Our 18 | THREE QUESTIONS ON THE RIMOUSKI OCEANIC

• What do the hosts have to offer up front?

The year-long party is about to start on the south shore of the St. Lawrence. As the host team for the 2025 Memorial Cup, the Oceanic had already shown substantial flashes of talent during last year’s campaign, most notably from key returnees Alexandre Blais, Jacob Mathieu, Maël St-Denis and Maxime Coursol, the top four point-getters in Rimouski in 2023-24. Over the QMJHL Draft weekend, the Oceanic augmented this group by acquiring no less than the reigning league MVP and Vegas Golden Knights prospect, Mathieu Cataford. Add to this mix emerging talent Quinn Kennedy and solid sophomore Dominic Pilote and the question might not be what this group of forwards can offer but instead, who will be able to stop them.

 

• Will the backend improve?

When that strong crop of forwards doesn’t have the puck – which will likely be a rare occurrence – there’s going to be a steady stream of support dedicated to its retrieval. While 2024 Philadelphia Flyers draftee Spencer Gill and Florida Panthers prospect Luke Coughlin will play a major role in setting the tone defensively, the big minutes they’ve been tasked with logging in the past will be distributed a little more evenly this year thanks to two key acquisitions. The first one occurred on Draft weekend when overager Pier-Olivier Roy, a member of the 2021 league champion Tigres squad and puck-moving expert, made his way over from Victoriaville. The CHL Import Draft provided the opportunity to bring Swiss rearguard Basile Sansonnens to the ‘Q’. A solid defender who can play with both poise and grit, Sansonnens was selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the seventh round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The last line of defense lies in Montreal Canadiens draft pick Quentin Miller and William Lacelle, one of the league’s top prospects among netminders.

 

• Can these guys kill it on the penalty kill?

As decent as the Oceanic power play was last year, killing penalties proved challenging. The organization hopes the combination of all aspects noted above – developing returnees, key newcomers and a greater distribution of responsibilities – will add up to a more efficient PK corps. Add in the expertise behind the bench, which includes Associate Coach Donald Dufresne, a former NHLer and stalwart defenseman in his own right, and one of the top priorities will be ensuring this group is ready and able to make something special happen on special teams. This may prove to be the most critical aspect of the club’s play when they host the junior hockey world this Spring.

 

 

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2023-2024 Stats:

Team Record	37-26-5-0 — 79 Pts
Division Ranking	2nd East
Overall Ranking	8th
Goals For	250 (6th)
Goals Against	236 (11th)
PP (Overall)	24.6% (T-7th)
PK (Overall)	74.6% (13th)
Leading Rookie (PTS)	Pilote (21-21-42)
Leading Scorers (PTS)	Blais (24-60-84)
	Mathieu (35-28-63)
	St-Denis (32-26-58)
	Coursol (17-32-49)
	Gill (12-34-46)