this year. Cheers to GM Phillipe Boucher for such a stand-up job.
The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are trending UP after a solid off-season where they acquired some good veteran talent in Gabriel Desjardins and Andrew O'Brien. The Huskies have solid Euros returning that will drive there offense once again, Denis Kamaev and Sven Andrighetto and with some more depth could turn heads by improving on last years 15th place finish by a good margin. The pressure will be on 2011 defensive rookie of the year Robin Gusse to find consistency to enable the Huskies to do so.
The Saint Johns Sea Dogs are undoubtedly trending DOWN heading into this season, losing 6 of their top 9 scorers from last season. The Sea Dogs will have a transition year on their hands this year, after 3 years of dynasty-like dominance. With two less talented new Euros and a rookie-laden roster, the Sea Dogs will fight with the bottom feeders to keep out of the Bottom 5 this year. Jonathan Huberdeau will return until the end of the NHL lockout, which is a nice boost for the young players and franchise but Huberdeau is no superman.
The Shawinigan Cataractes appear to be walking into one of the biggest DOWNwards turnarounds the CHL has seen in a long time. After winning the Memorial Cup last season, the Cataractes will bring back only 9 players, all of whom played depth roles on last years squad. The Cataractes will be a living example of how quick fates can turn after genuinely 'going for it', which turned out well worth it in the end. On the bright side, they will ice a lot of youth this year and will bring in Slovak standout Patrik Koys next year, so the future looks fairly bright the franchise that seems to almost be the consensus pick for last in the league this year.
The Sherbrooke Phoenix are not really capable of being judged, but I will say that I expect the group to take time to bond and that Sherbrooke will finish in and around 15th.
The Val d'Or Foreurs are trending UP headed into this season, after this up and coming team took a big step forward acquiring Memorial Cup hero Anton Zlobin, and Bathurst defenceman Jérémie Fraser. This bolstered the Foreurs already solid roster. With solid goaltending, a strong mobile defence group and some marquee forwards up front such as Zlobin, Anothony Mantha and Cedrick Henley.
Last but not least, the Victoriaville Tigres are trending DOWN based on the talent they traded away this off-season and lack of depth. The Tigres, clearly not happy with what happened in last years playoffs traded away Stefan Fournier, Brandon Hynes, David Hoznik and Yannick Dubé in a span of two days. That leaves them with leaving them with a few impact forwards such as Phillip Danault, Phillippe Halley and Phillippe Maillet. Behind them are a few solid top 9 forwards, but nothing to write home about. The young defense corps is below average with Stars draft pick Troy Vance leading the way. One of their strong points should be Chicago draft pick Brandon Whitney in net, who is big atheletic and ready to step into the upper echelon of QMJHL goalies.
There you have it, my take on the turbulent trends that you see every off season in Junior, and the excting parity that comes with it!
Friday, 17 August 2012
QMJHL Pre-Season Report - August 17th
Samuel Carrier headlines QMJHL pre-season trade action (Copyright Getty Images)
With training camps starting this week, there has been a flurry of trade action as coaches/ general managers start to identify players that fit their identities, and ship away those who do not. There have already been cuts made as well, which I will list below:
Drumondville cuts: Alexandre Veronneau, Alexandre Biloudeau, Xavier LaBonte, Gabriel Labbe, Jonathan Rizzo, Joe Fleschier, Sacha Harnois, Kevin Bernilon, Gabriel Dubois, Olivier Roquebrune, Dylan Montcalm, Andrew McCann and Toliver Bergeron
Gatineau cuts: Karl Leveille, Nicolas Lachance, Joey Palumbo, Francois Plamondon, Steven Brooker, Felix-Antoine Jacques and Robby Klein
Rouyn-Noranda cuts: Joey Deveny, Jeremy Therrien, Alexandre Dulude, Benjamin Lavoie and Anthony Beauchamp
Victoriaville cuts: Julien Giroux, Marc Terriault, Etienne Lavoie, Jean-Dominic Samson, Jesse Turin, Jason Caron, Christopher Daoud and Dallas Lahache
The first name to catch your eye is well, the first name. Alexandre Verroneau looked very promising as a 16 year old rookie, putting up great numbers in a handful of games, but has not looked like a QMJHL caliber goalie ever since. This appears to be the end of his major junior career.
On the trade front, there have been 6 trades in the last two days and here they are:
-Sherbrooke trades Phillipe Archambault to Chicoutimi for a 5th in 2013
Fairly minor deal, Chicoutimi adds some veteran experience and grit to the bottom 6
-Baie-Comeau trades Samuel Carrier to Blainville-Boisbriand for a 1st in 2014
This will be one of the biggest trades of the year, with the Armada adding another top 5 defenseman
in this league to their roster, letting the QMJHL know they are ready to contend this year!
-Blainville-Boisbriand trades Vincent Richer to Sherbrooke for a 5th in 2014
The Armada clear room for overager Carrier to play, while Sherbrooke acquires a solid veteran option on the back end.
-Sherbrooke trades Mitchell Shewfelt to Cape Breton for a 10th in 2013
The Screaming Eagles add a defenseman after holes left by Jacob Arsenault and Louis-Phillipe Page not reporting to camp.
-Rouyn-Noranda trades Jason Houde to Quebec for a 8th in 2013
Quebec picks up some much needed depth up front adding 19 year old Houde, who will be a depth scorer.
-Sherbrooke trades Marc-Anothony Therrien to Victoriaville for a 14th in 2013
Victoriaville adds an undrafted Therrien who can likely only crack the Victo line up due to depth issues
Monday, 13 August 2012
10 Most Valuable QMJHL Players - 2012-2013 Season
Mackinnon Prepares for a pressure packed season for a contender this year
There are many marquee talents in the QMJHL this year, and it seems to be an up year as a whole for the Quebec league, and things will get very competitive at the top with teams like Gatineau, Moncton and Blandsville-Boisbriand turning themselvese into contenders this off-season. Following up our standings preview, here is a look at the 10 players who will be the most valuable to their team next year. (under the assumption Huberdeau and Grigorenko are not returning)
#1 - Nathan Mackinnon, Halifax Mooseheads - Centre
Mackinnon is the backbone of a Mooseheads offence that is likely the strongest in the league. The pressure is on for Mackinnon this year, as he is the #1 ranked player the for 2013 NHL draft and has a full year of foolish Crosby comparisons ahead. Mackinnon is likely to be the leading scorer for the current QMJHL favourite Mooseheads and is an electrifying enough talent that there is not a defensive paring in this league strong enough to contain him. With other talent like Drouin, Frk and Abeltshauser also on the team the fact remains that there is no more valuable player in the QMJHL than him.
#2 - Ben Duffy, PEI Rocket - Centre
Duffy leads a PEI rocket team that was awful last year, into this season as one of the only bright spots the franchise have. The Rockets' all time leading scorer is a marquee talent who can create offence for his linemates and did so very well last year, putting up 82 points in 68 games on a weak Rockets team with a -115 goal differencial last year. The former 5th overall pick is ready to dominate the league offenseively, but it may not be for much on a Rockets team that has no players who had more than 50 points returning. The value of Duffy to the Rockets is huge, because if they choose to trade him they will receive a huge boost to their rebuilding efforts. The Rockets could also choose to keep him and try to contend, which is why there is no more pivotal player to a franchise than Ben Duffy.
#3 - Xavier Ouellet, Blainsville-Boisbriand Armada - Defenceman
Ouellet is primed for a big season this year, having been a dominant QMJHL defenceman the last three seasons now. The Red Wings second rounder has a big season coming up, wearing the "C" for the Blainsville-Boisbriand Armada who will be a contender this year. After a good off-season, last years West division-winning Armada will be a strong defensive team again this year, which means that Ouellet will have to lead one of the most defence-oriented teams in the league. Whether they contend or not will be largely in the hands of how arguably the best defenceman in the Q leads, and that is what makes him so valuable to the Armada.
