TEAM STANDINGS
#1 Saint John Sea Dogs
Why? The Sea Dogs are just as deep now as they were a couple of years ago in the days of Huberdeau, Jurco and Beaulieu. They have an incredible amount of depth and skills both up front and on defense. They will be very tough to beat as they enter their big season. It is quite incredible to see a team so skilled also having within it's rank a #1 prospect such as Jo Veleno, having lucked out the Drummondville pick two years ago. This is a team that will have an unmatched offense and a top-3 defensive corps, although if Chabot sticks with the Senators their D will take a big hit. The one question mark falls on rookie Alex D'Orio, who will have the pressure of being the backbone of this machine in goal. It will be interesting to see if the Sea Dogs go out at Christmas and acquire a better, more experienced tender just like the Huskies did last year with Chase Marchand. The Dogs should finish first and challenge for the Memorial Cup.
Players to watch: #1 Thomas Chabot #2 Joe Veleno #3 Mathieu Joseph
#2 Shawinigan Cataractes
Why? The Cataractes were built for last year and this year, but they lost last season in the finals to Rouyn-Noranda, so they will be out for blood now. There is a huge question mark when it comes to Anthony Beauvillier, though I doubt he actually sticks for long with the Islanders, but he may be gone for quite some time including WJCs. This may hurt Shawinigan, although with Alexis D'Aoust, Dennis Yan and Brandon Gignac they are still well-equipped when it comes to talented forwards. They do miss a bit of depth on their bottom-6, but nothing that cannot be adressed at Christmas. They have a great defense, including recent Nashville pick Samuel Girard who may be compared to Erik Karlsson or Shayne Gostisbehere. Just like Saint John, Shawinigan has a bit of a question mark in net with Mikhail Denisov, who may or may not be worthy of being a starter and highly-touted prospect Zachary Bouthillier, who spent his 16-years old season developing in the minors.
Players to watch: #1 Anthony Beauvillier #2 Samuel Girard #3 Alexis D'Aoust
#3 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
Why? The Huskies are coming off a President Cup victory and will be hungry for another one. Even with the departures of a lot of key players including captain Francis Perron they will have a pretty good squad, starting on D with Jeremy Lauzon and Philippe Myers, two guys who could be considered top-5 dmen in this league. As well as a top blueline the Huskies will have a very deep offense, including Jean-Christophe Beaudin, Alexandre Fortin and Martins Dzierkals. It is in net that their position in the standings will depend, with Samuel Harvey having struggled a bit last season despite being a highly touted prospect as a 16-years old. He will be the starter and will have an incredible D in front of him, but will still need to shine if the Huskies want to repeat. It is interesting to see the top-3 teams (SJ, SHA, ROU) being built almost the same; big offense, great D but young goaltenders.
Players to watch: #1 Jeremy Lauzon #2 Jean-Christophe Beaudin #3 Philippe Myers
#4 Gatineau Olympiques
Why? Extremely talented squad with good top-end talent up front, deep defense and amazing goalie tandem. Vitalii Abramov will look to build on great rookie season alongside countrymate Yakov Trenin and new Anaheim draft pick Alex Dostie. Zack MacEwen is a welcome addition to the top-6 and lots of promise has been put on 2017 eligible Anthony Gagnon. Defense is lead by Nicolas Meloche and the very underrated Alex Breton. Mathieu Bellemare in goal will look to continue his great play and backup Mark Grametbauer could be dealt at some point for some help up front. Life after Benoit Groulx starts now and it will be interesting to see what happens, but I see them doing great right away, although a couple of additions up front would not hurt to upgrade bottom-6.
Players to watch: #1 Vitalii Abramov #2 Alex Dostie #3 Nicolas Meloche
#5 Acadie-Bathurst Titan
Why? 4-lines deep on attack with some very talented scorers including Antoine Morand, Vladimir Kuznetsov, Jeffrey Viel and Christophe Boivin. Solid goaltender in Reilly Pickard who was skipped at the 2016 NHL draft, has everything to prove. Mid-range D without a true #1 but a lot of interesting names most notably Luc Deschenes, Jerome Gravel and Elijah Francis. This is a team on the rise with a very good team overall that will be looking to make a lot of noise. Their offense is close to Saint John in terms of depth and maybe even skills.
