Will Justin Poirier be dethroned?
Last year, Justin Poirier won the inaugural Mario-Lemieux Trophy with a total of 51 goals, which was six more than Markus Vidicek. However, the Baie-Comeau Drakkar’s top scorer could lose his throne to Sam Oliver this season.
At the holiday break, Poirier is three goals behind the 20-year-old Drummondville Voltigeurs veteran, who already has 28.
Oliver, who went into the Holidays after scoring nine goals in his last seven outings, is now just seven goals away from equalling his personal best set last season.
Oliver scored 35 goals on 260 shots for an efficiency of 13.5% last year. This season, he’s been sniping the puck even more, with 28 goals on 148 shots for a success rate of 18.9%.
Ironically, that’s exactly the same rate as Poirier, who has played in three fewer games than Oliver.
Has Poirier slowed down from last season, when he became the first 17-year-old since Sidney Crosby, in 2004, to rack up 50 goals? Not at all. His shooting percentage then was at 19%, just a tenth higher than this season.
At 18, Poirier is still in the thick of the race for the top scorer’s title, as is another 20-year-old veteran, Jonathan Fauchon.
The former Blainville-Boisbriand Armada forward has already lit the red light 25 times. Will he be able to maintain the pace now that he’s been dealt to the Rimouski Océanic?
He’ll certainly be better surrounded by players such as Mathieu Cataford, Maël Lavigne, Alexandre Blais and Jacob Mathieu. On the other hand, will there be enough of one puck and power play ice time for all of them?
Speaking of Jacob Mathieu, his 20 goals are pretty impressive, considering he’s only fired 86 shots on net so far. His 23.3% efficiency is truly remarkable, and up 4.2% from last year.
With 20 goals, Mathieu is tied with Justin Côté of the Remparts for fifth in the League behind Oliver, Fauchon, Poirier and Justin Carbonneau who, as a 17-year-old, has already found the back of the net 22 times in 31 games.
The Armada winger has definitely done enough to attract the attention of NHL scouts for the upcoming draft, where many see him going in the first round!
