2026 Gilles-Courteau Trophy Final – WILDCATS vs SAGUENÉENS PREVIEW

They spent six months battling for regular season supremacy. Now, the Moncton Wildcats and Chicoutimi Saguenéens will face off with a league title and Memorial Cup berth on the line. The 2026 Gilles-Courteau Trophy Final is upon us with game one taking place tonight in Moncton.

The Wildcats enjoyed their trip to the championship round last year so much that they decided to go back. Their road to round four was a little more perilous this spring, however. After dispatching first the Saint John Sea Dogs, then the Val-d’Or Foreurs in the minimum four games, it took all seven games to defeat the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the Semis. The Cats have looked to the grit, skill and big-body presence of 2024 Utah Mammoth draftee Gabe Smith all postseason. It’s been a recipe for success, as indicated by his league-leading 14 goals and 24 points through three rounds of play. San Jose Sharks draft pick Teddy Mutryn has been a force, particularly with his three-assist night against the Armada in Game 7. Captain and Utah Mammoth prospect Caleb Desnoyers has been his usual reliable self away from the puck while no slouch with it, with 18 points in 15 games. Overall, six players on the club have averaged a point per game to this point in the playoffs.

As for players who are expected to hear their names called early this coming June, Tommy Bleyl has provided the lion’s share of offence from the blue line while producing a pair of highlight-reel goals this postseason. This has been countered by the solid two-way play of Adam Fortier-Gendron and vital contributions all over the ice from a pair of trade period pickups, Max Vilen and Evan Dépatie. Behind it all is Rudy Guimond, who finds himself in his usual place; among the league leaders in every major goaltending category entering the final series. The Wildcats, who have reached the Final in back-to-back seasons for the first time, will be gunning for the franchise’s fourth league title and Memorial Cup appearance.

It’s been 29 long years but the Saguenéens are back in the QMJHL championship round. Their path to this stage of the postseason included sweeps of the Halifax Mooseheads and Québec Remparts, as well as a six-game Semi-Final triumph over the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. The league’s top offensive and defensive team in 2025-26 used both in equal measure to get to this point. Up front, the depth from top to bottom has been nothing short of special. Led by Anaheim Ducks 2024 selection Maxim Massé, the faceoff abilities of Mavrick Lachance and special teams wizardry from Nathan Lecompte and Emmanuel Vermette, the Sags have proven capable of winning games of all types, be it low scoring or offensive shootout. How spread out has the scoring been this spring? How about points from 20 of 21 players who have suited up, ten players with double digit point totals, and game-winning goals from 11 different players; only defenseman Tomas Lavoie has scored two GWGs!

Lavoie is just one of a powerful defense corps that has shut down the opposition at every turn. Fellow mid-season acquisitions Jordan Tourigny and Alexis Bernier have controlled play with precision, while Alex Huang has been a steady puck mover all season long. It’s not just the group of blueliners that are getting the job done, however. This is a true team defense which has limited the opposition to an almost absurd 21 goals against through 14 postseason encounters. The is the sixth trip to the Final for the Saguenéens, the last appearance occurring in 1997. The last time the organization captured a playoff title, its second overall, the year was 1994 and current Head Coach Yanick Jean was one of the team’s veteran defensemen. The franchise has previously appeared in three Memorial Cups.

These two clubs faced each other twice in a seven-day span during the regular season. On January 17 in Moncton, the Sags delivered a 7-4 setback to the Cats. Moncton returned the favor on January 24 in Chicoutimi, taking down the Saguenéens 3-2.

This will be the fourth postseason meeting between the two teams, the previous three all occurring in the first round. The Wildcats earned victories of six and five games in 1998 and 2015, respectively. The Saguenéens were the most recent winners, sweeping the Wildcats in four straight back in 2024. The winners of this best-of-seven series will punch their ticket to the 2026 Memorial Cup in Kelowna, BC.

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Team Comparison (Reg. Season):