#4 - Alex/ Allain Saulnier, Moncton Wildcats - Forward
I could not really differentiate these two, so I have them slotted as one player. Alex and Allain were almost the only creators of offence for a weak Wildcats team that lacked it heavily last year. That has changed this off-season, adding marquee talent through the import draft and through 'finishing' the Brandon Gormley trade with Shawinigan, trading back their picks for impact players. The twins are overagers this year, which means they should progress from last year, where they were amongst the most dangerous players in the league. If the Saulniers and the new additions can provide the offence to a strong defence in Moncton, watch for the Wildcats to be a powerhouse next year.
#5 - Martin Lefevbre - Quebec Remparts, Defenceman
With so many offensive weapons in Quebec this year, and a quality starter in Francois Brassard the Remparts only question mark lies on defence, where they are young and inexperienced. The Remparts so have Lefevbre though, who a a top-5 defenceman in the entire league heading into this season. He is likely to wear the 'C' for the Remparts and mentor young defencemen Duncan McIntyre and Ryan Culkin, while still being expected to quarterback the powerplay and play tough PK minutes. Lefevbre may not have a huge impact on how the Remparts do in the regular season, but if the post-season rolls around and Remparts have any troubles offensively, Lefevbre will be extremely important.
#6 - Zach O'Brien, Acadie-Bathhurst Titan - Centre
Zach O'Brien will be the leagues premier goal scorer this year, building upon last season where he led the league in goals with 50 in 68 games. O'Briens line of Bissonette-O'Brien-Trudeau carried the Titan last year to a season over .500, an impressive leap over last seasons expectations. The Titan acquired Brandon Hynes this off-season and their young defence corps will be one year older, so if O'Brien can continue to fill the net for the Titan, watch for them to be a surprise contender this year.
#7 - Anton Zlobin, Val d'Or Foreurs - Left Wing
Zlobin had an awesome year for Shawinigan last year, putting up 76 points in 66 games on an offensively deep team. Zlobin was Shawinigans go-to guy up front and scored the Memorial Cup winning goal. This off-season he was traded to Val d'Or for picks, and will be expected to help the Foreurs compete this season. The Foreurs were not really close to competing last season, so it will be interesting to see how much farther Zlobin can push them.
#8 - Etienne Marcoux, Blainsville-Boisbriand Armada - Goaltender
Marcoux has this season with a strong team in front of him to solidify himself as one of, if not the best goalie in the league heading into his draft year. Last season, Marcoux was a top tier goalie posting a .912 SV% and 2.71 GAA while going 28-9-3. The Armada will be contending this year and cannot afford to have Marcoux underperform. If he can bring his 'A' game consistently, the Armada will give teams like Halifax and Quebec a run for their money this year.
#9 - Tomas Hyka, Gatineau Olympiques - Left Wing
Hyka was an outstanding Euro selection by the Olympiques, turning heads last year as a QMJHL rookie. He was one of their only offensive catalysts and looked a step ahead of most defenders. After some serious reloading this off-season, the Olympiques are ready to compete again with Hyka leading the offensive charge. Hyka will help fellow Euro Martin Reway adjust to North American hockey and will be expected to build on his 1.28 PPG last year.
#10 - Zach Fucale, Halifax Mooseheads - Goaltender
Zach Fucale was the biggest overachiever in the QMJHL last year. As a 16 year old goalie, he made the Mooseheads as the back-up and suceeded an injured Anothony Terenzio, going on to break the QMJHL record for wins by a 16 year old with 32. Fucale is known for his rebound control and incredible speed and poise for a young goaltender. He was also co-MVP of the Mooseheads last year and will need to keep up his excellent play to ensure the Mooseheads are able to contend this year.
Honorable Mentions -
Phillipe Danault - Danault will either carry and lead a weak Tigres roster or be traded at the deadline, jump starting their rebuild.
Charles Hudon - Hudon will be the Sags best player this season, and will be expected to dominate the QMJHL offensively
Anthony Duclair - Duclair appears to be the Remparts foremost offensive player heading into a season where they need to score in bunches.
William Carrier - The Screaming Eagles offence will rely heavily on draft-eligible Carrier to produce.
Friday, 27 July 2012
Projected Standings 2012-2013 - Pre-Season
1- Quebec Remparts
2- Halifax Mooseheads
3- Blainsville-Boisbriand Armada
4- Gatineau Olympiques
5- Moncton Wildcats
6- Rimouski Océanic
7- Acadie-Bathurst Titan
8- Baie-Comeau Drakkar
9- Val d'Or Foreurs
10- Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
11- Chicoutimi Saguenéens
12- Rouyn-Noranda Huksies
13- Sherbrooke Phoenix
14- Victoriaville Tigres
15- PEI Rocket
16- Saint John Sea Dogs
17- Drummondville Voltigeurs
18- Shawinigan Cataractes
1-
The Remparts had an excellent season last year with their youth, and Partick Roy will most certainly ensure they build on it this year. Expect Mikhail Grigorenko to be back in Quebec City, and Sorensen to be traded for some immediate help when he does. Grigorenko has excellent chemistry with Nikita Kucherov, which will be a dynamic duo that is near impossible to stop at the junior level. After these two, the Remparts still boast names such as Brandon Shea, Adam Erne, Logan Shaw and Anthony Duclair up front. The Remparts defence will also be solid with several returnees, including NHL draft pick Ryan Culkin, Martin Lefebvre and Marc-Antoine Carrier returning, followed by François Brassard in nets. Expect the Remparts to make additions at the dealine as well, leading to their regular season domination.
Offense 9/10
Defence 7/10
Goaltending 9/10
Depth 8/10
2-
The Mooseheads are another young team coming off an overachieving season, and are coming into this year actually expected to contend. With all of their young stars returning, the Mooseheads will have no troubles scoring with the likes of Martin Frk, Nathan Mackinnon and Jonathan Drouin in their top 6. The defence was given a huge boost with the news Konrad Abeltshauser will be returning this year as an overager rather then playing in the AHL, and Zach Fucale will be in nets looking to build upon last years stellar season. The Mooseheads are my current favourite to win the QMJHL title, but there expect a few tough stretches this season where the losses of locker room leaders Cam Critchlow and Travis Randall become apparent.
Offence 10/10
Defence 8/10
Goaltending 9/10
Depth 9/10
3-
The Armada surprised the QMJHL last year by winning the West division as a transferred team with very little talent left over from the former Montréal Juniors franchise. They used strong two-way play and depth to win their games, and over this off-season acquired more talent in NHL 1st rounder Stefan Matteau Jr, Jonathan Lavoie and Steve Lebel. They boast arguably the best forward depth in the Q and a strong defence corps led by Xavier Ouellette. Étienne Marcoux will tend the crease for the Armada, one of the best goalies in the QMJHL who will certainly steal some games for them this year.
Offence 8/10
Defence 9/10
Goaltending 9/10
Depth 10/10
4-
The Olympiques were very busy this off-season, leading to renewed sense of excitement for Piques fans. They acquired Yannick Dubé, winner of last years scoring title and two-way forward Taylor Burke. They then drafted a marquee talent at the import draft in Slovakian Martin Reway, who will likely receive premier minutes for the Olympiques. The Olympiques defence on paper is somewhat suspect, but will not cause them too much trouble with the amount of two-way forwards they possess and the energy the Olympiques play with. With the acquisition of Robert Steeves from Acadie-Bathurst the goaltending situation will be stable enough to label Gatineau a true contender this year.
