The 37th season of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League kicks-off this Thursday in Rimouski

By admin September 14, 2005

QUEBEC, Wednesday, September 14th, 2005 (QMJHL) The Commissioner of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Mr. Gilles Courteau, officially launched the 37th season of the League today, at a press conference held at the restaurant "Le Bistro" in the Quebec Colisée.

At the beginning of the event, Mr. Courteau presented a special commemorative video homage to Mr. Maurice Filion, the QMJHL's Disciplinary Prefect of the past 13 seasons, who retired last June at the Annual Session held in Chicoutimi. Also, the Commissioner wished to congratulate Mr. Alain Vigneault, who accepted the Manitoba Moose's (AHL) vacant head coaching job, following his two-year tenure as the P.E.I. Rocket bench boss.

The 2005-06 campaign starts this Thursday, September 15th, as the President Cup defending champion Rimouski Océanic host the Quebec Remparts at the Rimouski Colisée. Mr. Courteau will be present to drop the puck for the inaugural face-off and to oversee the raising of Rimouski's regular season and playoff championship banners – their second in the last five years.

With the adoption of the new rules, that closely mirrors those implanted in the ''new'' NHL, this season promises to offer fans with a faster, more intense and exciting brand of hockey. The reinforcement of the officiating standards on interference, obstruction and hooking; the shootout, which will now be utilized in the regular season to determine a winner after a 4-on-4 overtime period; and the subtraction of the red line are all variables that will enable players to showcase their skills.

At the dawn of the new 2005-06 season, two new QMJHL franchises are eager to hit the ice: the Saint John Sea Dogs (NB) and the St. John's Fog Devils (NL), bringing to 18 the number of teams that begin their quest for the President Cup. The 630 game schedule ends on Sunday, March 19th, as all 18 teams will be in action to close out their 70 game seasons. As for the playoffs, the first round starts on Friday, March 24th and the Cup final takes off on May 5th.

This year, the prestigious Memorial Cup tournament returns to the QMJHL, as the Moncton Wildcats host this years' instalment. The champion of each of the three CHL Leagues along with the hosting Wildcats will battle for the championship at the Moncton Coliseum from May 19th to May 28th. "The Moncton Wildcats are very pleased to host Major Junior Hockey's elite this upcoming May. The Memorial Cup is a symbol of excellence and rest assured that our whole organization is ready to undertake the challenge of hosting the 2006 Tournament," declared Wildcats Governor Mr. Jean Brousseau.

Also, for the 3rd consecutive year, a group of QMJHL all-star players – admissible to participate in Canada's World Junior Hockey Championship team training camp – will face-off against a Russian delegation of players for two games in three nights in the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge.

The Marcel Dionne Center, in Drummondville, will host the first game on Monday, November 21st. Two days later, on Wednesday, November 23rd, both teams will square-off again in Moncton Coliseum. Then, the Russian team will travel westward to challenge the OHL all-stars as well as lock horns with the WHL's elite.

Again this year, the QMJHL will enshrine into its Hall of Fame four great and influential personalities who have left their mark on the history of the League. On the same night, the best players, coaches, general managers and teams will be honoured as part of the Golden Puck Awards Gala. This season, a new award – the Maurice Filion trophy – will be given to the League's best General Manager. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, April 5th.

The P.E.I. Rocket host the QMJHL's 2006 Annual Session from Wednesday, June 7th to Saturday, June 10th. The last day of the Annual Session is reserved for the League's Entry Draft to be held at the Charlottetown Civic Center.

For a third year in a row, TELUS will be the QMJHL's Major Partner.: "We are very happy to have TELUS as the League's major partner," expressed Mr. Courteau during the press conference launching the QMJHL's 37th season. "TELUS is a leader among telecommunication companies in the country as it offers a complete array of products and services, including vocal calling and data transmission services as well as Web and wireless products throughout Canada."

Furthermore, the QMJHL is delighted to count Comfort & Quality Hotels as well as Via Rail among its sponsors. Moreover, Reebok becomes the official supplier of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and its teams, offering a complete range of hockey equipment products, as well as apparel and accessories. The Commissioner is also happy to announce the continuing partnership with Firethorn; a Canadian company specialized in golf-wear.

As for Canadian Hockey League major partners, they include: ADT, Bell, CGC and Napa. CHL sponsors are MasterCard, Home Hardware, Reebok, Air Canada, BMO, Canada Post, Gatorade, Go RVing, Tim Hortons, Subway, Delta Porter Cable and Molson.