Top 5 surprises after a third of the QMJHL season
Time flies. We’re now roughly a third of the way through the season. Here’s a Top 5 of the teams that have surprised everyone so far in 2025-2026!
Charlottetown Islanders, 2nd in the overall standings
Finalists in 2022, the Islanders haven’t finished higher than 12th in the overall standings since then, and that was last year. We expected them to improve, but not to be sitting in second place overall after 23 games, with a record of 13-6-1-3.
The offense is led by Ross Campbell and Nathan Leek, both with 24 points, along with William Shields (19 points) and Matthew Butler (18); Leek and Shields already have 13 goals!
On defense, Marcus Kearsey is truly the leader, with 21 points – only Xavier Villeneuve is more productive among QMJHL defensemen.
And in his second season, Donald Hickey is undeniably solid in net (.908).
The Islanders, true to the reputation of their general manager and head coach Jim Hulton, are tough to play against game after game. But they need to be wary of discipline! Only the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada has been penalized more so far.
Drummondville Voltigeurs, 4th
Champions of the Gilles-Courteau Trophy in 2024, a dip in form was expected from the Voltigeurs last year. But no. They finished first in the Western Conference before being upset by Halifax in the first round of the playoffs.
They were therefore expected to rebuild this season after losing their excellent 20-year-old players, Luke Woodworth, Riley Mercer and Sam Oliver. Especially since Ethan Gauthier made the jump to the American Hockey League at 20 years old.
But now the Voltigeurs (13-6-1-1) are in fourth place in the standings, having won eight of their last ten games.
This is all despite their struggles on special teams: they rank 15th on the power play (15.5%) and dead last on the penalty kill (67.7%). This demonstrates their effectiveness at even strength, in part because they effectively close down the slot and are very aggressive on the forecheck.
Everyone is contributing in Drummondville, with 10 players scoring 10 points or more so far. The best of them, Renaud Poulin, has 18, which puts him only 38th in the league.
Jan Larys has been a great find in goal (.908 in 12 games).
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, 5th
Over the past three seasons, the Huskies have never finished lower than sixth in the league. But with the losses of 20-year-olds Antonin Verreault, Ty Higgins and Alex Carr, and the trade of Bill Zonnon to the Armada, it seemed the Huskies would slow down. Not at all.
The Huskies have a record of 12-6-2-1 and are in fifth place.
With 31 points, Thomas Verdon is the fourth-leading scorer in the QMJHL. He’s getting good offensive support from Samuel Beauchemin, who has 20 points.
The Huskies are seventh in power play (23.3%) and fifth in penalty kill (83.6%).
Buffalo Sabres prospect Samuel Meloche has all the tools to contribute even more in net (.895 in 18 games).
Halifax Mooseheads, 6th
The Mooseheads were expected to make their mark in 2026-2027, not this season!
Yet here they are, sitting sixth overall with a record of 11-6-1-1, after finishing 16th last year.
Oleg Kulebiakin is already comfortable in the QMJHL, as evidenced by his 12 goals and 20 points. Veterans Shawn Carrier and Quinn Kennedy are providing solid support with 18 and 16 points respectively.
In net, Owen Bresson, a former Cataractes player, currently holds the starting position ahead of young Nicolas Cirka.
Hats off to the young Mooseheads, who have overcome the departure of their head coach Andrew Lord – to take on the same role with the Ontario Reign in the AHL – and are off to a surprising start. His successor, Brad MacKenzie, is doing a great job.
William Lacelle (Iften Redjah)
Rimouski Océanic, 13th
Host of the Memorial Cup tournament and playoff finalists in 2025, the Océanic have surprised many so far with a .500 record (10-10-1).
In his second season, goaltender William Lacelle is the team’s star with an excellent .919 save percentage in 15 games. No one ahead of him has more than 17 points (Liam Lefebvre).
Special mention also goes to Evan Dépatie. The former Foreurs defenseman seems to be enjoying himself in Rimouski, as evidenced by his 16 points.
You have to go back to the 2020-2021 season to find the Océanic outside the Top 10 in the overall standings. Will it be able to extend its streak?
