There are a little less than two months left in the QMJHL regular season and five teams decided last month to give a big shot in an attempt to represent the Quebec circuit in Kamloops at the next Memorial Cup tournament, at the end of of May.
Here is the 4e monthly ranking of RDS.ca regarding the forces present in the circuit. Incidentally, you will find the rank at the end of December.
1- QUÉBEC (1)
The Quebec Remparts still sit atop the standings with their record of 37-6-3. Quebec, like Halifax for that matter, has still not lost in regulation time since the start of 2023. Disappointed at not having found refuge with Team Canada Junior, forward Zachary Bolduc rolled up his sleeves with 15 goals and 17 assists in 16 games since his return. He is currently at 3e rank of the column of circuit pointers. He and his compatriot Théo Rochette reached the 30-goal mark.
2- SHERBROOKE (4)
The Sherbrooke Phoenix didn’t skimp on trades over the holiday season, adding four big hitters (Adam, Gaudet, Brabanec and Melanson), giving the Eastern Townships team a 10-game winning record once morest 2 failures in his last 12 games In the only two games in which the Phoenix lost, he still managed 48 shots, in Halifax on January 14, and 42 in Shawinigan last Friday. Jacob Melanson has a record of 11 goals in 11 games since coming to Estrie. Melanson and Justin Gill have 36 and 34 goals respectively. The Phoenix has four players in its ranks who participated in the final of the last World Juniors in Halifax. Sherbrooke is first in the circuit on the power play and 2e short of a man.
3- HALIFAX (2)
As expected, the Halifax Mooseheads fly over the Maritimes section. Sylvain Favreau’s squad have earned at least one ranking point in each of their last 21 games, which is the 10e longest streak of its kind in the history of the circuit (the record is 28). Nothing is taken away from the Mooseheads, but Halifax plays a lot of games once morest the four worst teams in the league who are in the same section. The current streak coincides with the arrival of Josh Lawrence who, in his first 21 games with the “Orignaux”, accumulated 17 goals and 24 assists for 41 points. Halifax will have a good test from February 24 to 26 by successively visiting Victoriaville, Sherbrooke and Quebec for a “three in three” not piqued.
4- GATINEAU (3)
The Gatineau Olympiques have also been doing quite well since the end of the trading period with a record of seven wins and only one failure in the last eight games. The Olympiques score a lot of goals (45 in 8 games since January 7). Acquired from Bathurst, Riley Kidney seems to appreciate his new environment with 22 points in 8 games, and combined with the return to play of Olivier Nadeau (17 points in 11 games), Gatineau will not be easy prey over the next few weeks. Louis Robitaille’s team will face the best team in the OHL, the Ottawa 67’s, on February 9 and 11 in a home and away series that will count in the standings for both teams.
5- VICTORIAVILLE (5)
The Victoriaville Tigres also decided to enter the dance of “buyers” during the last period of transactions, offering themselves the services of William Veillette, Frédéric Brunet and Francesco Iasenza, among others. Since January 6, the Tigers have a record of 6 wins once morest 3 failures in 9 games. But two of those losses came once morest their big rival in the Central Division, the Sherbrooke Phoenix. The two formations will fight for the 1is rank in the conference and there will be three more meetings between the two teams between now and March 25. Tigers are 2e of the circuit in defense and still dominate the QMJHL in terms of the penalty kill.
6- ROUYN-NORANDA (7)
The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies are the best team in the “2e group” of QMJHL teams. The second youngest team on the circuit behind Shawinigan, the Huskies sell their skin dearly every game. 18-year-old Belarusian Daniil Bourash has surpassed the 30-goal and 50-point mark. Not too bad for a player who was not in the team’s plans last year, at the start of the season.
7- CHICOUTIMI (14)
The Chicoutimi Saguenéens have made the highest jump in our table since the last month. Be careful though: the Sags are not contenders for top honors this year but the youngsters are progressing and Chicoutimi has won 8 of its last 11 games since the end of the trade period. In goal, Charles-Antoine Lavallée signed 23 of the team’s 24 wins, or 96% of the team’s earnings. No other CHL goaltender has this win rate for their roster. Where would the Sags be without his performance in goal?
8- RIMOUSKI (6)
After going through a good streak, the Océanic has been losing momentum since mid-January with only two wins in seven games. The departure of Frédéric Brunet for Victoriaville obviously leaves a hole in the blue line and the efficiency rate of goaltenders continues to be an important issue for “the team of an entire region” at .876.
9- MONCTON (8)
The Moncton Wildcats are also going through a tougher time with just one win in seven games and four straight losses at home. Daniel Lacroix’s troop played good hockey when they returned from the holiday break, but have had problems defensively since these seven games, having allowed 36 goals during this streak. On a more positive note, forward Maxim Barbashev has had at least one point in 14 of his last 16 games.
