QMJHL looks to make amends

Intensity is the name of the game as the Québec Major Junior Hockey League selects prepare for their first game against the Russians in the Subway Super Series.

The heated rivalry with the Russians will be well on display on Monday in the first of six games across the three junior leagues. After consecutive one-goal losses to the Russians in last year's competition, Team QMJHL is looking to make amends and set the tone for the series.

"We want to win," said Yanick Jean, head coach of the Victoriaville Tigres and Team QMJHL. "We don't want to play it as an all-star game."

Although there will be much more on the line than an all-star game, the group of players will make it appear as such. The star-studded lineups on both sides will look to leave their mark in the Subway Super Series as the final preparation for both world junior teams. Last year, 16 Russian players wound up playing in this series before capturing gold in Buffalo by beating the Canadian team.

For the second time in the series' history, the Russians swept the QMJHL. The other time came in 2004, in the series' second year. The QMJHL holds an all-time record of 9-6-1 in this competition.

P.E.I. Rocket goaltender Maxime Lagacé will get the start and play the entire game on Monday. Québec Remparts goalie Louis Domingue will start Game 2 of the series in his home rink in Québec City.

Can Team QMJHL gel quickly enough?

Familiarity isn't as big an issue for the Russians, who have played together in past tournaments. The QMJHL representatives will need to build chemistry, something team captain Brandon Gormley is hoping they can find quickly.

"You come together with a bunch of guys you're not used to playing with and you don't even know for that matter and you have to gel together as a team and do your best out there," said Gormley, a true veteran preparing for his fourth Subway Super Series.

Jean said he will keep as many teammates together as possible. A trio from his Tigres will form one offensive line with Phillip Danault, Yannick Dubé and Philippe Halley. The other club teammates are: defencemen Pierre Durepos and Nathan Beaulieu (Saint John), forwards Zack Phillips and Jonathan Huberdeau (Saint John) and Zack O'Brien and Matthew Bissonnette (Acadie-Bathurst).

"It's going to be like we play every game of the year," Danault said.

Can the QMJHL slow the Russians' speed?

As is nearly customary in a team of Russian players, this group is blessed with speed. The Russians are a quick team, as Jean noted from their practice on Sunday.

"They have speed," he said, "They have skill. They have a lot of good players. They're all good players, actually, so we have to make sure that we're able to play against that."

The QMJHL players are also fleet of foot. Beaulieu is a graceful skater with fluid mobility, as are many of his teammates. There shouldn't be too many breakaway opportunities given by the home squad.

Can Team QMJHL harness the home crowd and home rink?

The QMJHL representatives will have the familiarity with the home rink in Victoriaville. The Colisée Desjardins is home to three players while the remainder, with the exception of Halifax rookie Nathan MacKinnon, has played there before.

"To play in front of my home crowd is going to be a great experience," Danault said. "(The fans) are going to be in the game one hundred per cent."

The Russians got the benefit of practicing in Victoriaville. Artem Sergeev of the Val-d'Or Foreurs and Anton Zlobin of the Shawinigan Cataractes will join the Russian squad and will no doubt be passing along the intricacies of the building. Although the speedy Russians are more familiar with larger rinks back home, Jean doesn't believe the smaller surface will pose much of a threat for the traveling team.

"I don't think it's a big factor anymore," he said. "Back maybe 10 or 15 years ago they weren't used to that, but they play so many championships (in North America). They come here so much now that I don't think it's a big factor."

Will the QMJHL players seize the day?

The old mantra is that team success leads to individual success. Given how vital an evaluation tool the Subway Super Series has become in determining the roster for the world junior team, each player will realize a strong showing could lead to an invitation to the December selection camp. Last year, Marcus Foligno used the series to make a name. Before that, it was Stefan Della Rovere.

"I think the opportunity you get to prove yourself to (Hockey Canada) you have to take advantage of," said Gormley, who was cut at 17 then was injured just weeks before the camp and missed the world junior tournament last year. "There's always someone watching and you definitely have to make the most out of your opportunity and I'm looking forward to this next chance for me to prove myself again."

"It's going to be a big opportunity for me," Danault said, "and I will show to everybody I can play."