Players to watch: #1 Antoine Morand #2 Vladimir Kuznetsov #3 Reilly Pickard
#6 Victoriaville Tigres
Why? The Tigres underwent one of the harshest summer of all-time but the truth is their roster looks very nice and if they can put everything that's happened behind them they could make some noise this year. I doubt we see Alexandre Goulet back but if he comes back their offense will be among the top of the league. They already have key youngsters Pascal Laberge, Maxime Comtois and Felix Lauzon leading the way as well as new import player Ivan Kosorenkov and overager Mathieu Ayotte. Comtois in particular will be looking to be drafted in the top-5 next June and could have a magical season. Their defense also looks decent with underrated Tristan Pomerleau and Bradley Lalonde leading the way. They have acquired Jeremie Beaudin as well which gives them a good top-3. Their goaltending is a bit up in the air with two struggling 19-years old Olivier Tremblay and James Povall, but if they share duties and go with the hot hand they could have some success.
Players to watch: #1 Maxime Comtois #2 Pascal Laberge #3 Ivan Kosorenkov
#7 Rimouski Oceanic
Why? Always well coached by Serge Beausoleil this is a team with a good mix of young players and veterans, with a lot of guys having been drafted by the organisation. A trio of overagers up front should wreck havoc in the Q; Antoine Dufort-Plante, Dylan Montcalm and Tyler Boland with the help of monster Samuel Laberge and highly-touted 2017 eligible Alex-Olivier Voyer. Their D is pretty good and will need to be because of question marks in goal. Habs draft pick Simon Bourque could be a top-10 D this season, whereas Charles-Edouard D'Astous gave a lot of promise last year. The Oceanic may finish much lower depending on the performances of their goalies Alexandre Lagace, a 19-years old who was always backup before and Gabriel Morency, an 18 years old who has barely played in this league.
Players to watch: #1 Simon Bourque #2 Antoine Dufort-Plante #3 Tyler Boland
#8 Val d'Or Foreurs
Why? The Foreurs are coming off a very hard defeat as a top seed against the weaker Armada team. With their big seasons having come and gone the Foreurs do still have a pretty solid roster, but the thought of them potentially rebuilding makes me think they will be lower in the standings. Julien Gauthier will be their leader offensively and could have a shot at 55 goals if healthy. Their offense will be alright with Alexis Pepin, Adam Marsh and Mathieu Nadeau as well as two new Russians in Maksim Mizyurin and Ivan Kozlov. Olivier Galipeau is likely one of the most underrated #1 D in the league and will need to have a big season because the rest of the blueline is not very impressive. Fortunately, their diminutive goalie Etienne Montpetit will be in top form and will be among the top goalies in this league.
Players to watch: #1 Julien Gauthier #2 Etienne Montpetit #3 Olivier Galipeau
#9 Charlottetown Islanders
Why? Long term injury to Daniel Sprong will hurt them. Offense is alright but lacks talent on bottom-6. Defense is great with recent acquisition of Guillaume Brisebois and Cody Donaghey (if back from pro camp). Lots of potential in newly drafted import Saku Vesterinen as well as draft-eligible Pierre-Olivier Joseph. Highly-touted goalie Matthew Welsh has 1st round potential and will need to be great as the de-facto starter if this team wants to finish higher than 9th. Good potential on young forwards Carl Gervais and Shawn Boudrias could help soften the blow of losing Sprong. All in all would be ranked top-5 if Sprong wasn't hurt. Good balance and good roster overall.
Players to watch: #1 Daniel Sprong #2 Filip Chlapik #3 Matthew Welsh
#10 Blainville-Boisbriand Armada
Why? Always hard to play against. Very fast and structured squad under Joel Bouchard's leadership. Rebuilding last year and may cause a surprise this season with a ton of young players coming into their own. Probability of seeing 20-years old dominating goalie Samuel Montembeault back pretty low, therefore goaltending is a question mark. Defense is extremely deep and talented 1 through 6 with the recent addition of Jeremy Roy as well as top prospect Antoine Crete-Belzile and overagers Guillaume Beaudoin and TJ Melancon. Offense is young and skilled but lacks true, established first liners. May end up higher if kids develop well. New imports Wejse and Simic look promising.
