2024 QMJHL Playoffs | Western Conference Preview
DRUMMONDVILLE VOLTIGEURS (1st West)
Regular Season Record – 48-14-5-1 – 102 pts, 306 GF, 186 GA
The Volts are electric once again. Led by new Head Coach Sylvain Favreau, Drummondville left no doubt of the feats it was able to achieve following an up-and-down 2022-23 campaign. Leading the league offensively, Drummondville features four 30-goal scorers and seven with 20 or more, including Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Ethan Gauthier and veteran winger Sam Oliver. Justin Côté and Peter Repcik, who combined for 13 game-winning tallies, also played key roles in this powerful lineup. On the backend, the arrival of Vsevolod Komarov from the Quebec Remparts paid instant dividends, though the team has now lost 2022 Arizona Coyotes first-rounder Maveric Lamoureux to injury for the postseason. In nets, Riley Mercer has turned in an outstanding season, compiling his first 30-win campaign. Next up is a first-ever postseason matchup against the Saint John Sea Dogs, as the Voltigeurs aim their sights on a second playoff title in franchise history.
ROUYN-NORANDA HUSKIES (2nd West)
Regular Season Record – 47-15-1-5 – 100 pts, 301 GF, 192 GA
As prohibitive championship contenders before the puck even dropped on the 2023-24 season, seeing the big dogs of the West in this position comes as little shock. Rouyn-Noranda’s off-season trades delivered this year’s leading point-getter, Antonin Verreault, as well as point-per-game center Andrei Loshko. Augmented by stars Bill Zonnon and Daniil Bourash, among others, the Huskies have maintained the offensive presence to compete for every point in the standings. The blueline is led by Arizona Coyotes draftee and 2023 Memorial Cup winner Jérémy Langlois, one of several defenders capable of holding the fort in all three zones for a Huskies squad that obtained 60 goals from the backend this year. In the crease, William Rousseau went out and made history, posting a league record eight shutouts as part of yet another stellar campaign. The Huskies’ first round opponents are certainly no strangers. For the tenth time, they’ll face the Olympiques, who emerged victorious in a second-round encounter between both teams just last Spring.
VICTORIAVILLE TIGRES (3rd West)
Regular Season Record – 43-20-4-1 – 91 pts, 263 GF, 218 GA
Another year, another third-place finish for the Tigres. Only this time, ending up in the upper portion of the standings came as no surprise. Much of Victoriaville’s goal scoring prowess runs through a veteran foursome of 30-goal scorers in Justin Larose, Tommy Cormier, Maxime Pellerin and Joseph Henneberry, the latter a mid-season pickup from the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. On defense, Pier-Olivier Roy completed the fourth season of an understated but excellent QMJHL career by leading the team in defensive scoring while serving as one of the few holdovers from the Tigres’ 2021 championship squad. Also anchoring the blue line is Anaheim Ducks draftee Noah Warren, as well as veteran Francesco Iasenza. The story between the pipes has been Nathan Darveau, who has put together yet another stellar season for the Tigres, posting 30 wins and five shutouts as an overager. The Tigres will be preying upon the Shawinigan Cataractes in round one, the seventh matchup between these two clubs over the course of a historic playoff rivalry.
SHERBROOKE PHOENIX (4th West)
Regular Season Record – 32-30-1-5 – 70 pts, 215 GF, 239 GA
With back-to-back semifinal appearances in the rear-view mirror and a massive turnover in players and personnel, you’d think the Phoenix would be clawing its way into the postseason; think again! Under Gilles Bouchard’s guidance, Sherbrooke has held its own all year long. Israël Mianscum has earned a breakout campaign, sitting among the league leaders in both goals and points. He’s joined among the top performers with Andrew Belchamber and Hugo Primeau, who’s gone from six goals in two seasons to his first 20-goal campaign. Rookie Mavrick Lachance has also produced his fair share of offensive punch with a club that features six 20-goal performers. While the present has been a pleasant surprise, the future looks bright as well with freshman Louis-Alex Tremblay leading the club in scoring among defensemen. Goaltender Samuel St-Hilaire has shown the league why he was worthy of an invite to Team Canada at this year’s World Juniors with another stellar wire-to-wire performance between the pipes. Put it all together and the Phoenix’s first round battle with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada should be one to remember!
