Groulx to get firsthand look at QMJHL talent
Monday November 17, 2014
By Josh Sweetland/CHL
Typically accustomed to facing Team Russia with fresh legs to start off the SUBWAY Super Series, the 2014 edition of the annual clash beetween Russia and the CHL’s best sees the QMJHL get the last crack at an intriguing Russian squad that has given the CHL all it can handle.
Team QMJHL won both of their games against Russia last season for the first time since 2009. Anthony Mantha provided the game winning goal to start the series off in Gatineau before current New York Rangers forward Anthony Duclair put Russia on ice in Game 2, scoring with seven and a half minutes to play in a 4-3 win. The QMJHL has a 3-4-0-1 record against Russia over the past four SUBWAY Super Series events.
Canada’s Head Coach at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship will lead Team QMJHL into battle and get a firsthand look at the best his league has to offer. Gatineau Olympiques Head Coach Benoit Groulx is a former three-time QMJHL Champion and twice got to within one win of a MasterCard Memorial Cup Title. He says he hopes to see his club play responsibly in Games 5 and 6 of the series. “It’s an opportunity for our guys to show us how they can adapt to that level and the style of hockey we want to play,” he told Canadian Press reporter Bill Beacon. “It’s not about showcasing themselves by scoring goals or only playing one way. It’s about playing our style. It’s a great opportunity for us to see who can adapt to that level of hockey.”
Former Tampa Bay Lightning Assistant Coach Martin Raymond will serve as an assistant for both Team QMJHL in the SUBWAY Super Series and also for the Canadian National Junior Team. Raymond, who currently coaches the Drummondville Voltigeurs, will serve as an advanced scout during World Juniors and will take a visual from above in the press box throughout the tournament. Groulx and Raymond will also be joined on the bench by Acadie-Bathurst Titan Head Coach Mario Pouliot and Rimouski Oceanic Coach Serge Beausoleil throughout the final two games of the SUBWAY Super Series.
Team QMJHL features 2014 Canadian National Junior Team netminder Zach Fucale who played in five games with a 2.42 goals against average and .902 save percentage for Canada in Malmo, Sweden last year. Fucale is joined by Team QMJHL captain Frédérik Gauthier as the only two players on the roster to represent Canada last December.
Several draft eligible 17 year-olds will try and make a case for themselves in the two game showcase. Shawinigan Cataractes standout Anthony Beauvillier, whose 17 goals have him tied for fifth in the QMJHL, will be in the lineup alongside fellow QMJHL sophomores Nicolas Meloche (Baie Comeau), Guillaume Brisebois (Acadie-Bathurst), Jérémy Roy (Sherbrooke), Alexandre Alain (Gatineau) and Nicolas Roy (Chicoutimi).
On the Russian side of the puck, good things come in twos from the Q. The Moncton Wildcats dynamic duo of St. Louis Blues draftee Ivan Barbashev and shifty forward Vladimir Tkachev will slot into the lineup for Russia. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles forwards and longtime friends Maxim Lazarev and Evgeny Svechnikov will also don the Russian red, giving an already dangerous Russian offense more weaponry.
Game 5 of the series gets underway on Tuesday night in Bathurst, New Brunswick at 7:00pm ET. It’s the first time Bathurst has hosted the event, a game that can be seen on Sportsnet 360, as well as Sportsnet Ontario and Pacific. Game 6 of the series takes place in Rimouski, Quebec, and can be seen live on Sportsnet ONE. Both games will also air on TVA Sports.
For more information including how to purchase tickets please visit www.subwaysuperseries.ca.