Players to watch: #1 Jeremy Roy #2 Alexandre Alain #3 Joel Teasdale
#11 Moncton Wildcats
Why? Moncton is a tough team to gauge because they have a lot of question marks on their team, starting in goal with the always shaky Keven Bouchard a former EDM draft pick who will be a 20-years old player. On defense they have a bunch of talented rookies including Simon Le Coultre to go along with Adam Holwell and Zachary Malatesta, a respectable 1st pair. Up front, the Klima twins, Cameron Askew and Manuel Wiederer will need to be on top of their game to carry the Wildcats into home-ice advantage for the playoffs, and they will be shouldered by some talented youngsters in Liam Murphy, Adam Capannelli, Jeremy McKenna and Mika Cyr. Honestly, I could have placed the Wildcats a bit higher, but they're always so hard to predict. They should have a good little team, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Players to watch: #1 Manuel Wiederer #2 Cameron Askew #3 Adam Capannelli
#12 Chicoutimi Sagueneens
Why? Chicoutimi actually has a top player in every position with Nicolas Roy, Frederic Allard and Julio Billia, but lack a bit of depth and direction. May want to rebuild at Christmas which explains 12th overall ranking. Recently acquired 20-years old Ryan Verbeek looks like he could have a big season up front along with Vancouver pick Dmitry Zukhenov. Freshly drafted Mathieu Desgagnes and Samuel Houde had huge pre-seasons. D is rather weak after Allard with Keenan MacIsaac and Morgan Nauss needing bounce-back seasons. High potential in Jeremy Groleau and David Noel. Billia likely top goalie in the Q.
Players to watch: #1 Nicolas Roy #2 Julio Billia #3 Frederic Allard
#13 Halifax Mooseheads
Why? Top coach Andre Tourigny finds himself in an incredible situation in Halifax. This is a team loaded with blue chip prospects like we've rarely seen in the Q. Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Jared McIsaac were the top-2 picks last June and should have decent rookie seasons. Nico Hischier is yet another top import coming to Halifax. Pound-for-pound the Mooseheads may be a top-3 club in terms of pure skills but the team is so young it's hard to put them very high. Goaltending is an issue with Kevin Resop as the starter and the very green Alexis Gravel. I think this team should do well especially in the 2nd half of the season, but they will be highly dangerous only starting next season once the kids have a bit more experience.
Players to watch: #1 Nico Hischier #2 Benoit-Olivier Groulx #3 Jared McIsaac
#14 Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Why? Rated low because of uncertainty around PL Dubois. May stick with Columbus or may be gone a very long time until after WJCs. With him back they will 100% finish way higher. Without him it's a bit of a mess of a line-up. #1 D Olivier Leblanc could also stick in the AHL. Key addition in import Vasily Glotov a Buffalo draft pick. Goaltending a huge question mark with youngsters Kyle Jessiman and Kevin Mandolese. Defense is good if Leblanc is back. Offensive not deep enough past top-6. Coaching an issue.
Players to watch: #1 Pierre-Luc Dubois #2 Giovanni Fiore #3 Massimo Carozza
#15 Drummondville Voltigeurs
Why? Arrival of highly-touted coach Dominic Ducharme should kickstart their rebuild, but they don't have enough talent to finish higher really. Alex Barre-Boulet will be a top cog in this league but has very little to help him out up front with departure of Michael Carcone. Interesting potential in Mathieu Sevigny, Samuel Gaumond and new import Pavel Koltygin. Joey Ratelle will be one of the top two-way forwards in the league. Defense is very average with Frederic Aube leading the charge as more of a #2 or #3. Benjamin Gagne has excellent potential and should be trusted upon for bigger responsabilities. Vet goalies Anthony Dumont-Bouchard and Frederid Foullem formed a disastrous duo last year and will be hard-pressed to do better with blue chip prospect Olivier Rodrigue making the squad.
