QMJHL Players of the Month | December 2024
- Forward of the Month
Jérémie Minville – Gatineau Olympiques – 8GP, 8G, 6A, 14Pts, +2
The Gatineau Olympiques spent the last month of 2024 shaking off a dismal start to their season and the player leading the way was captain Jérémie Minville. The 20-year-old from Drummondville, Quebec started the month off with a bang, recording a four-point effort against the Halifax Mooseheads on the 1st. It would be one of four multi-point games for the fourth-year veteran during the month, which saw him held off the scoresheet just once and the Olympiques earn points in seven of eight games, en route to a 5-1-0-2 record, an impressive feat for a squad that had posted just four victories on the season entering December. Minville delivered the game-winning tally in four of those five contests.
Arguably the biggest news Minville delivered last month was his commitment to Bowling Green University for the 2025-26 campaign. He currently leads the Olympiques in scoring with 39 points in 34 games.
Honorable mention
Caleb Desnoyers – Moncton Wildcats – 9GP, 7G, 10A, 17Pts, +8
- Defenseman of the Month
Ty Higgins – Rouyn-Noranda Huskies – 7GP, 2G, 9A, 11Pts, -2
The Huskies are enjoying a comfortable lead atop the West Division standings as the calendar flips to 2025, playing a style geared towards their reliable offense. One of the biggest factors in their style makes his home on defense. Ty Higgins posted four multi-point games in December, including a four-assist afternoon on New Year’s Eve against the Val-d’Or Foreurs. The 20-year-old from Stratford, Ontario isn’t just putting up points, he’s proving to be very confident in putting the puck on net as his 126 shots, tops among QMJHL blueliners, can attest. Higgins has also been a critical factor in the Huskies’ league-leading power play; both of his goals last month came on the man advantage.
Higgins currently leads all Q defensemen, and sits tied for tenth among all players, with 40 points in 33 games. Invited the NHL Training Camp by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2023, Higgins’ next point will tie his previous single-season high, set in 68 games with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in 2022-23.
Honorable mention
Adam Fortier-Gendron – Moncton Wildcats – 9GP, 3G, 6A, 9Pts, +9
- Goaltender of the Month
Jacob Steinman – Moncton Wildcats – 6-1-0-0, 2.11 GAA, .936 SV%
No team has dominated the QMJHL this season like the Moncton Wildcats. The key player between the pipes for the league’s stingiest squad is Jacob Steinman. The 20-year-old from Toronto is making the most of his overage season, including a December that saw him allow two goals or less in all but one of his starts. Highlights for the third-year veteran include a season-best 35-save performance against the Cape Breton Eagles on the 1st, as well as back-to-back games in which he steered aside 62 of 66 shots against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on the 13th and those same Eagles on the 14th. Steinman ended 2024 in style, turning in a 31-save performance against the Charlottetown Islanders on New Year’s Eve, giving the Cats their league-leading 27th win of the season.
Steinman currently leads the QMJHL with 21 wins while sitting fifth overall in GAA (2.20) and save percentage (.926%). It’s been a steady improvement for the netminder who was signed as a free agent by the Wildcats back in 2022.
Honorable mention
Joshua Fleming – Acadie-Bathurst Titan – 3-1-1-1, 2.42 GAA, .934 SV%
- Rookie of the Month
Benjamin Cossette-Ayotte – Val-d’Or Foreurs – 7GP, 2G, 4A, 6Pts, +8
Being a highly touted 16-year-old in major junior often poses a challenge. Doing so as a defenseman, for a team aiming to earn a playoff berth for the first time in three years, turns up the temperature even more. However, Benjamin Cossette-Ayotte can handle the heat. The rookie rearguard, who turns 17 on January 3, has found his stride on both sides of the puck, recording points in his final four games of 2024. That includes goals in back-to-back games for the first time in his QMJHL career. He’s also proving to be just as poised without the puck. A minus player on just one occasion in December, Cossette-Ayotte recorded a +8 rating for the month for a Foreurs club that continues to progress.
Selected second overall by Val-d’Or at the 2024 QMJHL Entry Draft, Cossette-Ayotte currently leads all rookie defensemen in scoring. Last season saw him impress many scouts with a rapid progression in his overall game as a member of the Trois-Rivieres Estacades.
Honorable mention
William Lacelle – Rimouski Océanic – 4-1-0-0, 1.78 GAA, .932 SV%, 1 SO