BLAINVILLE-BOISBRIAND ARMADA (5th West)
Regular Season Record – 31-31-4-2 – 68 pts, 214 GF, 230 GA
The Armada has fully embraced the youth movement, featuring ten 2006 or 2007-born players on its current roster. With a 15-point increase in the standings over last season, it’s safe to say the kids are all right. With Jonathan Fauchon, one of the remaining veterans, leading the club in scoring, names like Justin Charbonneau, Mateo Nobert and Vincent Desjardins represent the next wave up front. On the backend, 16-year-old rookie Xavier Villeneuve has done nothing but impress while sophomore Théo Lemieux has stepped up offensively. Another impressive first-year blueliner is Emanuelson Charbonneau-Joseph, who cracked the Armada roster despite being drafted back in 2020 and ate up valuable minutes throughout the season. Between the pipes, the status of Olivier Ciarlo, acquired from Baie-Comeau at the holiday trade period, remains to be seen after the veteran netminder sustained an injury on March 1 that has kept him out of the lineup since. Next up is the Sherbrooke Phoenix, who the Armada will be looking for a series win against for the first time in four opportunities.
SHAWINIGAN CATARACTES (6th West)
Regular Season Record – 30-34-3-1 – 64 pts, 195 GF, 215 GA
The Cataractes are in the midst of assembling the cast that they hope will someday repeat the feats of the 2021-22 squad which captured the franchise’s first QMJHL title. Assisting in that transition are players who hope to move the club in that direction sooner than later. A deal with the Saint John Sea Dogs landed the Cats Vince Elie, who enters the postseason as the team’s leading scorer. Sophomore Félix Lacerte took a step forward, earning his first 30-goal campaign in the ‘Q’. A runner-up for Rookie of the Month honors in March, Jiri Klima enters the playoffs following a hot streak that’s seen him score nine goals over his last ten games. On the veteran side, a number of holdovers from the 2022 Championship team have their eyes set on more postseason excitement, including forwards Alexis Bonefon and defensemen Isaac Ménard and Jordan Tourigny. In net, mid-season acquisition Mathys Fernandez put together a solid final month of the season. Next on tap are the Tigres from Victoriaville in the opening round, a club that, despite playing just over an hour away, hasn’t faced the Cataractes in the postseason since 2010.
GATINEAU OLYMPIQUES (7th West)
Regular Season Record – 25-31-6-6 – 62 pts, 213 GF, 268 GA
Make it 40 consecutive seasons of postseason participation for the Olympiques. However, there were times when it looked like this amazing streak would come to an end, particularly after a 10-game losing streak in December and January. In true O’s fashion, this group shook off that setback and will be right back into familiar territory this weekend. Though the roster from last year’s semifinalists has a completely different look, this group has still received a respectable amount of production out of top three forwards Jérémie Minville, Charles Boutin and Nathan Levesque. Veteran Alexander Gaudio, acquired from Val-d’Or, recorded a career-year offensively. Since coming over from Saint John, overager Mathis Gauthier has helped stabilize a blueline corps that includes rookies Jan Golicic and Nolan Ling. Between the pipes, rookie Zach Pelletier and Kian Hodgins have split duties with solid results. Gatineau will face the Rouyn-Noranada Huskies in the opening round, a club it has encountered eight previous times in the postseason.
SAINT JOHN SEA DOGS (8th in West, *Crosses over after finishing 9th in East*)
Regular Season Record – 20-39-5-4 – 49 pts, 185 GF, 293 GA
For the second time in a row, it came down to the last day of the regular season; for the second time in a row, the Sea Dogs are part of the QMJHL playoff picture. Once again rounding out the field in the Western Conference, the Dogs are led by Halifax Mooseheads acquisition Brody Fournier and the European sophomore duo of Eriks Mateiko and Pavel Simek. On the backend, Joseph Ianniello enjoyed a breakthrough campaign while Nate Tivey made positive steps in his progression. A pair of veterans, Drew Elliott and Tyler Peddle, acquired from Drummondville, were brought in for reinforcements during the Dogs’ stretch drive. The crease features balance between youth and experience with overager Patrick Leaver and rookie Justin Robinson sharing duties between the pipes. Saint John, who, despite claiming the Memorial Cup in 2022, is seeking its first postseason series victory since claiming the 2017 President Cup. The Sea Dogs start their postseason Friday night in Drummondville.