Players to watch: #1 Alex Barre-Boulet #2 Mathieu Sevigny #3 Oliver Rodrigue
#16 Quebec Remparts
Why? A very, very young team that struggled mightily last season. Tons of acquisitions makes this big-market team a bit more respectable but still missing too many pieces to really compete. Talented kids Andrew Coxhead, Philipp Kurashev and Igor Larionov Jr. brings much needed help to the coach's son Matthew Boucher up front. On defense Raphael Maheux and Ross MacDougall form a good first pair but both are expected to be traded at some point to help with the rebuild and the Remparts lack serious depth on the blueline. Same story when it comes to CAR draft pick Callum Booth in goal, who has the potential to be a top-5 goalie in this league, but could be traded to make way for Evgeny Kiselev. Overall an interesting young hockey club that will compete with Halifax and Baie-Comeau in 2-3 years for the championship.
Players to watch: #1 Matthew Boucher #2 Dmitry Buinitsky #3 Andrew Coxhead
#17 Baie-Comeau Drakkar
Why? Rebuilding team with a ton of youngsters that need to prove themselves. Lots of potential but last year was pretty much a debacle and it will be tough to build on that. Very hard news in preseason with top draft pick Gabriel Fortier getting hurt long term. Lone bright spot is recently acquired goalie Antoine Samuel who will need to shine as well as talented 16-years old dman Xavier Bouchard who has huge potential. Lots of interesting names up front and on D who will be showing what they're made of this year including Matteo Pietroniro, D'Artagnan Joly and Jordan Martel.
Players to watch: #1 Antoine Samuel #2 Xavier Bouchard #3 Ivan Checkhovich
#18 Sherbrooke Phoenix
Why? The Phoenix has been a bit mis managed in the past which sucks for their very loyal fans. Last year was a real mess and they are now entering a much needed rebuilt. They would be ranked a bit higher if overagers Daniel Audette and Carl Neill were slated to be back, but I doubt they will. Without a pro contract, Julien Pelletier should be their leader offensively and will be helped by their two new imports as well as high draft pick Anderson MacDonald. Their D will be rather weak with a top pair of Julien Bahl and Thomas Gregoire and struggling prospect Alex Krief as their #3. The one bright spot for the Phoenix is St.Louis draft pick Evan Fitzpatrick who has the potential to steal games, and could challenge Billia for the top spot among goalies this season.
Players to watch: #1 Evan Fitzpatrick #2 Julien Pelletier #3 Anderson MacDonald
LEAGUE LEADERS
1 Alexis D'Aoust (SHA) -- 117 pts
2 Vitalii Abramov (GAT) -- 106 pts
3 Nicolas Roy (CHI) -- 102 pts
4 Anthony Beauvillier (SHA) -- 100 pts
5 Jean-Christophe Beaudin (ROU) -- 93 pts
6 Maxime Comtois (VIC) -- 90 pts
7 Alex Barre-Boulet (DRU) -- 89 pts
8 Julien Gauthier (VD) -- 87 pts
9 Mathieu Joseph (SJ) -- 86 pts
10 Antoine Morand (BAT) -- 86 pts
11 Alex Dostie (GAT) -- 85 pts
12 Joe Veleno (SJ) -- 82 pts
13 Giovanni Fiore (CAP) -- 80 pts
14 Nico Hischier (HAL) -- 80 pts
15 Martins Dizerkals (ROU) -- 78 pts
16 Dmitry Zukhenov (CHI) -- 78 pts
17 Filip Chlapik (CHA) -- 76 pts
18 Brandon Gignac (SHA) -- 76 pts
19 Tyler Boland (RIM) -- 76 pts
20 Julien Pelletier (SHE) -- 75 pts
21 Samuel Girard (SHA) -- 75 pts
22 Massimo Carozza (CAP) -- 75 pts
23 Pascal Laberge (VIC) -- 74 pts
24 Maxime Fortier (HAL) -- 74 pts
25 Dennis Yan (SHA) -- 74 pts
26 Matthew Highmore (SJ) -- 73 pts
27 Antoine Dufort-Plante (RIM) -- 73 pts
28 Matthew Boucher (QC) -- 73 pts
29 Nathan Noel (SJ) -- 72 pts
30 Yakov Trenin (GAT) -- 72 pts
HM: PL Dubois
PRESIDENT CUP FINAL PREDICTION
Saint John vs Rouyn-Noranda
#1 Saint John Sea Dogs
Why? The Sea Dogs are just as deep now as they were a couple of years ago in the days of Huberdeau, Jurco and Beaulieu. They have an incredible amount of depth and skills both up front and on defense. They will be very tough to beat as they enter their big season. It is quite incredible to see a team so skilled also having within it's rank a #1 prospect such as Jo Veleno, having lucked out the Drummondville pick two years ago. This is a team that will have an unmatched offense and a top-3 defensive corps, although if Chabot sticks with the Senators their D will take a big hit. The one question mark falls on rookie Alex D'Orio, who will have the pressure of being the backbone of this machine in goal. It will be interesting to see if the Sea Dogs go out at Christmas and acquire a better, more experienced tender just like the Huskies did last year with Chase Marchand. The Dogs should finish first and challenge for the Memorial Cup.
