Races to watch in the second half
The holiday break in the QMJHL got underway this morning, with no games scheduled before December 28. In a way, we’ve reached the halfway point of the season. It’s a good time to take a look at the key races to watch as the regular season continues through March 21.
Who will win the Jean-Rougeau and Gilles-Courteau Trophies?
The Chicoutimi Saguenéens enter the holiday break atop the overall standings with a record of 22-5-3-2 for 49 points in 32 games.
That’s two points more than the defending champions, the Moncton Wildcats (22-7-2-1).
The Saguenéens — who acquired forward Mavrick Lachance and defensemen Alexis Bernier and Tomas Lavoie on Friday morning — are aiming for their first playoff championship since 1994. But before thinking about the ultimate prize, their focus is on finishing first in the regular season and claiming the Jean-Rougeau Trophy.
The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (19-8-4-0), Drummondville Voltigeurs (19-10-1-2), Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (18-9-2-2), and Shawinigan Cataractes (16-10-1-3) trail the Sags and the Cats in the standings (based on points percentage).
Who will miss the playoffs?
Let’s be honest — it will take a miracle for the Baie-Comeau Drakkar to qualify for the playoffs. They currently sit at 7-21-3-2 for 19 points in 33 games.
In the QMJHL, the teams finishing 17th and 18th miss the postseason. The Saint John Sea Dogs are currently 17th with 26 points.
However, the Gatineau Olympiques, Victoriaville Tigres, Val-d’Or Foreurs, Rimouski Océanic, and Sherbrooke Phoenix all have between 28 and 32 points. Nothing is decided yet for those six teams, including the Sea Dogs.
Who will win the scoring title (Jean-Béliveau Trophy)?
Philippe Veilleux of the Foreurs currently leads the QMJHL with 52 points (23 goals, 29 assists) in 32 games.
Maxim Massé, however, has been red-hot for the past month and a half and now has 49 points, including a league-leading 29 goals (more on that shortly).
Three veterans follow closely behind: Justin Larose of the Regiment with 48 points (18-30), Thomas Verdon of the Huskies with 47 (17-30), and Félix Lacerte of the Cataractes with 45 (25-20).
Who will succeed Jonathan Fauchon as the league’s top scorer?
Who will score the most goals (Mario-Lemieux Trophy)?
We already knew Maxim Massé had a great shot and could score goals, after netting 33 in just 47 games last season.
But at 19, the Anaheim Ducks prospect is filling the net like never before, with 29 goals in 31 games so far.
Even more impressive: he has scored 14 goals in his last eight games!
Félix Lacerte of the Cataractes and Justin Carbonneau of the Armada each have 25 goals and are chasing Massé in the Mario-Lemieux Trophy race.
Philippe Veilleux (23) of the Foreurs, Alexey Vlasov (22) of the Tigres, Niko Tournas (22) of the Wildcats, and Nathan Leek (21) of the Islanders are the other 20-goal scorers in the league.
Who will be named Rookie of the Year (Sidney-Crosby Trophy)?
Three names stand out so far, and two of them play in Victoriaville: Alexey Vlasov with 42 points (22-20) in 32 games, and Egor Shilov with 40 (15-25) in 31 games.
The third plays in Moncton and already has 36 points, including 31 assists: Tommy Bleyl. Oh, and one more thing — Bleyl is a defenseman!
In fact, Bleyl leads all QMJHL defensemen in scoring and boasts a league-best +33 rating.
So don’t rush to engrave one of the two Russians’ names on the Sidney-Crosby Trophy just yet.
And don’t count out rookie goaltenders Danai Shaikov of Gatineau and Jan Larys of Drummondville either.
Who will be named Defenseman of the Year (Émile-Bouchard Trophy)?
A few weeks ago, everyone would have said Xavier Villeneuve. He remains very much in the race, with 33 points (6-27) and a +7 rating in 30 games.
But Bleyl — for the reasons mentioned above — is clearly part of the discussion, as is Alex Huang of the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, who also has 33 points (2-31) along with a +23 rating.
Veteran Marcus Kearsey of the Islanders is another name to watch. He already has 30 points and leads all defensemen with nine goals.
Who will be named Goaltender of the Year (Patrick-Roy Trophy)?
A two-man race appears to be taking shape between Rudy Guimond of the Moncton Wildcats and William Lacelle of the Rimouski Océanic.
- Guimond: 19-4-1-1, 2 shutouts, 2.25 GAA, .927 save percentage
- Lacelle: 12-6-0-1, 2 shutouts, 2.59 GAA, .921 save percentage
Because he plays for the league-leading Saguenéens, Raphaël Précourt is another name to keep in mind heading into the second half (15-3-2-0, 4 shutouts, 2.33 GAA, .906 save %).
What makes Lacelle’s numbers especially impressive is that, unlike Guimond and Précourt, he doesn’t play for a powerhouse team. The Océanic currently rank 13th out of 18 teams.