Offence 9/10
Defence 8/10
Goaltending 7/10
Depth 9/10
5-
The Wildcats had a huge off-season this year, improving in almost every aspect via trades and the import draft. They acquired two excellent Euros in Dmitri Jaskin and Ivan Barbashev, and also got point-per-game winger Yannick Veilleux in a trade with Gatineau. The Wildcats are well-stocked with high end talent on forward and have excellent depth on defence. The Wildcats also received new starter Alex Dubeau in their deal with the Cataractes which is a huge upgrade on back-up Brandon Thibeau.
Offence 9/10
Defence 8/10
Goalie 8/10
Depth 8/10
6-
The Océanic have without a doubt lost some talent from last years QMJHL finals squad, but they also boast a lot of young talent, who all benefited from the long playoffs run last year. Frédérik Gauthier, Anothony DeLuca, Samuel Morin, Simon Boudreau, Maxime Gravel and Phillipe Desrosiers should all be prominently featured as 95s this year. They will be returning several solid veterans such as Peter Trainor and Scott Oke, along with two solid new Euros. This is my 'riser' team this year that should turn some heads, despite a lot of youth being leaned on.
Offence 8/10
Defence 7/10
Goaltending 6/10
Depth 7/10
7-
The Titan are all-in this year, headlined by their best players all being overagers this year in Zach O'Brien, Matthew Bissonette and Brandon Hynes. The Titan also have 2 new skilled Euros in Adam Zboril and Patrik Zdrahal, and added depth at forward by acquiring Raphael Lafontaine from Gatineau. The Titan also boast a solid young defense core that is expected to improve upon last years suspect defence. The Titan have an Achilles heel at the goaltender position however, heading in with an 18 year old backup goalie in Jake Brennan and a 16 year old back up in Mason MacDonald. Neither have proven much at QMJHL level so whether the Titan are capable of contending or not will on these two young goalies.
Offence 9/10
Defence 7/10
Goaltending 6/10
Depth 8/10
8-
The Drakkar turned some heads last year when, expected to be a cellar dweller they turned heads after an up and down season when they swept #4 seed and contender Victoriaville. The Drakkar come back this year one step further in their rebuilding process looking for youth to step up and bring some results. The Drakkar will rely on depth since their foremost offensive player is Raphael Bussieres, but have enough scoring depth to fare well in what looks like the QMJHLs weakest division. They have a good defence core headed by Samuel Carrier and a excellent young goalie in Phillipe Cadorette.
Offence 7/10
Defence 7/10
Goaltending 7/10
Depth 8/10
9-
The Foreurs head into this season in somewhat of an awkward stage. Their move to acquire premier Euro Anton Zlobin would tell you they are trying to compete, but looking at the Foreurs roster I don't see the talent that justifies trading futures for him. To be sure, the Foureurs will be better this year than last. The Foreurs forwards boast some decent scoring depth, but will not necessarily be expected to fill the nets. The defence corps is the true strength on this team, headlined by standout Russian Atrem Sergeev, and followed by solid defencemen Julien Leduc, Matt Murphy and Gabriel Beaupre. They will be the backbone of this team moving forward, and will hopefully help out Francois Tremblay fill out his potential as an elite QMJHL goaltender.
Offence 7/10
Defence 8/10
Goalie 7/10
Depth 7/10
10-
The Screaming Eagles head into this year amidst a rebuilding stage. They will be icing a lot of youth, but the Screaming boast some very solid two-way talents such as Bronson Beaton, William Carrier, Clark Bishop and Jutin Hache. The identity of this team will likely be defence based on the fact they lack offensive flair on the forward front. The defence core is strong for the Screaming Eagles, with a top 4 of Justin Hache, Loic Leduc, Stephen Woodworth and Jimmy Oligny headlining their top 4. The goaltending situation in Sydney has certainly improved this year, after the acquisition of David Hoznik from Victoriaville.
Offence 6/10
Defence 8/10
Goaltending 9/10
Depth 7/10
11-
The Sags had a solid playoff run last year, and traded away some important future pieces to do so, that being said, the youth is Chicoutimi is still in great shape. Charles Hudon, Guillaume Asselin, Lukas Sedlak and Jeremy Gregoire all return to a forward group that lost some talent this off-season. The Sags defence remains in good shape and is ready to be led by Matieu Gagnon, and must stand on their head to protect Phillipe Desrosiers, who as a 17 year old rookie will be expected to start.
Offence 7/10
Defence 7/10
Goaltending 6/10
Depth 7/10
12-
The Huskies are an intriuing young team with some interesting pieces up front. Denis Kamaev, Gabriel Desjardins and Sven Andrighetto headline a thin forward group. Dillon Fournier and Mathieu Brisebois headline the Huskies defence which should be above average if Justin Vanier-Guenette and Alexandre Leclerc break out as expected. Goalies Robin Gusse and Alexandre Bélanger were shaky last year with a weak squad in front of them, but Belanger in particular is expected to be better going into his draft year.
Offence 7/10
Defence 7/10
Goaltending 6/10
Depth 6/10
13-
The newly founded Sherbrooke Phoenix have added flexibility as an expansion franchise, with 5 overager spots. With this flexibility, the Phoenix went out and built themselves a deep, two-way team. Headlining the team will be overagers Maximillien Le Sieur and Jacob Gervais-Chouinard. These two players will be their clear cut best players at the forward and goaltender position. The big question mark in Sherbrooke lies in their inexperienced young defence and whether they can keep the team competing in games.
Offence 7/10
Defence 5/10
Goaltending 8/10
Depth 7/10
14-
The Tigres had an extremely disappointing playoffs list year after a strong season, many picked them to make it to at least the QMJHL semis, and were swept first round by the #13 seed. That was the Tigres contending year and it was a missed opportunity. This year the Tigres have very little scoring or depth left from last season, dealing away Yanick Dubé, last years leading Q scorer along with standouts Brandon Hynes and Stefan Fournier. What is left is a few strong players in Philip Danult, Philippe Halley and Phillipe Maillet along with defencemen Troy Vance and Petr Sidlik and goalie Brandon Whitney. Outside these players there are very few bright spots on this roster.
Offence 7/10
Defence 6/10
Goaltending 7/10
Depth 5/10
15-
The Rocket go into this season with things looking better in their rebuild. The forward group is looking stronger and again is led by Ben Duffy, who against the grain of speculation was not dealt this off-season. The defence also looks better with veterans Owen Werthner, Alex Micallef and Tomas Pavelka and young defencemen Ryan Graves and Mark Trickett a year more ready to compete. Maxime Lagacé should be solid in nets for with a better team in front of him this year.
16-
The Sea Dogs had an excellent run the last 3 years, placing 1st in each of the last three seasons. Their core lied in Stanislav Galiev, Tomas Jurco, Jonathan Huberdeau, Zach Phillips and Nathan Bealieu. This core all graduated or is going pro this year, leaving the Sea Dogs in rough shape heading into next year. Some notable holdovers are Ryan Tesink, Steven MacAulay, Kevin Gagné and Oliver Cooper. The Sea Dogs first line of Cooper-MacAulay-Tesink is a 2nd line for most teams, and their top 2 defencemen Kevin Gagné and Pierre Durepos fit the same bill. In nets they are fine shape with Sebastian Auger, backed up by American standout Drew Michals.
Offence - 6/10
Defence 6/10
Goaltending 7/10
Depth 5/10
17-
The Voltigeurs had a good year in 2011-2012, finishing 3rd in their division. Though they haven't sustained heavy losses this off-season, they have the weakest roster on paper in the QMJHL. The standouts on Drumondville are the Brouillard brothers, Marc-Antoine and Niklas and former #1 QMJHL entry draft pick Olivier Archambault. Guillaume Gauthier and Phillipe Venne have potential to break out this year as well, as they will get heavy minutes on such a thin forward corps. The defence will be thin as well, headlined by Nikolas Brouillard and overager Napessis André. Domenic Graham and Alexandre Verroneau will stabilize this team in net, which could be a tall task with the Voltigeurs division getting much tougher this off-season.