Players to watch: #1 Thomas Chabot #2 Joe Veleno #3 Mathieu Joseph
#2 Shawinigan Cataractes
Why? The Cataractes were built for last year and this year, but they lost last season in the finals to Rouyn-Noranda, so they will be out for blood now. There is a huge question mark when it comes to Anthony Beauvillier, though I doubt he actually sticks for long with the Islanders, but he may be gone for quite some time including WJCs. This may hurt Shawinigan, although with Alexis D'Aoust, Dennis Yan and Brandon Gignac they are still well-equipped when it comes to talented forwards. They do miss a bit of depth on their bottom-6, but nothing that cannot be adressed at Christmas. They have a great defense, including recent Nashville pick Samuel Girard who may be compared to Erik Karlsson or Shayne Gostisbehere. Just like Saint John, Shawinigan has a bit of a question mark in net with Mikhail Denisov, who may or may not be worthy of being a starter and highly-touted prospect Zachary Bouthillier, who spent his 16-years old season developing in the minors.
Players to watch: #1 Anthony Beauvillier #2 Samuel Girard #3 Alexis D'Aoust
#3 Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
Why? The Huskies are coming off a President Cup victory and will be hungry for another one. Even with the departures of a lot of key players including captain Francis Perron they will have a pretty good squad, starting on D with Jeremy Lauzon and Philippe Myers, two guys who could be considered top-5 dmen in this league. As well as a top blueline the Huskies will have a very deep offense, including Jean-Christophe Beaudin, Alexandre Fortin and Martins Dzierkals. It is in net that their position in the standings will depend, with Samuel Harvey having struggled a bit last season despite being a highly touted prospect as a 16-years old. He will be the starter and will have an incredible D in front of him, but will still need to shine if the Huskies want to repeat. It is interesting to see the top-3 teams (SJ, SHA, ROU) being built almost the same; big offense, great D but young goaltenders.
Players to watch: #1 Jeremy Lauzon #2 Jean-Christophe Beaudin #3 Philippe Myers
#4 Gatineau Olympiques
Why? Extremely talented squad with good top-end talent up front, deep defense and amazing goalie tandem. Vitalii Abramov will look to build on great rookie season alongside countrymate Yakov Trenin and new Anaheim draft pick Alex Dostie. Zack MacEwen is a welcome addition to the top-6 and lots of promise has been put on 2017 eligible Anthony Gagnon. Defense is lead by Nicolas Meloche and the very underrated Alex Breton. Mathieu Bellemare in goal will look to continue his great play and backup Mark Grametbauer could be dealt at some point for some help up front. Life after Benoit Groulx starts now and it will be interesting to see what happens, but I see them doing great right away, although a couple of additions up front would not hurt to upgrade bottom-6.
Players to watch: #1 Vitalii Abramov #2 Alex Dostie #3 Nicolas Meloche
#5 Acadie-Bathurst Titan
Why? 4-lines deep on attack with some very talented scorers including Antoine Morand, Vladimir Kuznetsov, Jeffrey Viel and Christophe Boivin. Solid goaltender in Reilly Pickard who was skipped at the 2016 NHL draft, has everything to prove. Mid-range D without a true #1 but a lot of interesting names most notably Luc Deschenes, Jerome Gravel and Elijah Francis. This is a team on the rise with a very good team overall that will be looking to make a lot of noise. Their offense is close to Saint John in terms of depth and maybe even skills.
