After a couple of wild weeks in the QMJHL, the dust is starting to settle as players have returned from the world juniors and the trade deadline has passed. With just over two months remaining in the season, each game becomes more important.
In the East Division, it’s a battle between juggernauts, the Rimouski Océanic and Québec Remparts. The Remparts will be in the MasterCard Memorial Cup as hosts and could be joined by their division rivals.
In the Maritimes Division, two New Brunswick teams are separating from the pack. The Moncton Wildcats now sit tops in the league and opted to not tinker with their lineup too much after a successful first half. Their biggest moves came before the trade period when 20-year-old Christophe Lalonde and Vladimir Tkachev were traded away. Saint John is close behind and will have a team that could be Memorial Cup bound in the next few seasons.
After a brutal start, the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada have been consistently winning games and remain on top of the West Division. Outside of defenceman Daniel Walcott, a fifth-round pick by the New York Rangers in 2014, the Armada aren’t a flashy bunch but they keep winning games.
Here’s what you need to know from around the Q this week:
Maritimes Division
The Moncton Wildcats were quiet during the trade period, making a handful of minor moves, but have snuck to the top of the league standings with 59 points. They picked up points in all three games they played this week, including a win and shootout win over division rival Saint John. Ivan Barbashev returned from playing for Russia at the world juniors, netting an assist in his first game back. The combination of Barbashev and Conor Garland was red hot before the world juniors and will be important for Moncton down the stretch as it looks to hold onto the division and league lead.
The current Cape Breton Screaming Eagles lineup looks very different from the one that started the season in September. The team was busy at the trade deadline, making a number of small moves to shake up a disappointing team that’s under .500 and has underperformed all year. The team picked up three wins in a row, albeit against Acadie-Bathurst and Gatineau, the only two teams in the league with fewer points than the Screaming Eagles.
Stephen Anderson, a 20-year-old acquired from Val-d’Or at the deadline, had points in each of his first three games with the team including two goals in the team’s 8-1 win over Acadie-Bathurst. Miguel Sullivan had his first career shutout on Saturday, turning away all 22 shots he faced in a 4-0 win over Acadie-Bathurst. His partner, Alexandre Bélanger, won his Cape Breton debut in the 8-1 win. Bélanger, a seventh-round pick by the Minnesota Wild in 2013, was acquired at the trade deadline to replace overage goalie Francois Brassard who was placed on waivers after the Stephen Anderson trade.
Nikolaj Ehlers returned to the Halifax Mooseheads in style, scoring a hat trick and adding an assist in his team’s 6-3 win over the Gatineau Olympiques. Ehlers had been gone for nearly a month playing for Denmark at the world juniors and World Junior A Challenge. The next night, he added another goal and assist in a 3-1 win over Blainville-Boisbriand. Ehlers is averaging over two points per game with 53 points through 25 games.
East Division
Zach Fucale’s Remparts debut can’t come quickly enough for a team that lost all three games they played this week, giving up an average of more than five goals per game. Anthony Duclair picked up an assist in both games he played this week, his first of the season after spending time with the New York Rangers and Team Canada. He’s playing on a line with the league’s top scoring rookie, Dmytro Timashov, and Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Adam Erne. It has the potential to be the best in the league if the trio can start scoring.
Defenceman Sam Morin was dominant in his return from playing for Canada in the world juniors. In two games, both Rimouski wins, he had a goal, two assists and was plus-six. His Canada teammate, centre Frédérik Gauthier, had a goal in his second game back. In eight games without the pair, the Océanic were mediocre, picking up three wins and five losses.
After being embarrassed 7-0 by Drummondville on New Year’s Eve, the Shawinigan Cataractes have won all four games they’ve played in 2015. This week, they beat Sherbrooke 3-2 in overtime and Victoriaville 7-5. Right winger Gabriel Slight was dominant this week, scoring the overtime winner and finishing with three goals and four assists. Christophe Lalonde, an overager acquired from the Moncton Wildcats early in December, had his best two games with Shawinigan this past week. He scored five goals, including a hat trick against Victoriaville, and added an assist. He now has nine goals and four assists since joining the team.
West Division
The past few weeks in Gatineau have been chaotic. Head coach Benoit Groulx was away from the team while serving as Canada’s coach in the world juniors. While he was gone, the Olympiques were terrible, only winning one game and picking up 11 losses. In Groulx’s return, the team once again lost, this time 6-3 to Halifax on Friday night. The team did get back in the win column Saturday night with a 4-3 shootout win over Charlottetown. Gatineau signed 20-year-old goalie Francois Brassard this week after Brandon Whitney went down with a groin injury. He’s expected to miss six to eight weeks, putting his season in serious jeopardy. Brassard was the odd man out in Cape Breton after the Screaming Eagles acquired 20-year-old Stephen Anderson and goalie Alexandre Bélanger. The team was also busy over the trade period adding Yan Pavel Laplante, Valentin Zykov, Tommy Veilleux and Anthony Beaulieu.
The Sherbrooke Phoenix welcomed back the Swiss duo of Tim Wieser and Kay Schweri from the world juniors. The team’s top two scorers didn’t have much of an impact on the score sheet, each picking up one assist in three games. However, the team did pick up points in all three games with them back in the lineup, including a 7-4 win over the Québec Remparts. Jérémy Roy’s NHL draft stock continued to rise as the offensive defenceman picked up a goal and two assists this week. He continues to lead the league in blueline scoring with five goals and 33 assists.
Freshmen led the way in Drummondville’s two games this week, a 5-4 win over Victoriaville and a 5-4 shootout win over Québec. Of the team’s nine goals in regulation, seven were scored by rookies Michael Carcone, Alex Barré-Boulet, Philippe Pelletier-Leblanc and Mathieu Sévigny. Anthony Brodeur, the son of NHL legend Martin Brodeur, picked up his first win since October on Wednesday when he made 28 saves for Drummondville in a 5-4 win over Victoriaville. After losing the starting job in Gatineau, Brodeur was placed on waivers and claimed by Drummondville on Nov. 21. After being a healthy scratch for nearly a month, he made his first start on Jan. 4.
Three Stars
Nikolaj Ehlers, LW, Halifax Mooseheads He was dominant in his return from the world juniors where he played for Denmark. In his first game back he had a hat trick and an assist against Gatineau followed by a goal and an assist against Blainville-Boisbriand. Ehlers now has points in 17 consecutive games, scoring 16 goals 45 points.
Gabriel Slight, RW, Shawinigan Cataractes The power play was clicking for Shawinigan this week, and Slight was the beneficiary, scoring three goals with the man advantage including an overtime winner against Sherbrooke. He added four assists to finish the week with seven points in two games. He was named the first star of the game in his team’s 7-5 win over Victoriaville.
Michael Carcone, LW, Drummondville Voltigeurs The undrafted winger is the league’s hottest rookie, picking up points in 10 consecutive games. The 5-foot-10, 162-pound Ajax, Ont., native led the Voltigeurs this week with two goals and two assists in two wins for the team.
2015 NHL Draft Watch
Dennis Yan, LW, Shawinigan Cataractes He was born in Portland, Ore., but moved to Russia as a kid. He later returned to North America and was selected by the Cataractes with the eighth pick of the CHL import draft in 2014. His chances of playing for Team USA in the world juniors were crushed after he underwent surgery for appendicitis early in December and missed nearly a month of hockey. The 6-foot-1, 188-lb. forward has enjoyed a productive 2015, picking up a point in all four games and totaling six. He currently sits fifth in rookie scoring with 19 goals and 38 points in 33 games. Yan is a dangerous player as he possesses offensive skills along with a physical side to his game.