Offence 5/10
Defence 6/10
Goaltending 7/10
Depth 6/10
18-
It's not often you see a team who won a Memorial cup 2 months ago projected to be last in the league. However, when you ice a team with so many '92 borns, you must expect a difficult season ahead. Peter Sakaris, Dillon Donnelly and Loik Poudrier are the Cataractes only above average players, the rest of their roster will consist of draft picks and two-way energy forwards. Shawinigan and Saint John remain decisive proof of how quick a contender can turn into a cellar dweller in junior hockey.
Offence 5/10
Defence 6/10
Goaltending 6/10
Depth 5/10
2- Halifax Mooseheads
3- Blainsville-Boisbriand Armada
4- Gatineau Olympiques
5- Moncton Wildcats
6- Rimouski Océanic
7- Acadie-Bathurst Titan
8- Baie-Comeau Drakkar
9- Val d'Or Foreurs
10- Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
11- Chicoutimi Saguenéens
12- Rouyn-Noranda Huksies
13- Sherbrooke Phoenix
14- Victoriaville Tigres
15- PEI Rocket
16- Saint John Sea Dogs
17- Drummondville Voltigeurs
18- Shawinigan Cataractes
1-
The Remparts had an excellent season last year with their youth, and Partick Roy will most certainly ensure they build on it this year. Expect Mikhail Grigorenko to be back in Quebec City, and Sorensen to be traded for some immediate help when he does. Grigorenko has excellent chemistry with Nikita Kucherov, which will be a dynamic duo that is near impossible to stop at the junior level. After these two, the Remparts still boast names such as Brandon Shea, Adam Erne, Logan Shaw and Anthony Duclair up front. The Remparts defence will also be solid with several returnees, including NHL draft pick Ryan Culkin, Martin Lefebvre and Marc-Antoine Carrier returning, followed by François Brassard in nets. Expect the Remparts to make additions at the dealine as well, leading to their regular season domination.
Offense 9/10
Defence 7/10
Goaltending 9/10
Depth 8/10
2-
The Mooseheads are another young team coming off an overachieving season, and are coming into this year actually expected to contend. With all of their young stars returning, the Mooseheads will have no troubles scoring with the likes of Martin Frk, Nathan Mackinnon and Jonathan Drouin in their top 6. The defence was given a huge boost with the news Konrad Abeltshauser will be returning this year as an overager rather then playing in the AHL, and Zach Fucale will be in nets looking to build upon last years stellar season. The Mooseheads are my current favourite to win the QMJHL title, but there expect a few tough stretches this season where the losses of locker room leaders Cam Critchlow and Travis Randall become apparent.
Offence 10/10
Defence 8/10
Goaltending 9/10
Depth 9/10
3-
The Armada surprised the QMJHL last year by winning the West division as a transferred team with very little talent left over from the former Montréal Juniors franchise. They used strong two-way play and depth to win their games, and over this off-season acquired more talent in NHL 1st rounder Stefan Matteau Jr, Jonathan Lavoie and Steve Lebel. They boast arguably the best forward depth in the Q and a strong defence corps led by Xavier Ouellette. Étienne Marcoux will tend the crease for the Armada, one of the best goalies in the QMJHL who will certainly steal some games for them this year.
Offence 8/10
Defence 9/10
Goaltending 9/10
Depth 10/10
4-
The Olympiques were very busy this off-season, leading to renewed sense of excitement for Piques fans. They acquired Yannick Dubé, winner of last years scoring title and two-way forward Taylor Burke. They then drafted a marquee talent at the import draft in Slovakian Martin Reway, who will likely receive premier minutes for the Olympiques. The Olympiques defence on paper is somewhat suspect, but will not cause them too much trouble with the amount of two-way forwards they possess and the energy the Olympiques play with. With the acquisition of Robert Steeves from Acadie-Bathurst the goaltending situation will be stable enough to label Gatineau a true contender this year.
Offence 9/10
Defence 8/10
Goaltending 7/10
Depth 9/10
5-
The Wildcats had a huge off-season this year, improving in almost every aspect via trades and the import draft. They acquired two excellent Euros in Dmitri Jaskin and Ivan Barbashev, and also got point-per-game winger Yannick Veilleux in a trade with Gatineau. The Wildcats are well-stocked with high end talent on forward and have excellent depth on defence. The Wildcats also received new starter Alex Dubeau in their deal with the Cataractes which is a huge upgrade on back-up Brandon Thibeau.
Offence 9/10
Defence 8/10
Goalie 8/10
Depth 8/10
6-
The Océanic have without a doubt lost some talent from last years QMJHL finals squad, but they also boast a lot of young talent, who all benefited from the long playoffs run last year. Frédérik Gauthier, Anothony DeLuca, Samuel Morin, Simon Boudreau, Maxime Gravel and Phillipe Desrosiers should all be prominently featured as 95s this year. They will be returning several solid veterans such as Peter Trainor and Scott Oke, along with two solid new Euros. This is my 'riser' team this year that should turn some heads, despite a lot of youth being leaned on.
Offence 8/10
Defence 7/10
Goaltending 6/10
Depth 7/10
7-
The Titan are all-in this year, headlined by their best players all being overagers this year in Zach O'Brien, Matthew Bissonette and Brandon Hynes. The Titan also have 2 new skilled Euros in Adam Zboril and Patrik Zdrahal, and added depth at forward by acquiring Raphael Lafontaine from Gatineau. The Titan also boast a solid young defense core that is expected to improve upon last years suspect defence. The Titan have an Achilles heel at the goaltender position however, heading in with an 18 year old backup goalie in Jake Brennan and a 16 year old back up in Mason MacDonald. Neither have proven much at QMJHL level so whether the Titan are capable of contending or not will on these two young goalies.
Offence 9/10
Defence 7/10
Goaltending 6/10
Depth 8/10
8-
The Drakkar turned some heads last year when, expected to be a cellar dweller they turned heads after an up and down season when they swept #4 seed and contender Victoriaville. The Drakkar come back this year one step further in their rebuilding process looking for youth to step up and bring some results. The Drakkar will rely on depth since their foremost offensive player is Raphael Bussieres, but have enough scoring depth to fare well in what looks like the QMJHLs weakest division. They have a good defence core headed by Samuel Carrier and a excellent young goalie in Phillipe Cadorette.
Offence 7/10
Defence 7/10
Goaltending 7/10
Depth 8/10
9-
The Foreurs head into this season in somewhat of an awkward stage. Their move to acquire premier Euro Anton Zlobin would tell you they are trying to compete, but looking at the Foreurs roster I don't see the talent that justifies trading futures for him. To be sure, the Foureurs will be better this year than last. The Foreurs forwards boast some decent scoring depth, but will not necessarily be expected to fill the nets. The defence corps is the true strength on this team, headlined by standout Russian Atrem Sergeev, and followed by solid defencemen Julien Leduc, Matt Murphy and Gabriel Beaupre. They will be the backbone of this team moving forward, and will hopefully help out Francois Tremblay fill out his potential as an elite QMJHL goaltender.
Offence 7/10
Defence 8/10
Goalie 7/10
Depth 7/10
10-
The Screaming Eagles head into this year amidst a rebuilding stage. They will be icing a lot of youth, but the Screaming boast some very solid two-way talents such as Bronson Beaton, William Carrier, Clark Bishop and Jutin Hache. The identity of this team will likely be defence based on the fact they lack offensive flair on the forward front. The defence core is strong for the Screaming Eagles, with a top 4 of Justin Hache, Loic Leduc, Stephen Woodworth and Jimmy Oligny headlining their top 4. The goaltending situation in Sydney has certainly improved this year, after the acquisition of David Hoznik from Victoriaville.
