Lots of movement in the Q!
Just because it’s 35 degrees outside doesn’t mean QMJHL general managers have been taking a vacation in the pool all summer. On the contrary, several major transactions have taken place since June and we summarize them here.
Find all the 2025 summer transactions here
The Armada steals the show!
The general manager of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, Olivier Picard, certainly stole the show this summer.
He first added talent and muscle on offense, with the acquisitions of Vincent Collard from the Wildcats, Maël Lavigne from the Océanic and Bill Zonnon from the Huskies.
Zonnon was drafted 22nd overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins and finished seventh in QMJHL scoring last season.
Collard and Lavigne both played in the Gilles-Courteau Trophy final and the Memorial Cup tournament in 2025, which will certainly help the Armada once they make the playoffs.
Picard has also improved his defensive brigade with the addition of another former Océanic, Spencer Gill. Imagine him to the right of Xavier Villeneuve on the first pair of defencemen. Yikes!
Finally, Picard went for an experienced goaltender in Jakub Milota, from the Cape Breton Eagles. The Czech is expected to take the pole ahead of another newcomer, Arseni Radkov, a Montreal Canadiens prospect whom the Armada selected 33rd overall in the Canadian Hockey League Import Draft. Radkov is an 18-year-old Belarussian who is 6’4” tall.
With these major additions, the Armada hopes to have a long playoff run in 2026, having lost in the finals in 2017 and 2018.
Raoul Boilard in Shawi
Another team that is aiming high in 2025-2026, the Shawinigan Cataractes, acquired center Raoul Boilard from the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, in exchange for a first-round pick in 2026 and a second-round pick in 2025.
Boilard, who will be in his third season in the QMJHL, has 108 points in 121 games with the Drakkar. He was a fifth-round pick of the New York Rangers in 2024.
Raoul Boilard (Bryannah James)
Reinforcements in Newfoundland
The Newfoundland Regiment, a team on the rise, also made a name for itself with the acquisitions of forwards Dominic Pilote, from the Océanic, and Justin Larose, from the Voltigeurs. The two veterans will be role models for the promising young players in the Regiment.
Pilote is coming off a season with 35 points in 63 games, before adding 11 points in 23 playoff games.
Larose, who decided to stay in the QMJHL rather than go to the NCAA, split last season between Victoriaville and Drummondville, totaling 61 points in 63 games.
In 2023-2024, with the Tigres, he had 80 points – including 38 goals – in 67 games.
Three new Foreurs
Speaking of young teams, the Val-d’Or Foreurs have also been very active this summer.
Bye bye Evan Dépatie and Teddy Mutryn, welcome to Anthony Paré (Rimouski), Adam Cavallin (Drummondville) and Maxime Coursol (Rimouski). Paré and Coursol helped the Océanic reach the Gilles-Courteau Trophy final and the Memorial Cup tournament last year.
Coursol is coming off a season of 42 points in 52 games, before adding 14 points in 23 playoff games.
Other transactions should occur in the coming weeks, once the player evaluations are completed at the end of training camps. Stay tuned!
