2023-06-26 04:00:00
The NHL draft is upon us and we shouldn’t expect a big harvest for the QMJHL, warn five recruiters polled by The newspaper. “I think it will be the worst year in the history of Quebec in the repechage”, even advances one of them.
• Read also: Weak vintage: the chief recruiters and the general managers did not even come to Quebec this season
The word ran throughout the winter in the various amphitheatres of the Cecchini circuit. Scouts have repeated several times how the 2023 vintage of the QMJHL was not a great vintage. If young Ethan Gauthier, recently traded from the Sherbrooke Phoenix to the Drummondville Voltigeurs, Étienne Morin, from the Moncton Wildcats, and Mathieu Cataford, from the Halifax Mooseheads, seem to stand out from the lot, therefollowing, it is rather thin .
“I go to the draft normally with 10 or 12 names on my roster and this year I have enough in one hand to tell you how many players I have. There will be more than four or five players drafted, that’s for sure, but I’m not sure we’ll get closer to 20, “says one of them.
Since 2010, the QMJHL has always hovered around the number of 20 prospects drafted, with some years strong in the 30s, such as in 2013 and 2015.
But it seems that we are heading more towards years similar to 2016 and 2017, when 14 players were selected at each of these two auctions, the worst harvest in 25 years at this time for the Quebec circuit.
In 2017, 27 prospects were ranked on the final list by NHL Central Scouting, only to have 14 hear their names spoken. This year, 33 QMJHL players appear on this list.
“I have been disappointed all year”
But when we talk regarding one of the worst years, it’s not strictly in terms of the number of players chosen, confirms another experienced scout we spoke to.
“I personally think it’s the weakest cuvée I’ve seen,” he agrees. In terms of numbers, I don’t know, but in terms of impact players, it’s not been a good year. I’ve been disappointed all year.”
This recruiter even adds: he would not be surprised if no QMJHL player was selected in the first round, Wednesday night in Nashville.
“It’s the shortest list I’ve ever made. I was not able to put 20 whereas, normally, I never had a list with less than 30 names. In our meetings, we talked regarding several players, but often, we came back to the fact that we were not ready to spend a choice on him and that we would invite him if he was not drafted.
Another recruiter, who evolves for a formation of the East, tempers a little.
“Our list of players from Quebec is not huge, I grant you that. However, I see it another way: you can only have five players on your list, it only takes one to become a good NHL player. Even if you had 102 guys from Quebec on your list, your job is to get the right one.
A possible explanation?
It is difficult for these three hockey men to put their finger on the reason why this 2023 vintage is weaker than the previous ones.
“For me, this is not alarming. I often say that the draft is like wine. Why is a wine from such a region exceptional one year, while the following year the same wine is just fine? Why sometimes it’s a big year for Sweden in the draft and the other one is Ontario? The draft is cycles.
“I can already hear people’s comments the day following the repechage, adds one of his colleagues. People are going to want to revolutionize hockey in Quebec! It’s a matter of cycles. This year’s vintage, we come across players who have not played midget AAA due to the pandemic. We cannot study what impact it had, but it is a possible solution.
No excuses
For another Western scout, it’s partly a matter of cycles, he concedes. However, the QMJHL needs to look in the mirror when it comes to developing its prospects and stop hiding behind the league’s victories at the Memorial Cup tournament.
“The draft and the Memorial Cup are two completely different things. We’re good at making connections between unrelated things. In Quebec, we work in one way. In the West, they don’t make trades like us and respect the game a little more. Same thing in Ontario. We have the right way to build champion teams, but that has nothing to do with the development of young people aged 17 or 18.
QMJHL PLAYERS SELECTED SINCE 2010
2010: 22
2011: 22
2012: 19
2013: 31
2014: 17
2015: 30
2016: 14
2017: 14
2018: 23
2019: 18
2020: 20
2021: 24
2022: 19
The top five prospects in the QMJHL
According to NHL Central Scouting
Ethan Gauthier
Right Winger – Drummondville Voltigeurs
Ranking by the Centrale: 14th among North American skaters
Etienne Morin
Defenseman – Moncton Wildcats
Ranking by the Centrale: 24th
Matthew Cataford
Centre – Mooseheads d’Halifax
Ranking by the Centrale: 27th
Tyler Peddle
Left winger – Drummondville
Ranking by the Centrale: 46th
Matteo Mann
Defender – Chicoutimi
Ranking by the Centrale: 53rd
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