A tight race for the Mario-Lemieux Trophy
There’s always pride in finishing as your league’s top scorer, whatever the level. And that’s even truer this season in the QMJHL, where the top sniper will receive the Mario-Lemieux Trophy for the very first time.
With eight weeks still to go in the regular season calendar, the battle is decidedly tight. Five players currently have 30 goals or more, including Justin Poirier, who leads the league with 35 in 47 games for the top-ranked Baie-Comeau Drakkar.
But just behind him are Halifax Mooseheads forwards Markus Vidicek and Mathieu Cataford, with 32 and 31 goals respectively. The Mooseheads still have 20 games to play, compared to 21 for Poirier and the Drakkar.
Yoan Loshing of the Moncton Wildcats also has 31 goals, with 23 games to go. Justin Larose of the Victoriaville Tigres rounds out the Top 5 with 30 goals, including 12 scored on the power play. Only Michael Horth (Charlottetown Islanders) is ahead of him in that category, with 15 goals scored on the man advantage.
Twelve players in the running
Also in the running for the Mario-Lemieux Trophy – and not to be overlooked – are Joseph Henneberry of the Tigres, with 29 goals, Ethan Gauthier of the Drummondville Voltigeurs, with 27, and Jacob Mathieu of the Rimouski Oceanic, also with 27. It took Mathieu just 35 games to reach this total, and he rounded out the month of January with 12 goals in 11 games!
Antonin Verreault of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, Justin Gill of the Drakkar, Jérémie Minville of the Gatineau Olympiques and Louis-Philippe Fontaine, also of the Huskies, follow in the goal scoring column with 26 each.
Will 17-year-old Justin Poirier, who is eligible for the next NHL Draft, maintain his pace and become the first-ever recipient of the Mario-Lemieux Trophy? We’ll find out at the end of the regular season, on March 23.