10- SHAWINIGAN (11)
With the youngest team on the circuit at the end of the trade period, the Cataractes still show great consistency with a record of 22-21-4. Even without their number one goalkeeper Antoine Coulombe, the Cats are doing well in an uncomfortable section with regular rivals like the Phoenix and the Tigers. In 15 games since the departure of their captain William Veillette for Victoriaville, the Cats are still playing for .500 (7-7-1).
11- DRUMMONDVILLE (10)
The Drummondville Voltigeurs are going through a rather difficult period, with only 3 wins in their last 17 games. In general, the record of the “Volts” since the arrival of Éric Bélanger behind the bench is 7-11-5. Drummondville has allowed far too many goals recently (39 in the last 7 games). Admittedly, the guardians can be singled out, but they are not the only ones responsible. Not so long ago, Drummondville was fighting for the 5e rank in the Association but, the way things are going at the moment, the Centre-du-Québec team risks having a major rival in 1re series round.
12- BLAINVILLE-BOISBRIAND (15)
The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada finally had to decide to side with the “sellers” during the holiday season. We let go of Josh Lawrence, Alexis Gendron, Zachary Cardinal and Brayden Schmitt. In this context, the formation of Bruce Richardson is struggling to garner the ranking points. Last Saturday, the Armada finally stopped its losing streak at ten at home. Moreover, the Armada has only six victories at the Center Excellence Sports Rousseau this year, by far the lowest total in the circuit.
13- VAL-D’OR (8)
By letting go of Justin Robidas and Alexandre Doucet and losing offensive defenseman Kale McCallum to university hockey, the Val-d’or Foreurs knew that the 2e half of the season would be difficult. Since the return from the holiday break, we have been talking regarding a record of 3 wins once morest 10 losses in 13 games. Val-d’Or struggles to score goals (28 in 13 outings) but concedes a lot (60 in 13 games). The Foreurs will fight to keep their place in the end-of-season playoffs.
14- COMEAU BATHROOM (16)
The Baie-Comeau Drakkar continues to lack consistency: two losses at home once morest the Armada, but two wins in three games in Abitibi. It’s hard to follow! Baie-Comeau decided to trade two 17-year-olds and a 20-year-old veteran over the holiday season to shake things up a bit, but the North Shore team is still struggling to avoid find yourself in the 3e third of the teams on the circuit as has been the case over the past three seasons
15- CHARLOTTETOWN (13)
The Charlottetown Islanders are in the process of rebuilding and must fight for their playoff spot for the 1re times since the 2013-2014 season. The Islanders have had a lot of success in recent years but the cycle has finally caught up with them. By trading Francesco Lapenna and Jakub Brabanec to Gatineau and Sherbrooke, GM Jim Hulton looked to the future, but it would be surprising if the Islanders missed the playoffs under his watch. Next February 9 Hulton will lead his 1000e career game in the Canadian Hockey League.
16- ACADIE-BATHURST (12)
If the Acadie-Bathurst Titan misses the playoffs, all they have to do is take a look at their record on opposing rinks. Bathurst has only won 3 times in 22 heat region outings. The Titan have let go of their two offensive engines in Riley Kidney and Jacob Melanson, and without those two players in the roster, Gordie Dwyer’s squad has just one win in nine games. Qualifying for the playoffs will be difficult.
17- CAP-BRETON (17)
Cape Breton Eagles try to avoid playoff exclusion for Round 3e year in a row which, since only two teams do not make the playoffs annually, has never happened. The Eagles will have their fate in their hands, including 12 of their last 23 games once morest their three big rivals, the Titan, the Sea Dogs and the Islanders. Attention: the long journey of Eagles on Quebec soil is approaching with 6 games in 10 days on Quebec soil, from February 9 to 18.
18- SAINT JOHN (18)
The Saint John Sea Dogs will fight to avoid a playoff exclusion but it will not be easy with, by far, the worst defensive unit in the league, which allows nearly 5 goals per game. Both goaltenders Ventsislav Shingarov and Olivier Brideau are also averaging 36 shots per game, which is way too much, especially with a combined .870 save percentage. The Sea Dogs have let go of veterans, but can still count on Brady Burns who reached the plateau of 25 goals in 38 games. At its 5e season with the team, Burns is in his 6e different head coach. Since joining the circuit in 2018-2019, Sean Dixon, Jeff Cowan, Greg Gilbert, Gordie Dwyer, Gardiner MacDougall and now Travis Crickard have succeeded behind the bench.
