Our 20’s – Victoriaville Tigres
Throughout the summer, we’ll be looking back at the QMJHL careers of our 20-year-old players, who will be moving on to new opportunities next season. Today, we feature the graduating players of the Victoriaville Tigres.
Alexis Bourque
A native of Gatineau, Bourque was selected seventh overall by the Armada in the 2021 QMJHL Draft. At just 16 years old, he earned a spot with Blainville-Boisbriand, where he spent two and a half seasons before being traded to Victoriaville. With the Tigres, he reached the semifinals in 2024 and, this season, posted career highs with 21 goals and 42 points as an overager. Only Egor Shilov and Alexey Vlasov recorded more points for Victoriaville. Bourque concludes his junior career with 152 points in 286 games, and will play for the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in 2026–27.
Simon-Pier Brunet
A fifth-round pick of the Drummondville Voltigeurs in 2021, Brunet spent the 2021–22 season with Gatineau in the M18 AAA ranks, Las Vegas in the USPHL Premier, and Drummondville (five games) before becoming a full-time Voltigeur in 2022–23.The following season, he was part of an outstanding defensive corps that included Vsevolod Komarov, Mikaël Diotte and Maveric Lamoureux (who didn’t play in the playoffs), helping the Voltigeurs defeat Baie-Comeau to capture the Gilles-Courteau Trophy. A few weeks later, the Buffalo Sabres selected him 123rd overall in the 2024 NHL Draft. Brunet was traded to Victoriaville in the summer of 2025, and the Tigres quickly named him team captain. After recording 77 points in 218 QMJHL games, the 6’2″, 205-pound right-shot defenceman will attend Merrimack College next season.
Thomas Paquet
Paquet also began his junior career with the Armada before being traded to Victoriaville midway through the 2024–25 season. Unlike Bourque, however, he was a late 11th-round selection by Blainville-Boisbriand in the 2021 QMJHL Draft. He played two games with the Armada in 2021–22 and 40 more in 2022–23, while continuing to develop his game with the Lévis Chevaliers in the M18 AAA ranks. This season, he also set a career high with 42 points, surpassing his previous best by 16 points. That performance allowed him to reach the 100-point milestone in the Q, in 226 games.
