QMJHL gears up for its 50th anniversary
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League will celebrate its 50th season in 2018-19. No less than 26 franchises saw the light of day from 1969 through today. Some teams come and gone, others have moved, but one franchise has been there from the very beginning: the Shawinigan Cataractes. The League’s pioneer club will fittingly be launching some of the activities for this special season.
The Shawinigan Bruins were part of the initial list of teams that comprised the League in its inaugural season that included: the Cornwall Royals, Drummondville Rangers, Laval Saints, Quebec Remparts, Rosemont National, Sherbrooke Castors, Sorel Éperviers, St-Jerome Alouettes, Trois-Rivieres Ducs and Verdun Maple Leafs.
The team changed its name for the first time in 1974, but the Dynamos did not enjoy much success. The club then got a new start as the Cataractes in 1978 and they never looked back.
Now 40 years later, the team will be hosting the QMJHL Draft for the second time.
“Shawinigan hosted this important event in 2000 when the team was still owned by the city. This will be a first for our current ownership group”, says Marc Menard, the Cataractes’ newly appointed Director of Events. “We have already played host to the Mastercard Memorial Cup and the QMJHL Winter Classic. We will now be able to count on the experience some of the key players who made up the committees for those events. That experience is precious to us.”
His mission will be to oversee the festivities relating to the 50th anniversary in Shawinigan.
“Regarding the Draft, there are a lot of things to think about. From the opening cocktail, hotel accommodations, shuttle buses, conference rooms – the list is a long one and no details can be overlooked in efforts to satisfy our visitors.”
Inspired by the Sea Dogs
The Cataractes’ delegation in Saint John for this week’s League Meetings and Draft is hardly limited to scouts and team management.
In addition to Menard, Dominic Cossette, a team shareholder who also regularly gets involved in event planning for the club, also made the trip.
“We are here to take notes. Prior to organizing the 2012 Mastercard Memorial Cup, we also made a trip to Mississauga,” recalled Cossette. “Each morning we would sit in on their daily meetings. We got the chance to see what worked and what didn’t. It also allowed us to adopt certain measures to avoid what did not work in the past. We will be doing the same thing here.”
On Thursday, both Menard and Cossette took a tour of the Sea Dogs’ set-up along with members of the event’s organizing committee.
“They have been very generous with their time. Obviously we don’t want to be a burden to them, but this is our only chance to do it before organizing our own event. I realize first and foremost that we will need plenty of volunteers, especially for transportation. Our hotels are not as conveniently located as here in Saint John so will have to have a very efficient shuttle service. We could rent minibuses to mobilize members of each team as a group.”
The event is expected to draw several thousand visitors from the Mauricie region.
“This will be wonderful for the city of Shawinigan. The hotels will be fully-booked and not only in Shawinigan. Upwards of 800-1,000 rooms will be necessary. Certain cities to have hosted this event have estimated the economic windfall to be upwards of $1.5 million. We are very proud to offer this shot in the arm to our region,” concluded Menard.
The two shareholders have also been open regarding how the Cataractes have several projects in the works as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations.
