2022 QMJHL Playoffs | Wildcats vs. Islanders Preview

 

The Moncton Wildcats began to climb back to the top of standings after losing out on a playoff run with their powerhouse squad from 2020. The next stop on that journey is a playoff date with a rival that is already at the top; the Charlottetown Islanders.

The Islanders put together a franchise record 48-win campaign to capture the Maritime Division title. Led by a 55-goal campaign from Patrick Guay and an incredible 86 points in 48 games from Xavier Simoneau, the top five scorers found themselves averaging more than a point per game.

League-leading defensive scorer and Vegas Golden Knights draftee Lukas Cormier joined forces with Noah Laaouan and William Trudeau to ensure exceptional two-way play from the defense corps.

Between the pipes, rookie Oliver Satny was complimented by veteran Francesco Lapenna, picked up from the Drummondville Voltigeurs mid-season, who posted five shutouts during the campaign.

 

The Isles reached the 2021 President Cup semifinals before falling to eventual champion Victoriaville in a winner-take-all game five.

One of the players from last year’s triumphant Tigres was Brooklyn Kalmikov, who landed in Moncton in the season’s early stages before going on to lead his new team in scoring. Also driving the bus offensively were a trio of developing impact players in Vincent Labelle, Yoan Loshing and Max Barbashev.

Etienne Morin proved the club made a wise choice with their second-round selection at the 2021 QMJHL Draft after he led all 16-year-old rearguards in scoring, while Jaxon Bellamy was acquired from the Acadie-Bathurst Titan by the team that originally drafted him in 2017.

Veteran Jonathan Lemieux and sophomore Vincent Filion were the second-half mainstays in the Cats’ cage.

The Wildcats, two-time President Cup Champions, in 2006 and 2010, were eliminated in a three-team round robin featuring the Titan and Saint John Sea Dogs in 2021.

 

The Isles held court in the season series, finishing 6-1-1-0 versus their regional rivals. Despite a long history between the two clubs, these two squads have only faced off twice before in postseason action. The Wildcats were triumphant on both of those occasions, in 2004 and 2009, when the Islanders were still known as the PEI Rocket.

The long dormant playoff rivalry between these two teams is alive and well once more. And you can bet the Isles will be eager to erase memories of those past encounters as they shuttle across the Confederation Bridge in search of the ultimate prize.

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Team Comparison:

	Charlottetown	Moncton
Record	48-13-7-0 — 103 Pts	28-31-6-3 — 65 Pts
Division Ranking	1st Maritimes	5th Maritimes
League Ranking	2nd	14th
GF	283	208
GA	179	273
PP (Overall)	(66/252) 26.2%	(51/258) 19.8%
PK (Overall)	(46/293) 84.3%	(67/282) 76.2%
Leading Rookie	Brabenec (17-47-64)	Loshing (19-23-42)
		Barbashev (15-27-42)
Leading Scorers	Guay (55-49-104)	Kalmikov (38-38-76)
	Simoneau (24-62-86)	Labelle (17-27-44)
	Cormier (33-48-81)	Loshing (19-23-42)
	Budgell (40-39-79)	Barbashev (15-27-42)
	Brabenec (17-47-64)	Morin (8-25-33)