QMJHL hands out first trophies of the 2023-24 season
With the 2023-2024 regular season coming to a close last Saturday, the QMJHL today presented its first end-of-season individual and team honours.
- Jean-Rougeau Trophy (regular-season champion)
Baie-Comeau Drakkar
For the third time in team history, the Drakkar wins the Jean-Rougeau Trophy, which it previously captured in 2003 and 2014.
With 109 points, the Drakkar broke its team record of 108, set in 2002-03. That season, Baie-Comeau recorded 50 wins, a team mark it improved to 53 this season.
In the overall standings, the Drakkar finished seven points ahead of the Drummondville Voltigeurs and nine ahead of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
- Luc-Robitaille Trophy (team with best offensive average)
Drummondville Voltigeurs
No team in the QMJHL scored more goals than the Voltigeurs this season with 306. Excluding shootout goals, they averaged 4.45 goals per game, enough to win the Luc-Robitaille Trophy, ahead of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (4.31).
Ethan Gauthier led the Voltigeurs with 36 goals, one more than Sam Oliver, four more than Justin Côté and six more than Peter Repcik. Noah Reinhart (26), Luke Woodworth (21) and Kassim Gaudet (20) also scored more than 20 times.
The Voltigeurs finished first in the Western Conference.
- Robert-Lebel Trophy (team with best defensive average)
Baie-Comeau Drakkar
The Drakkar finished with the best defense, with an average of 2.37 goals allowed per game, excluding shootout goals.
The Drakkar won the Robert-Lebel Trophy ahead of the Halifax Mooseheads and the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, who both conceded an average of 2.66 goals per game.
The Drakkar used four goaltenders this season: Olivier Ciarlo (traded to the Armada), Philippe Bourdages (traded to the Huskies), rookie Lukas Beckman and veteran Charles-Édward Gravel.
The latter filled the number one role following his acquisition from Blainville-Boisbriand, and played 26 games while posting a 2.34 GAA and a .906% save percentage.
- Jean-Béliveau Trophy (top scorer)
Antonin Verreault, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
In his fourth QMJHL season, Antonin Verreault won his first scoring title with a total of 107 points, including 36 goals.
Verreault finishes nine points ahead of Justin Gill (40G-58A) of the Drakkar.
Verreault, the second overall pick in the 2020 QMJHL Entry Draft, spent his first three seasons with the Gatineau Olympiques, totaling 104 points (30G-74A) in 125 games.
He was finally able to stay healthy for a full season in 2023-24, and his performance is a testament to his great talent.
- Mario-Lemieux Trophy (most goals)
Justin Poirier, Baie-Comeau Drakkar
Justin Poirier finished the season with 51 goals, six more than Markus Vidicek of the Halifax Mooseheads. He becomes the first-ever recipient of the Mario-Lemieux Trophy.
Poirier became the first 17-year-old to score 50 goals in a QMJHL season since Sidney Crosby did it in 2004-05.
In his second season, Poirier was consistent, also recording two hat-tricks and 11 two-goal games. Poirier will be eligible for the next NHL Entry Draft.
- Jacques-Plante Trophy (top goals against average)
William Rousseau, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
There was quite a battle between Mathis Rousseau of the Halifax Mooseheads and William Rousseau of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies for the best goals against average.
It came down to the final weekend of the regular season, with William winning the Jacques-Plante Trophy with a GAA of 2.24, compared to Mathis’ 2.27.
William, who is in his first season in Rouyn-Noranda following three seasons in Quebec City, was also among the QMJHL leaders in all major goaltending statistics.