Players to watch: #1 Antoine Morand #2 Vladimir Kuznetsov #3 Reilly Pickard
#6 Victoriaville Tigres
Why? The Tigres underwent one of the harshest summer of all-time but the truth is their roster looks very nice and if they can put everything that's happened behind them they could make some noise this year. I doubt we see Alexandre Goulet back but if he comes back their offense will be among the top of the league. They already have key youngsters Pascal Laberge, Maxime Comtois and Felix Lauzon leading the way as well as new import player Ivan Kosorenkov and overager Mathieu Ayotte. Comtois in particular will be looking to be drafted in the top-5 next June and could have a magical season. Their defense also looks decent with underrated Tristan Pomerleau and Bradley Lalonde leading the way. They have acquired Jeremie Beaudin as well which gives them a good top-3. Their goaltending is a bit up in the air with two struggling 19-years old Olivier Tremblay and James Povall, but if they share duties and go with the hot hand they could have some success.
Players to watch: #1 Maxime Comtois #2 Pascal Laberge #3 Ivan Kosorenkov
#7 Rimouski Oceanic
Why? Always well coached by Serge Beausoleil this is a team with a good mix of young players and veterans, with a lot of guys having been drafted by the organisation. A trio of overagers up front should wreck havoc in the Q; Antoine Dufort-Plante, Dylan Montcalm and Tyler Boland with the help of monster Samuel Laberge and highly-touted 2017 eligible Alex-Olivier Voyer. Their D is pretty good and will need to be because of question marks in goal. Habs draft pick Simon Bourque could be a top-10 D this season, whereas Charles-Edouard D'Astous gave a lot of promise last year. The Oceanic may finish much lower depending on the performances of their goalies Alexandre Lagace, a 19-years old who was always backup before and Gabriel Morency, an 18 years old who has barely played in this league.
Players to watch: #1 Simon Bourque #2 Antoine Dufort-Plante #3 Tyler Boland
#8 Val d'Or Foreurs
Why? The Foreurs are coming off a very hard defeat as a top seed against the weaker Armada team. With their big seasons having come and gone the Foreurs do still have a pretty solid roster, but the thought of them potentially rebuilding makes me think they will be lower in the standings. Julien Gauthier will be their leader offensively and could have a shot at 55 goals if healthy. Their offense will be alright with Alexis Pepin, Adam Marsh and Mathieu Nadeau as well as two new Russians in Maksim Mizyurin and Ivan Kozlov. Olivier Galipeau is likely one of the most underrated #1 D in the league and will need to have a big season because the rest of the blueline is not very impressive. Fortunately, their diminutive goalie Etienne Montpetit will be in top form and will be among the top goalies in this league.
Players to watch: #1 Julien Gauthier #2 Etienne Montpetit #3 Olivier Galipeau
#9 Charlottetown Islanders
Why? Long term injury to Daniel Sprong will hurt them. Offense is alright but lacks talent on bottom-6. Defense is great with recent acquisition of Guillaume Brisebois and Cody Donaghey (if back from pro camp). Lots of potential in newly drafted import Saku Vesterinen as well as draft-eligible Pierre-Olivier Joseph. Highly-touted goalie Matthew Welsh has 1st round potential and will need to be great as the de-facto starter if this team wants to finish higher than 9th. Good potential on young forwards Carl Gervais and Shawn Boudrias could help soften the blow of losing Sprong. All in all would be ranked top-5 if Sprong wasn't hurt. Good balance and good roster overall.
Players to watch: #1 Daniel Sprong #2 Filip Chlapik #3 Matthew Welsh
#10 Blainville-Boisbriand Armada
Why? Always hard to play against. Very fast and structured squad under Joel Bouchard's leadership. Rebuilding last year and may cause a surprise this season with a ton of young players coming into their own. Probability of seeing 20-years old dominating goalie Samuel Montembeault back pretty low, therefore goaltending is a question mark. Defense is extremely deep and talented 1 through 6 with the recent addition of Jeremy Roy as well as top prospect Antoine Crete-Belzile and overagers Guillaume Beaudoin and TJ Melancon. Offense is young and skilled but lacks true, established first liners. May end up higher if kids develop well. New imports Wejse and Simic look promising.