Offence 6/10
Defence 8/10
Goaltending 9/10
Depth 7/10
11-
The Sags had a solid playoff run last year, and traded away some important future pieces to do so, that being said, the youth is Chicoutimi is still in great shape. Charles Hudon, Guillaume Asselin, Lukas Sedlak and Jeremy Gregoire all return to a forward group that lost some talent this off-season. The Sags defence remains in good shape and is ready to be led by Matieu Gagnon, and must stand on their head to protect Phillipe Desrosiers, who as a 17 year old rookie will be expected to start.
Offence 7/10
Defence 7/10
Goaltending 6/10
Depth 7/10
12-
The Huskies are an intriuing young team with some interesting pieces up front. Denis Kamaev, Gabriel Desjardins and Sven Andrighetto headline a thin forward group. Dillon Fournier and Mathieu Brisebois headline the Huskies defence which should be above average if Justin Vanier-Guenette and Alexandre Leclerc break out as expected. Goalies Robin Gusse and Alexandre Bélanger were shaky last year with a weak squad in front of them, but Belanger in particular is expected to be better going into his draft year.
Offence 7/10
Defence 7/10
Goaltending 6/10
Depth 6/10
13-
The newly founded Sherbrooke Phoenix have added flexibility as an expansion franchise, with 5 overager spots. With this flexibility, the Phoenix went out and built themselves a deep, two-way team. Headlining the team will be overagers Maximillien Le Sieur and Jacob Gervais-Chouinard. These two players will be their clear cut best players at the forward and goaltender position. The big question mark in Sherbrooke lies in their inexperienced young defence and whether they can keep the team competing in games.
Offence 7/10
Defence 5/10
Goaltending 8/10
Depth 7/10
14-
The Tigres had an extremely disappointing playoffs list year after a strong season, many picked them to make it to at least the QMJHL semis, and were swept first round by the #13 seed. That was the Tigres contending year and it was a missed opportunity. This year the Tigres have very little scoring or depth left from last season, dealing away Yanick Dubé, last years leading Q scorer along with standouts Brandon Hynes and Stefan Fournier. What is left is a few strong players in Philip Danult, Philippe Halley and Phillipe Maillet along with defencemen Troy Vance and Petr Sidlik and goalie Brandon Whitney. Outside these players there are very few bright spots on this roster.
Offence 7/10
Defence 6/10
Goaltending 7/10
Depth 5/10
15-
The Rocket go into this season with things looking better in their rebuild. The forward group is looking stronger and again is led by Ben Duffy, who against the grain of speculation was not dealt this off-season. The defence also looks better with veterans Owen Werthner, Alex Micallef and Tomas Pavelka and young defencemen Ryan Graves and Mark Trickett a year more ready to compete. Maxime Lagacé should be solid in nets for with a better team in front of him this year.
16-
The Sea Dogs had an excellent run the last 3 years, placing 1st in each of the last three seasons. Their core lied in Stanislav Galiev, Tomas Jurco, Jonathan Huberdeau, Zach Phillips and Nathan Bealieu. This core all graduated or is going pro this year, leaving the Sea Dogs in rough shape heading into next year. Some notable holdovers are Ryan Tesink, Steven MacAulay, Kevin Gagné and Oliver Cooper. The Sea Dogs first line of Cooper-MacAulay-Tesink is a 2nd line for most teams, and their top 2 defencemen Kevin Gagné and Pierre Durepos fit the same bill. In nets they are fine shape with Sebastian Auger, backed up by American standout Drew Michals.
Offence - 6/10
Defence 6/10
Goaltending 7/10
Depth 5/10
17-
The Voltigeurs had a good year in 2011-2012, finishing 3rd in their division. Though they haven't sustained heavy losses this off-season, they have the weakest roster on paper in the QMJHL. The standouts on Drumondville are the Brouillard brothers, Marc-Antoine and Niklas and former #1 QMJHL entry draft pick Olivier Archambault. Guillaume Gauthier and Phillipe Venne have potential to break out this year as well, as they will get heavy minutes on such a thin forward corps. The defence will be thin as well, headlined by Nikolas Brouillard and overager Napessis André. Domenic Graham and Alexandre Verroneau will stabilize this team in net, which could be a tall task with the Voltigeurs division getting much tougher this off-season.
Offence 5/10
Defence 6/10
Goaltending 7/10
Depth 6/10
18-
It's not often you see a team who won a Memorial cup 2 months ago projected to be last in the league. However, when you ice a team with so many '92 borns, you must expect a difficult season ahead. Peter Sakaris, Dillon Donnelly and Loik Poudrier are the Cataractes only above average players, the rest of their roster will consist of draft picks and two-way energy forwards. Shawinigan and Saint John remain decisive proof of how quick a contender can turn into a cellar dweller in junior hockey.
Offence 5/10
Defence 6/10
Goaltending 6/10
Depth 5/10
Tuesday, 24 July 2012
Season Previews 2012-2013 - Halifax Mooseheads
Halifax Mooseheads
2011-2012 Record - 68G-39W-22L-7OT-85P
Drouin-Mackinnon-Fournier
Frk-Boudreau-Ashley
Ryan-Andrews-Ciampini
LacroixCourville-Falkenham-Alcade
Davis/Mullaly
Abeltshauser-Lewis
Gillard-Duke
Hardie-Weegar
Lovell/Desmond
Fucale
Terenzio
Powerplay -
Frk-Mackinnon-Fournier
Abeltshauser-Drouin
Penalty Kill
Andrews-Falkenham
Lewis-Gillard
Top 5 Scorers 2011-2012
Mackinnon 58G-31g-47a-78p
Grenier 64G-25g-39a-64p
Boudreau 67G-26g-30a-56p
Ashley 62G-23g-32a-55p
Critchlow 68G-21g-29a-50p
Euros - Martin Frk and Konrad Abeltshauser
Overagers - Konrad Abeltshauser, Stefan Fournier and Steve Gillard
Additions - Stefan Fournier
Losses - Alexandre Grenier, Cameron Critchlow, Brad Cuzner, Travis Randell, Sawyer Hannay and Alexandre Côté
The Halifax Mooseheads walk in to this season as the one of the top teams in the QMJHL. Last year they turned heads with a core consisting of mostly 16 and 17 year olds carrying a dynamic offence, and with all of their scorers turning a year older, there are big expectations in Halifax this year.
The Mooseheads had a quiet off-season, acquiring overager Stefan Fournier for a fair of picks in this springs draft, and turning several heads with their draft. At the draft the Mooseheads, who were expected to trade their 1st pick for immediate help, kept their pick and selected Jack Eichel 15th overall. Eichel is a Boston University bound player who wasn't expected to be picked early because of his stated commitment to the US under-17 development program next year. However, the Mooseheads took a flyer on Eichel because GM Cam Russell called him "the best player in the draft" and would have made an impact similar to rookies Jonathan Drouin and Nathan Mackinnon did this year. Eichel has recently decided to turn down the Mooseheads this year to honour his commitment to the U-17 program and keep his NCAA eligibility. After Eichel however, the Moose continued to add depth at the draft, picking up two potential checking line players for this year in Liam Alcade and and Jonathan Lacroix-Courville then making 5 out their next 6 selections from the Maritimes to restock the system.
The Mooseheads head into this year loaded with talent at the forward position, with 9 forwards who could play top-6 minutes on most teams in the QMJHL. The Drouin-Mackinnon-Fournier line expected to be iced will be amongst the top first lines in the league, and the 2nd line of Frk-Boudreau-Ashley should not have a problem putting up points either. The checking line of Ryan-Andrews-Ciampini has excellent match-up potential against other teams scoring lines, and the fourth line will provide some solid energy and grit. The Mooseheads will have no difficulty scoring, but don't be surprised if they acquire another penalty-killing, experienced energy forward to fill in the losses of Cam Critchlow and Travis Randell.
