CHL TV Game of the Week presented by Kubota | 3 Reasons to Watch – Wildcats vs. Islanders

 

The CHL TV Game of the Week presented by Kubota brings a weekly free game to CHL TV throughout the 2021-22 regular season. The action continues Thursday as the Moncton Wildcats visit the Charlottetown Islanders with puck drop set for 7 p.m. Atlantic.

To get you ready, here are three reasons why this QMJHL duel is must-see TV:

Islanders’ dynamic one-two punch continues to impress

The Islanders top the QMJHL’s Eastern Conference with a 31-9-5-0 showing and a big part of their dominant record has been because of the impressive seasons from 19-year-old left-wing Patrick Guay as well as overage centre Xavier Simoneau.

In the midst of a career year, the undrafted Guay is in his first full season with the Islanders after joining the team midway through the 2020-21 campaign. In all, the Magog, Que., native sits second in the QMJHL with 35 goals, including 14 markers coming on the powerplay, and fifth in overall production with 66 points. The talented scorer had an impressive start to the season as he tallied 10 goals and four assists in October and has not stopped since, with last month seeing him record six goals and eight assists. On the season, Guay has tallied eight multi-goal games highlighted by his first career hat-trick coming against Blainville-Boisbriand. The gifted forward has also recorded three or more points on six occasions, including a pair of four-point performances versus Halifax and Rouyn-Noranda, while recent weeks saw him put together a 10-game point span in which he collected nine goals and eight assists for 17 points.

Selected fifth overall in the 2018 QMJHL Entry Draft, Guay has already eclipsed his career high in all three major offensive categories previously set in the 2019-20 campaign when he netted 21 goals with 19 assists for 40 points in 55 games. This season, Guay has collected three points in two prior meetups versus Moncton.

For Simoneau, the Montreal Canadiens 2021 sixth-round selection has had a brilliant year since arriving in Charlottetown. This season, the product of Saint-Andre-Avellin, Que., has put his play-making skills on full display as he has netted 62 points counting 18 goals and 44 assists through 35 appearances.

The 20-year-old centre has demonstrated his incredible skills as an elite player in the league marked by 10 contests where he has recorded three or more points bookended by a four-assist performance against Halifax in November. The budding forward had the longest point streak in the QMJHL this season, tallying 12 goals and 30 assists for 42 points in 21 games. Chosen in the first round of the 2017 QMJHL Entry Draft, Simoneau continues to approach his career highs for goals (28), assists (61), and points (89) set during the 2019-20 season. He has shown that offensive flair versus Moncton this season, coming away with two goals and four assists in two games.

Xavier Simoneau just doesn't stop working. #GoHabsGo prospect with his 12th of the season! @CanadiensMTL | @IslandersHKY pic.twitter.com/yjhsZPgBlg

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) December 19, 2021

Wildcats’ rookies making names for themselves

In the midst of a heated playoff race, the Wildcats sit seventh in the QMJHL’s Eastern Conference with a 21-17-5-1 record and 48 points, where this season the club is getting promising contributions from young forwards like Yoan Loshing and 2022 Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game invitee Maxim Barbashev.

Through 2021-22, the 18-year-old Loshing ranks third in Wildcats scoring with 29 points counting 15 goals and 14 assists coming in 31 contests. The Lemoyne, Que., native had a strong February where he tallied five goals and four assists for nine points in six games highlighted by two multi-goal performances. He has not stopped through March as he has already recorded two goals and five assists for seven points in six appearances. Chosen in the first round of the 2020 QMJHL Entry Draft, Loshing appeared in 19 games last season in which he notched four goals and four assists for eight points.

For Barbashev, the 18-year-old talented right-wing has netted 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points in 36 contests this season, highlighted by an impressive start in which he collected three goals and seven assists for 10 points in October. Barbashev regained his strong pace last month as he notched four goals and three assists. That has continued in March as he has a goal and an assist to his name through four games. On the season, the up-and-coming star has demonstrated his skill with five multi-point games highlighted by his first three-point showing against Cape Breton earlier this year. Ahead of the 2022 NHL Draft, Barbashev ranks 86th among North Americans on NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm Rankings.

Barbashev stuffs it home! 🏠#CHLTVGOTW | @KubotaCanadaLtd | @monctonwildcats pic.twitter.com/IwrPeGKfol

— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) February 6, 2022

Islanders’ Cormier ready to make the jump

Bringing his veteran experience from the blue line, Islanders 19-year-old rearguard Lukas Cormier is second among QMJHL defencemen in both goals (21) and points (53).

The Sainte-Marie-de-Kent, NB., native has been a productive force this season as he has five games where he has collected four points including a pair of two-goal outings. Dominant in the first two months of the season, Cormier tallied seven goals and seven assists in October and four goals with 12 assists in November. Cormier’s outstanding play helped him earn a spot with Team Canada at the World Juniors where tournament action saw him pick up two points in two games. That success has continued into the new year where the second half of the season has seen Cormier tally five goals and 12 assists in February and continue his strong showing into March with a goal and four assists in six contests. Cormier is also coming off his eighth multi-assist game of the year after putting up two helpers against Chicoutimi in his most recent outing.

Selected in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Vegas Golden Knights, the excitement around Cormier’s NHL potential continues to build as he has already surpassed his career high in goals and is one point shy of his high-water mark for overall point production of 54 points coming a year ago.

Cormier does it again 🎯

Puts us up 2-1 with 10 minutes left in the 3rd period. pic.twitter.com/PVtaktiOcT

— Charlottetown Islanders (@IslandersHKY) February 5, 2022