Players to watch: #1 Jeremy Roy #2 Alexandre Alain #3 Joel Teasdale
#11 Moncton Wildcats
Why? Moncton is a tough team to gauge because they have a lot of question marks on their team, starting in goal with the always shaky Keven Bouchard a former EDM draft pick who will be a 20-years old player. On defense they have a bunch of talented rookies including Simon Le Coultre to go along with Adam Holwell and Zachary Malatesta, a respectable 1st pair. Up front, the Klima twins, Cameron Askew and Manuel Wiederer will need to be on top of their game to carry the Wildcats into home-ice advantage for the playoffs, and they will be shouldered by some talented youngsters in Liam Murphy, Adam Capannelli, Jeremy McKenna and Mika Cyr. Honestly, I could have placed the Wildcats a bit higher, but they're always so hard to predict. They should have a good little team, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Players to watch: #1 Manuel Wiederer #2 Cameron Askew #3 Adam Capannelli
#12 Chicoutimi Sagueneens
Why? Chicoutimi actually has a top player in every position with Nicolas Roy, Frederic Allard and Julio Billia, but lack a bit of depth and direction. May want to rebuild at Christmas which explains 12th overall ranking. Recently acquired 20-years old Ryan Verbeek looks like he could have a big season up front along with Vancouver pick Dmitry Zukhenov. Freshly drafted Mathieu Desgagnes and Samuel Houde had huge pre-seasons. D is rather weak after Allard with Keenan MacIsaac and Morgan Nauss needing bounce-back seasons. High potential in Jeremy Groleau and David Noel. Billia likely top goalie in the Q.
Players to watch: #1 Nicolas Roy #2 Julio Billia #3 Frederic Allard
#13 Halifax Mooseheads
Why? Top coach Andre Tourigny finds himself in an incredible situation in Halifax. This is a team loaded with blue chip prospects like we've rarely seen in the Q. Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Jared McIsaac were the top-2 picks last June and should have decent rookie seasons. Nico Hischier is yet another top import coming to Halifax. Pound-for-pound the Mooseheads may be a top-3 club in terms of pure skills but the team is so young it's hard to put them very high. Goaltending is an issue with Kevin Resop as the starter and the very green Alexis Gravel. I think this team should do well especially in the 2nd half of the season, but they will be highly dangerous only starting next season once the kids have a bit more experience.
Players to watch: #1 Nico Hischier #2 Benoit-Olivier Groulx #3 Jared McIsaac
#14 Cape Breton Screaming Eagles
Why? Rated low because of uncertainty around PL Dubois. May stick with Columbus or may be gone a very long time until after WJCs. With him back they will 100% finish way higher. Without him it's a bit of a mess of a line-up. #1 D Olivier Leblanc could also stick in the AHL. Key addition in import Vasily Glotov a Buffalo draft pick. Goaltending a huge question mark with youngsters Kyle Jessiman and Kevin Mandolese. Defense is good if Leblanc is back. Offensive not deep enough past top-6. Coaching an issue.
Players to watch: #1 Pierre-Luc Dubois #2 Giovanni Fiore #3 Massimo Carozza
#15 Drummondville Voltigeurs
Why? Arrival of highly-touted coach Dominic Ducharme should kickstart their rebuild, but they don't have enough talent to finish higher really. Alex Barre-Boulet will be a top cog in this league but has very little to help him out up front with departure of Michael Carcone. Interesting potential in Mathieu Sevigny, Samuel Gaumond and new import Pavel Koltygin. Joey Ratelle will be one of the top two-way forwards in the league. Defense is very average with Frederic Aube leading the charge as more of a #2 or #3. Benjamin Gagne has excellent potential and should be trusted upon for bigger responsabilities. Vet goalies Anthony Dumont-Bouchard and Frederid Foullem formed a disastrous duo last year and will be hard-pressed to do better with blue chip prospect Olivier Rodrigue making the squad.