On defence, the Mooseheads received a huge boost this season when news broke that overager Konrad Abeltshauser will only turn pro with San Jose if he makes their team, he will not be put in the AHL. This means there an excellent chance the Mooseheads' best defenceman will be back this year. The Moose also have 3 more solid defencemen in their top four in Trey Lewis, Steve Gillard and Brendan Duke. Their defence will likely be rounded out by Austyn Hardie and Ontario midget standouts Mackenzie Weegar and Brian Lovell. I think the Mooseheads defence is solid enough that they are unlikely to be in the market for defencemen at the Christmas deadline.
In nets, the Mooseheads boast one of the top goaltenders in the QMJHL from last year, 17 year old Zach Fucale. Fucale shocked the QMJHL last year when starting goalie Anthony Terenzio went down by playing lights out for a 16 year old, boasting a 32-18-6 record with a 3.16 GAA and .892 SV%. Fucale broke the QMJHL record for wins by a 16 year old in a season while impressing scouts with his consistency. It is hard to see Fucale not starting this year, even with former starter Anthony Terenzio finally back in the line-up after missing the bulk of last year with a concussion. Even if Fucale stumbles in his sophomore campaign, Terenzio remains a Q caliber starting goaltender eager to prove himself.
Though the Mooseheads have all the talent a team could ask for at their disposal, they have lost quite a bit of locker room presence over the off-season with overagers Travis Randell and Cameron Critchlow. They also boast a few important players heading into their second "sophomore slump" season. So while expectations are high, it is important that veterans like Steve Gillard, Trey Lewis and Brent Andrews show strong leadership to keep the Mooseheads in top form this year.
Burning question - How will Nathan Mackinnon, Jonathan Drouin and Zach Fucale follow up their incredible rookie campaigns?
Prediction - 1st in Maritime division, 2nd in QMJHL
Season Previews 2012-2013 - Moncton Wildcats
Moncton Wildcats
2011-2012 Record - 68G-30W-31L-7OT-67P
Jaskin-Saulnier-Saulnier
Veilleux-Barbashev-Lalonde
Penny-Robichaud-Johnston
Tremaine-Hodge-Howe
Stephans/Deruelle
Downe-Melindy
Racine-Emond
Sweeney-Roussy
Wood/McGurty
Dubeau
Thibeau
Top 5 Scorers 2011-2012
Alex Saulnier 58G-31g-52a-83p
Allain Saulnier 66G-30g-49a-79p
Hrivik 54G-29g-41a-70p
Delisle-Houde 63G-15g-29a-44p
MacAusland 51G-14g-16a-30p
Euros - Ivan Barbashev and Dmitri Jaskin
Overagers - Alex Saulnier, Allain Saulnier and Patrick Downe
Additions - Alex Dubeau, Jonathan Racine, Yannick Veilleux, Ivan Barbashev and Dmitri Jaskin
Losses - Jack Flinn, Charles Johnson, Patrick Delisle-Houde, Devon MacAusland, Marek Hrivik, Roman Will and Scott Trask.
The Moncton Wildcats look much better heading into 2012-2013 than they did last season, adding some premium talent through a blockbuster trade with Shawinigan and the import draft. As a follow up of the Brandon Gormley trade, Shawinigan sent starting goaltender Alex Dubeau, top-4 defenceman Jonathan Racine and scoring winger Yannick Veilleux to the Wildcats in exchange for a bevy of picks that included Shawinigans 1st import draft pick in 2013. The Wildcats then packaged together another load of picks to send to newly founded QMJHL franchise Sherbrooke in exchange for their #1 overall pick in the import draft, where selected Ivan Barbashev. They then used their own pick on St. Louis Blues 2nd round pick Dmitri Jaskin, who has been playing in the top mens league in the Czech Republic the last two years. These five players added over the the off-season will all play big roles for the team next year, really helping Monctons chances of competing in this years strong Maritime division.
For the Wildcats, the forward position will have no trouble filling the net. The Saulnier twins will return as overagers. The twins carried the teams offence last year, and will now have more secondary scoring help with Veilleux, Jaskin, Lalonde and Barbashev joining them in the top 6. The Wildcats bottom 6 leaves something to be desired however, as most of them are energy players and are unlikely to chip in much offence.
The Wildcats have a log jam going on the back end this year, with up to 8 defencemen that could play a regular Q shift in their system. This is after trading away Charles Johnston who was solid for them last year. However, the Wildcats top 4 is quite clear in Patrick Downe, James Melindy, Jonathan Racine and Danick Emond, which is one of the stronger top four groupings in their division.
In nets the Wildcats sustained a huge loss when Roman Will announced he will not be returning. Will was arguably the best goaltender in the league last year, and carried a mediocre Moncton team to flirting with .500 last year. The Wildcats were certainly expecting this when acquiring Alex Dubeau from Shawinigan who will be their clear cut starter this year. Dubeau went 25-9-2 on the Memorial Cup hosts last year and boasted a 2.56 GAA and a .904 SV%. Backing up Dubeau will be Brandon Thibeau, played 7 games with a 1-6 record with the 'Cats last year.
The Wildcats walk into this year absolutely ready to contend, with a top-heavy offence and a deep stable of steady defencemen. The only question seems to be how much they can improve on last season. The Wildcats certainly have the talent to keep up with the Halifax Mooseheads, and expect them to be coached well by Danny Flynn.
Burning question - How quickly can the new face Wildcats create chemistry to compete?
Prediction - 2nd in Maritime division, 5th in QMJHL
Sunday, 22 July 2012
Season Previews 2012-2013 - Saint John Sea Dogs
Saint John Sea Dogs
2011-2012 Record - 68G-50W-15L-3OT-103P
Cooper-Macaulay-Tesink
Izacky-Anderson-Kelly
Highmore-Cameron-OliverDares
Brown-Morrison-Donaghey
Cuomo/Campbell
Gagné-Weckworth
Durepos-Repe
Hade-Leblanc
Mosher
Auger
Michals
AS
Top 5 Scorers 2011-2012
Gauthier 66G-47g-39a-86p
Phillips 60G-30g-50a-80p
Huberdeau 37G-30g-42a-72p
Jurco 48G-30g-38a-68p
Beaulieu 53G-11g-41a-52p
Euros - Jakub Izacky and Jurij Repe
Overagers - Kevin Gagné, Pierre Durepos and Steven MacAulay
Additions - Jakub Izacky, David Weckworth and Jurij Repe
Losses - Danick Gauthier, Zack Phillips, Jonathan Huberdeau (95% chance), Tomas Jurco, Nathan Bealieu, Charles-Olivier Roussel, Charlie Coyle, Mathieu Corbeil and Stanislav Galiev
The defending QMJHL champions Saint John Sea Dogs are primed to rebuild this year, after 3 straight years of leading the league in points. The Sea Dogs are projected to lose all of their top 5 scorers and 8 players drafted in the top 4 round of the NHL draft, which effectively kills any chance of defending their 3 straight regular season champion titles. One thing the Seas Dogs have not lost is their winning character which will help them compete with arguably the weakest roster on paper in the QMJHL.
The Sea Dogs didn't make many moves this off-season, simply adding 19 year old defenseman David Weckworth from Gatineau for a 2013 pick, and having a strong draft where they restocked the system with 2 first round picks. They then replaced their former standout Euros Stanislav Galiev and Tomas Jurco at the import draft with Jakub Izacky and Jurij Repe.
Here is what Coach Mike Kelly had to say about Repe:
"Repe was recruited to play last season in Czech Republic in order to face stiffer competition.. A young player, he possesses a lot of strength while being very mobile. He's an efficient puck mover who is looking to add to his game by coming to North America."
