Experience key as Tigres chase another QMJHL title
Tonight’s CHLGOTW contest between Victoriaville and Drummondville can be seen live on CHL TV and RDS at 7pm ET.
The most experienced team in the QMJHL are hoping that it leads them to a second league championship in four years.
The Victoriaville Tigres average age of 18.30 is the highest in the QMJHL while the club’s 2,029 total games of experience ranks third.
“I think we have a great leadership group and we have very good team chemistry,” said Tommy Cormier. “Everybody has the mindset to win.”
Cormier wasn’t part of the Tigres when they hoisted the Gilles-Courteau Trophy in 2021 but alongside Maxime Pellerin and Nathan Darveau is one of the club’s three over-age players in 2023-24.
Of the 24 skaters that have played at least once this season – a list that includes Igor Mburanumwe who was traded to Acadie-Bathurst Wednesday – only four players were born in 2006 or later.
The Tigres have gotten off to a solid start; they’re 5-4-0 early on and have averaged 4.22 goals per game. Cormier is a big part of that as he is tied for the team’s scoring lead with 13 points alongside Justin Larose while his linemate Pellerin has 10 points.
The duo of Cormier and Pellerin is arguably one of the most underrated tandems in not just the QMJHL but the CHL. Last season, they combined for 80 goals while their 171 points were the fourth most in the Q between a pair of teammates.
“We have very good chemistry on and off the ice,” Cormier said. “We want to improve every day and win together. We both have tons of motivation.”
It was Cormier and Pellerin that led the Tigres to a surprise 40-win season a year ago, their first since 2017-18. However, they were beaten in five games in the first round of the QMJHL playoffs by tonight’s CHL Game of the Week opponents Drummondville.
“Last year no one saw us having the success that we had but for us it’s the same thing this year; we focus on ourselves and not the outside noise,” Cormier said. “We have a goal and we are going to do everything we can to accomplish it.”
To help achieve that goal, the Tigres made a big splash in the offseason as general manager Kevin Cloutier acquired Noah Warren (ANA) from Gatineau. Warren has played just three games thus far but his impact has been felt already.
“He’s a very important defenceman for us,” Cormier said. “He brings a lot of physicality to our team. He’s hard to play against and he’s able to bring offence too.”