Players to watch: #1 Alex Barre-Boulet #2 Mathieu Sevigny #3 Oliver Rodrigue
#16 Quebec Remparts
Why? A very, very young team that struggled mightily last season. Tons of acquisitions makes this big-market team a bit more respectable but still missing too many pieces to really compete. Talented kids Andrew Coxhead, Philipp Kurashev and Igor Larionov Jr. brings much needed help to the coach's son Matthew Boucher up front. On defense Raphael Maheux and Ross MacDougall form a good first pair but both are expected to be traded at some point to help with the rebuild and the Remparts lack serious depth on the blueline. Same story when it comes to CAR draft pick Callum Booth in goal, who has the potential to be a top-5 goalie in this league, but could be traded to make way for Evgeny Kiselev. Overall an interesting young hockey club that will compete with Halifax and Baie-Comeau in 2-3 years for the championship.
Players to watch: #1 Matthew Boucher #2 Dmitry Buinitsky #3 Andrew Coxhead
#17 Baie-Comeau Drakkar
Why? Rebuilding team with a ton of youngsters that need to prove themselves. Lots of potential but last year was pretty much a debacle and it will be tough to build on that. Very hard news in preseason with top draft pick Gabriel Fortier getting hurt long term. Lone bright spot is recently acquired goalie Antoine Samuel who will need to shine as well as talented 16-years old dman Xavier Bouchard who has huge potential. Lots of interesting names up front and on D who will be showing what they're made of this year including Matteo Pietroniro, D'Artagnan Joly and Jordan Martel.
Players to watch: #1 Antoine Samuel #2 Xavier Bouchard #3 Ivan Checkhovich
#18 Sherbrooke Phoenix
Why? The Phoenix has been a bit mis managed in the past which sucks for their very loyal fans. Last year was a real mess and they are now entering a much needed rebuilt. They would be ranked a bit higher if overagers Daniel Audette and Carl Neill were slated to be back, but I doubt they will. Without a pro contract, Julien Pelletier should be their leader offensively and will be helped by their two new imports as well as high draft pick Anderson MacDonald. Their D will be rather weak with a top pair of Julien Bahl and Thomas Gregoire and struggling prospect Alex Krief as their #3. The one bright spot for the Phoenix is St.Louis draft pick Evan Fitzpatrick who has the potential to steal games, and could challenge Billia for the top spot among goalies this season.
Players to watch: #1 Evan Fitzpatrick #2 Julien Pelletier #3 Anderson MacDonald
LEAGUE LEADERS
1 Alexis D'Aoust (SHA) -- 117 pts
2 Vitalii Abramov (GAT) -- 106 pts
3 Nicolas Roy (CHI) -- 102 pts
4 Anthony Beauvillier (SHA) -- 100 pts
5 Jean-Christophe Beaudin (ROU) -- 93 pts
6 Maxime Comtois (VIC) -- 90 pts
7 Alex Barre-Boulet (DRU) -- 89 pts
8 Julien Gauthier (VD) -- 87 pts
9 Mathieu Joseph (SJ) -- 86 pts
10 Antoine Morand (BAT) -- 86 pts
11 Alex Dostie (GAT) -- 85 pts
12 Joe Veleno (SJ) -- 82 pts
13 Giovanni Fiore (CAP) -- 80 pts
14 Nico Hischier (HAL) -- 80 pts
15 Martins Dizerkals (ROU) -- 78 pts
16 Dmitry Zukhenov (CHI) -- 78 pts
17 Filip Chlapik (CHA) -- 76 pts
18 Brandon Gignac (SHA) -- 76 pts
19 Tyler Boland (RIM) -- 76 pts
20 Julien Pelletier (SHE) -- 75 pts
21 Samuel Girard (SHA) -- 75 pts
22 Massimo Carozza (CAP) -- 75 pts
23 Pascal Laberge (VIC) -- 74 pts
24 Maxime Fortier (HAL) -- 74 pts
25 Dennis Yan (SHA) -- 74 pts
26 Matthew Highmore (SJ) -- 73 pts
27 Antoine Dufort-Plante (RIM) -- 73 pts
28 Matthew Boucher (QC) -- 73 pts
29 Nathan Noel (SJ) -- 72 pts
30 Yakov Trenin (GAT) -- 72 pts
HM: PL Dubois
PRESIDENT CUP FINAL PREDICTION
Saint John vs Rouyn-Noranda
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