Sportsnet CHL Saturday Showcase: Rimouski at Quebec
A pair of rival clubs from the QMJHL’s East Division will go head-to-head in this week’s edition of the Sportsnet CHL Saturday Showcase as the Rimouski Oceanic (32-14-3-0) and Quebec Remparts (21-18-5-5) face off at 3:30pm ET/12:30pm PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet ONE.
The Oceanic enter the contest having already clinched a playoff position, as the club has reeled off seven-straight victories ahead of a Friday date with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens. That stretch included a 5-1 win over the Remparts in which centre D’Artagnan Joly led the way with a three-point effort, including one goal and two assists, while netminder Tristan Berube made 18 saves en route to his fourth victory with the Oceanic since joining the team following a December trade from the Gatineau Olympiques.
A sixth-round draft pick by the Calgary Flames in 2017, Joly has been twice traded this season – once from the Baie-Comeau Drakkar to the Victoriaville Tigres, and then again three days later when he was flipped to the Oceanic. Joly has recorded three goals and four assists in 14 games since joining Rimouski, and has now notched 14 goals and 19 assists in 45 games in 2018-19. The Gatineau native has provided valuable scoring depth on a team led by 2020 NHL Entry Draft hopeful Alexis Lafreniere (27-48-75).
Meanwhile, the Remparts enter Saturday’s contest after posting back-to-back victories over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and Val-d’Or Foreurs in which right-wing Pierrick Dube led the way with four goals over the two contests, including a hat-trick in Quebec’s 5-2 win over the Foreurs. Centre Philipp Kurashev, a fourth-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in last year’s NHL Entry Draft, also collected three goals over the two games. The Swiss native, who was his country’s top producer at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship with seven points in seven games, also leads the Remparts in scoring as he’s tallied 21 goals and 26 assists in 42 appearances this season.
Saturday marks the seventh time the Oceanic and Remparts will square off this season. Rimouski has won four of the previous contests, including the last three in a row. The two teams will then close out their eight-game season series in Rimouski on Feb. 22. Catch all of the latest action Saturday on Sportsnet and Sportsnet ONE and in the United States on the NHL Network when the puck drops at 3:30pm ET/12:30pm PT.