And Izacky:
"Izacky is a dynamic skater who is able to create offence with his speed. He has a tremendous work ethic and is looking forward for an opportunity to prove himself in North America."
Though certainly not marquee imports, they add talent to a roster starving for it.
On defence, the Sea Dogs will be seriously helped by the two returning overagers, Pierre Durepos and Kevin Gagné. Both were top-4 in last years squad, and will provide a steadying influence on the back end. David Weckworth and Jurij Repe round out the teams strong point, their top four defencemen. A recurring theme, there will be youth with the other 3 defensemen with 2012 1st round pick Olivier Leblanc likely earning a bottom pairing and 2nd powerplay spot.
In nets, the Sea Dogs bring back Sébastian Auger, their back up from last year who gained valuable experience playing 22 games. In those games he went 14-2-2 with a 2.65 GAA and .897 SV%. Auger is expected to start for the Sea Dogs this year, and be backed up by 17 year old Drew Michals.
The Sea Dogs have simply lost too much talent to compete in their division, and will have troubles keeping up with teams like Acadie-Bathurst, Halifax and Moncton offensively. Expect them to duke it out with PEI, Drumondville and Shawinigan for the final few playoff spots.
Burning question - Will the Sea Dogs have the biggest regular season point differential in the CHL this year?
Prediction - 6th in Maritimes division, 16th in QMJHL
Friday, 20 July 2012
Season Previews 2012-2013 - Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
2011-2012 Record: 68G-23W-42L-3OT-49P
Potvin-Veliky-Carrier
Guevremont-Farrell-Lavoie
Campbell-Clarke-Beaton
Murphy-Bishop-Corriveau
Millman/MacEachern
Haché-Woodworth
Oligny-Leduc
Arsenault-Desmarais
Deslauriers
Hoznik
Trudeau
Top 5 scorers in 2011-2012
Brunelle 68G-30g-55a-85p
Carrier 66G-27g-43a-70p
Lavoie 65G-23g-24a-47p
Clarke 68G-14g-26a-40p
Kindl 62G-18g-20a-38p
Overagers - Jonathan Oligny, Dany Potvin and Alexandre Lavoie
Euros - David Hoznik and Adam Veliky
Additions: David Hoznik, Justin Haché and Jonathan Oligny
Losses: Jonathan Brunelle, Denis Kindl, Cory Macintosh and Sébastien Payette
The Screaming Eagles come into this year as a young rebuilding team that still has a veteran presence. They are not expecting to contend this year, however management made several moves over the off-season that would lead one to believe there is plenty of room for the Screaming Eagles to surprise people this year.
This off-season the Screaming Eagles reloaded a lacklustre back-end by acquiring Justin Haché from Shawinigan for a 2013 1st, Jonathan Oligny from Drummondville for a 2013 3rd and David Hoznik from Victoriaville for a 4th in 2013. Without taking from the current depth the Screaming Eagles were able to ensure the fans will be more optimistic coming into this season than last. The Screaming Eagles also had a bevy of high picks in this springs entry draft where they selected 6 players in the first 3 rounds of the draft, replenishing their system with much needed talent. Their first 3 three picks were strong two-way forward Clark Bishop with the 3rd overall pick, strong technical goalie Alex Bureau at 21 and scoring forward Zach Moody of Nova Scotia at 32nd.
For forwards, the Screaming Eagles head into this season with concerns over who will carry the offensive load with the departures of Jonathan Brunelle and Denis Kindl. William Carrier, Alexandre Lavoie and Adam Veliky are the most likely candidates, but beyond them it is up in the air which depth forwards will be able to contribute. I could certainly envision Kyle Farrell, Bronson Beaton and Michael Clarke being the key depth scorers next year. Watch for the Screaming Eagles to be locked in many low scoring games next year.
On defense, the Screaming Eagles are looking much better than last year heading into this season. The additions of steady defensemen Justin Haché and Jonathan Oligny will bring a calming presence to a back end that had notable issues away from the puck in their own zone and in breaking out of their own zone. With all of the crew becoming one year older, expect far better from the Screaming Eagles defence which will help them compete in a Maritime division bursting with offensive talent.
Between the pipes the Screaming Eagles head into next season in very stable shape, with the newly acquired David Hoznik expected to start and last years starter Philippe Trudeau currently appearing to be the back-up. Hoznik is an above average Q goaltender, who was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks 71st overall in 2011. He is the type of goalie who could certainly go out and steal Cape Breton some games this year, which will be well appreciated by Screaming Eagles fans who are used to the likes of M.A. Fleury, Ondrej Pavelec and Olivier Roy tending the crease for their team. Expect Philippe Trudeau to be used as trade bait heading into the pre-season, as the Screaming Eagles have 3 capable Q back-ups in Jacob Fancy, Francis Léonard-Mayer and Alex Bureau.
I fully expect the the Eagles to improve on their 49 points from last year, but the additions certainly won't carry them to being contenders. At best I see a difficult team to play against that fights to stay around the .500 mark, which is not bad considering how young of a team the Screaming Eagles will be icing.
Burning question - How much room do the Screaming Eagles have to improve with their new additions?
Prediction - 4th in Maritime Division, 13th in QMJHL
I fully expect the the Eagles to improve on their 49 points from last year, but the additions certainly won't carry them to being contenders. At best I see a difficult team to play against that fights to stay around the .500 mark, which is not bad considering how young of a team the Screaming Eagles will be icing.
Burning question - How much room do the Screaming Eagles have to improve with their new additions?
Prediction - 4th in Maritime Division, 13th in QMJHL
Thursday, 19 July 2012
Season Previews 2012-2013 - PEI Rocket
PEI Rocket
2011-2012 Record - 68G-19W-43L-6OT-44P
Laplante-Duffy-Beran
Pépin-Messenger-Provencher
Marcotte-Yetman-Bursey
Chenier-Bent-Ottereyes
Mcgrath
Micallef-Oligny
Pavelka-Werthner
Graves-Phaneuf
ChenierAllard/Trickett
Lagacé
Bibeau
Top 5 scorers 2011-2012
Duffy 68G-34g-48a-82p
Beran 68G-22g-39a-61p
Currie 68G-30g-16a-46p
Bernard 55G-17g-27a-44p
Croteau 63G-15g-19a-34p
Euros- Matej Beran and Tomas Pavelka
Overagers - Ben Duffy, Alex Micallef and Owen Werthner
Additions- Owen Werthner
Losses- Jessyko Bernard, Alex Noël, Olivier Croteau, Pier-Antoine Dion, Marc-André Lévesque and Wes Herrett
The PEI Rocket walk into this year with things looking up. After a draft littered with high picks their system has been replenished and it would appear that this years' #2 overall pick Alexis Pépin is primed to make an immediate impact for the Rockets. However, these high picks came because of the Rockets' last place finish in 2011-2012 season where they only mustered a measly 44 points in 68 regular season games.
Over this off-season, the Rockets were rather quiet, sending a 9th round pick to Sherbrooke for overage defenseman Owen Werthner and trading away their 2 import picks for 3rd and 8th round picks in in the QMJHL draft. The Rockets have also just agreed to a deal in principle with the Blainsville-Boisbriand Armada for defenseman Alex Micallef for 2 2013 draft picks. Their real chance to improve arrived through the draft, where they selected 7 forwards, 5 defensemen and a goalie with their 13 picks. They stayed within the Maritimes as well selecting 6 prospects from Atlantic Canada. It is likely you will see 4 or 5 players make the team next year out of this years draft, which certainly indicates how little depth they had last season.
The Rockets lack star power outside of Ben Duffy and perhaps Matej Beran up front, but certainly have enough energy and talent in the bottom 9 to sustain pressure and hold their own. The top line of Laplante, Duffy and Beran will be leaned on for the bulk of the scoring, while the organization will hope a few depth forwards such as Matthew Bursey and Victor Provencher can break offensively to help share the load. The Rocket are hopeful Lac St. Louis player Neil Robinson will report instead of pursuing NCAA hockey, Robinson would be a helpful offensive addition for their forward core.
