Our 18 | THREE QUESTIONS ON THE ACADIE-BATHURST TITAN

• Who’s ready to take over from last year’s strong group of 20’s?

Few teams in the ‘Q’ relied on its overagers quite like the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. With Robert Orr and Milo Roelens combining for 156 points and Igor Mburanumwe providing rock solid defense, it’s time for others to take the next steps as the Titan players work their way back to the top of the standings. Colby Huggan, a member of this year’s 20-year-old trio, will be expected to lead the way after his nearly point-per-game performance last year. Shifty center Louis-François Bélanger should build off an impressive rookie season, while an off-season deal with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies landed the Titan blueliner Francois-James Buteau, a veteran of over 200 regular season games and a valued member of the defense for last year’s talented Huskies squad.

• Can the club gain momentum from last year’s surprising playoff run?

Going into the 2024 postseason, few gave the Titan much of a chance to escape round one. Three weeks later, the team had shocked everyone with a four-game sweep of the Halifax Mooseheads and a hard-fought series with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar under its belt. While Huggan led the way in playoff scoring, fellow returnees Bélanger, who was very effective on the powerplay, Émile Perron, and Dawson Sharkey put together standout performances. Not only did a group of core returnees earn this valuable experience, the man who led them there from behind the bench, Gordie Dwyer, fresh off a gold medal performance with Team Canada’s staff at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, is back for his third season on New Brunswick’s north shore.

• How much of an impact will draft night decisions make?

Whether by trade or by draft, the Titan is setting itself up for future success with newcomers as much as it is with returnees. At last June’s draft, a pair of first-round selections landed the club one of the most intelligent defensemen in the draft in Biagio Danielle Jr and pesky forward Liam Arsenault. Meanwhile, a draft floor deal with the Rimouski Océanic on the same night as those selections landed the club 2023 first-round draftee Tyson Goguen, a center who posted 12 points on a veteran Océanic team last year that should provide strength up the middle for a Titan squad that made the most of its puck possession time last year.

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2023-2024 Stats: