Wildcats 17th Year
Heading into the 2012-2013 Season, there was a lot of optimism surrounding the Moncton Wildcats Hockey Club. Alex and Allain Saulnier were coming off a very strong season that saw them ranked among the top scoring players in the QMJHL. The twin brothers from Cap-Pele would make at least one play every game that would leave onlooking fans shaking their heads and saying, “How can they do that…how did he know that he was going to be there.” That’s the kind of chemistry that develops when one plays on the same line as one’s brother their entire life. The Saulniers would co-captain the team for the 2012-2013 season.
The Christmas trade of Brandon Gormley to the Shawinigan Cataractes in the 2011-2012 Season ensured that the Wildcats would gain important firepower and depth heading into 2012-2013. The Wildcats received the following draft picks for Brandon Gormley: Rd_5, 2012, Rd_5, 2012 (Lew), Rd_1, EURO 2013, Rd_3, 2013, Rd_5, 2013, Rd_2, 2014. The Wildcats would end up trading most of those picks back to Shawinigan at the summer Draft of 2012 to obtain Alex Dubeau, Yannick Veilleux and Jonathan Racine—all fresh off a Memorial Cup victory with the Shawinigan Cataractes. The addition of these three high end players would be a great start to putting together a Championship Contender.
In the Summer of 2012, the Wildcats acquired from the Sherbrooke Phoenix the first overall European CHL import pick which allowed them to select Ivan Barbashev, a 17-year-old Russian superstar who wanted to play in North America. In the Second round of the CHL import draft, the Wildcats selected Dmitrij Jaskin, a 2nd round NHL Draft Pick of the St. Louis Blues. While the Wildcats knew they were getting two very high quality players from these two picks, no one could have predicted just how dominant the Russian Duo would be. Dmitrij Jaskin would become an immediate fan favorite as he scored 99 points in just 51 games. His goal celebrations were among the most expressive in the entire CHL and his personality was as big as his game.
The Wildcats were not done acquiring top end talent yet though. As the season got underway, it became apparent that they would need a seasoned veteran defenseman who could quarterback the powerplay and give solid leadership to the blue line. This came in the form of Jonathan Narbonne, who was one of the best shut-down defenseman in the QMJHL. Also a member of the Shawinigan Cataractes Memorial Cup winning team, he would bring important experience to the team.
As the Wildcats entered the Christmas Trade Period, there were a lot of rumors about who they might acquire to make their contending team even stronger. Would the Wildcats make a deal to acquire 1st Round NHL Draft Pick Phillip Danault from the Victoriaville Tigres or would the asking price be too high? On January 8, 2013, this question would be answered. The Wildcats acquired Phillip Danault and traded promising prospect Gabriel Gagné (1996-11-11) and the following draft picks to Victoriaville: Rd_1, 2014, Rd_1, EURO 2014, Rd_1, 2015 and Rd_2, 2015. It was a costly deal, but one that the Wildcats had to make if they wanted to compete with the Halifax Mooseheads who at this point had been ranked at #1 in the country for many weeks.
The Wildcats finished the season with a strong record of 42-23-0-3 which was good enough for 6th place in the 18-team QMJHL.
Optimism and excitement were mounting as the Wildcats entered the playoffs against the Victoriaville Tigres. Playing against the team who just traded their superstar to the Wildcats (Phillip Danault), it was widely expected and predicted that the Wildcats would win the series in 4 or 5 games. In junior hockey though, sometimes the unexpected happens. The Wildcats would run into a hot goalie in the form of Brandon Whitney and were disappointed to lose to the Tigres in 5 games. The Wildcats—filled with high level talent and loads of firepower—fell flat in their pursuit of victory. Three days after elimination, Danny Flynn was released as Wildcats head coach. The club had a 2-12 playoff record with three consecutive first-round eliminations, prompting owner Robert Irving to think that a change was needed.
After the Wildcats 2012-2013 Season, 6 players from the team were sent directly to pro hockey teams—a tribute to how skilled and talented the team really was (Dmitrij Jaskin, Phillip Danault, Jonathan Racine, Yannick Veilleux, James Melindy and Jonathan Narbonne). Now with the page turned on the 2012-2013, the Wildcats would look ahead to 2013-2014, a season of youth, energy and dreams of the future.
Front Row: Cole Holowenko, James Melindy, Jonathan Narbonne, Darryl Seward (Assistant Coach), Allain Saulnier, Danny Flynn (Head Coach), Alex Saulnier, Fabian Joseph (Associate Coach), Jonathan Racine, Yannick Veilleux, Alex Dubeau
Middle Row: Dominic Boudriau (Equipment Manager), Bill Hughes (Goaltenders Coach), Brayden Wood, Ryan Penny, Danick Emond, Ross Johnston, Dmitrij Jaskin, Phillip Danault, Mark Tremaine, Chris Lalonde, Matt Cooling (Assistant Goaltenders Coach), Graham Black (Athletic Therapist)
Back Row: Terry LeBlanc (Assistant Equipment Manager), Justin Cormier (Assistant Equipment Manager), Stephen Johnson, Lucas Batt, Jacob Sweeney, Kyle Haas, Ivan Barbashev, Conor Garland, Bob Cormier (Assistant Equipment Manager)