On the back end the Rockets actually have a pretty stable crew of top 4 defensemen in Tomas Pavelka, Jimmy Oligny, Owen Werthner and Alex Micallef. Micallef is an important addition for the powerplay and will likely be their #1 offensive guy on the point. Past the top 4, the Rockets have some solid youth on the bottom pairing in last years' first round pick Ryan Graves and free agent addition Dane Phaneuf (younger brother of Dion). Newly drafted Mark Trickett or Alexandre Chenier-Allard will round out their teams defence. This years defence will undoubtedly be better then last year with the additions of two top-4 defensemen in Werthner and Micallef.
In nets the Rockets are set with their starter from last year returning in Maxime Lagacé and backup Antoine Bibeau returning looking to improve upon last years rough statistical year. Both goalies had a GAA over 4 and a SV% under .900, mostly due to peppering they received with the leagues worst team in front of them. Both goalies are solid and with improved defense on the way look for Lagacé in particular to have a breakout year.
Though improvements have certainly been made over this off-season, The Rockets have a long way to go before being contenders. Gordie Dwyer and company have their work cut out for them to make the playoffs this year, even with the very forgiving playoff format.
Burning question - Will Duffy end his career on the island or will he be moved at the deadline to advance the rebuild?
Prediction: 5th in Maritime division, 15th in QMJHL.
Additions- Owen Werthner
Losses- Jessyko Bernard, Alex Noël, Olivier Croteau, Pier-Antoine Dion, Marc-André Lévesque and Wes Herrett
The PEI Rocket walk into this year with things looking up. After a draft littered with high picks their system has been replenished and it would appear that this years' #2 overall pick Alexis Pépin is primed to make an immediate impact for the Rockets. However, these high picks came because of the Rockets' last place finish in 2011-2012 season where they only mustered a measly 44 points in 68 regular season games.
Over this off-season, the Rockets were rather quiet, sending a 9th round pick to Sherbrooke for overage defenseman Owen Werthner and trading away their 2 import picks for 3rd and 8th round picks in in the QMJHL draft. The Rockets have also just agreed to a deal in principle with the Blainsville-Boisbriand Armada for defenseman Alex Micallef for 2 2013 draft picks. Their real chance to improve arrived through the draft, where they selected 7 forwards, 5 defensemen and a goalie with their 13 picks. They stayed within the Maritimes as well selecting 6 prospects from Atlantic Canada. It is likely you will see 4 or 5 players make the team next year out of this years draft, which certainly indicates how little depth they had last season.
The Rockets lack star power outside of Ben Duffy and perhaps Matej Beran up front, but certainly have enough energy and talent in the bottom 9 to sustain pressure and hold their own. The top line of Laplante, Duffy and Beran will be leaned on for the bulk of the scoring, while the organization will hope a few depth forwards such as Matthew Bursey and Victor Provencher can break offensively to help share the load. The Rocket are hopeful Lac St. Louis player Neil Robinson will report instead of pursuing NCAA hockey, Robinson would be a helpful offensive addition for their forward core.
On the back end the Rockets actually have a pretty stable crew of top 4 defensemen in Tomas Pavelka, Jimmy Oligny, Owen Werthner and Alex Micallef. Micallef is an important addition for the powerplay and will likely be their #1 offensive guy on the point. Past the top 4, the Rockets have some solid youth on the bottom pairing in last years' first round pick Ryan Graves and free agent addition Dane Phaneuf (younger brother of Dion). Newly drafted Mark Trickett or Alexandre Chenier-Allard will round out their teams defence. This years defence will undoubtedly be better then last year with the additions of two top-4 defensemen in Werthner and Micallef.
In nets the Rockets are set with their starter from last year returning in Maxime Lagacé and backup Antoine Bibeau returning looking to improve upon last years rough statistical year. Both goalies had a GAA over 4 and a SV% under .900, mostly due to peppering they received with the leagues worst team in front of them. Both goalies are solid and with improved defense on the way look for Lagacé in particular to have a breakout year.
Though improvements have certainly been made over this off-season, The Rockets have a long way to go before being contenders. Gordie Dwyer and company have their work cut out for them to make the playoffs this year, even with the very forgiving playoff format.
Burning question - Will Duffy end his career on the island or will he be moved at the deadline to advance the rebuild?
Prediction: 5th in Maritime division, 15th in QMJHL.
Season Previews 2012-2013 - Acadie-Bathurst
Acadie-Bathurst Titan
Bissonette-O'Brien-Hynes
Zboril-Lalancette-Zdrahal
Banville-Lafontaine-Stevens
Salvail-Cochrane-Lyle
Gallant
Houle-Girard
Fraser-Godin
Davis-Robert
Egan/Dubé
Brennan
Macdonald
Top 5 2011-2012 scorers:
O'Brien 63G-50g-51a-101p
Trudeau 67G-31g-64a-95p
Bissonette 65G-36g-47a-83p
Lalancette 63G-16g-31a-47p
Hoefflin 59G-18g-24a-42p
Euros: Patrik Zdrahal and Adam Zboril
Overagers: Zach O'Brien, Matthew Bissonette and Brandon Hynes
Additions: Brandon Hynes, Adam Zboril, Patrik Zdrahal and Raphael Lafontaine
Losses: Sebastien Trudeau, Chrisophe Losier, Ludovic Kabambi, Mirko Hoefflin, Mario Kurali, Nicholas Krammer, Jordan Murray and Robert Steeves
The Acadie-Bathurst Titan head into this season with their core fairly intact, with the key losses being up front in Captain Christophe Losier and winger Sebastien Trudeau who was 3rd in the Q scoring race last year. The returning impact players include leading QMJHL goal scorer Zach O'Brien and his 2011-12 winger Matthew Bissonette.
The Titan had a good off-season as well, they had a good draft and came out with top goalie Mason Macdonald and solid two-way prospect depth in forwards such as Nicholas Blanchard and Alex Gallant. The Titan also acquired depth forwards Jerome Raymond and Raphael Lafontaine as well as over-ager Brandon Hynes from the Victoriaville Tigres who was 2nd in Tigres scoring team last year. Hynes will likely fill-in for the loss of Trudeau on the top line with Zach O'Brien and Matthew Bissonette, which will be a scary match-up for any team in the Maritime division next year.
Up front, the Titan possess likely the top line in the entire QMJHL and follow that up with excellent depth of scoring forwards. The additions of Adam Zboril and Patrik Zdrahal will give secondary scoring that they lacked last year, while forwards Adam Stevens, Raphael Lafontaine and Alec Jon Banville seem primed for breakout seasons offensively. The Titan seem primed to fill the scoresheet this season.
On defense however, the Titan lack what you could call a top pairing defender. Though all 6 projected defenders are certainly Q caliber, they will all start the season under the age of 19. The Titan will go into the season hoping one of their young defensemen steps up and can log minutes safely, but if that doesn't happen, expect the Titan to be pursuing a true #1 defenseman at the Christmas trade period.
In net, with the trade of last years starting goaltender Robert Steeves, the Titan have made their weakest point even weaker. They enter the season with Jake Brennan as their starter, coming off a season where he went 8-17 with a 4.30 GAA and .863 save percentage. Backing him up will likely be newly drafted 16 year old Mason Macdonald.
Overall, I see the Titan as a middle the pack team this year. They will certainly score with the best teams in the league, but the true question marks lie on the backend and in net where they are extremely young.
Burning question - Will new appointed starting goalie Jake Brennan or his young back-up Mason Macdonald be able to carry this team into being contenders?
Prediction: 3rd in Maritime division, 7th in QMJHL.
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