Kia CHL Top-10 Spotlight: Islanders set sights on championship
The Charlottetown Islanders will enter the postseason as the QMJHL’s top-ranked club.
Surrendering just five losses on the season, the Islanders were seemingly unstoppable, coming up with a league-best 70 points that included 20 wins in their past 21 appearances. In all, it marks the first time in the franchise’s 22-year history that is has finished in first place.
“The one thing we had to play for this weekend was first place overall. In any season, that is an accomplishment,” Islanders general manager and head coach Jim Hulton told Jason Malloy of the Halifax Chronicle Herald following Saturday’s regular-season closing 9-4 win versus Halifax. “We needed the two wins to keep our winning percentage above Val-d’Or, so hats off to the kids. They have been a fantastic group all year and it is a sense of relief to have the regular season in the books and time to move on to the playoffs.
“I have been doing this job a long time now and this group is second to none in terms of how they have handled this (pandemic) situation day in, day out. We have been fortunate to have lots of good groups, but no matter how this ends, this group is going to stand out.”
81 days spent in isolation since January 29th. We earned this. pic.twitter.com/Q6Z5WXP7qp
— Charlottetown Islanders (@IslandersHKY) April 20, 2021
Charlottetown now awaits its initial playoff opponent. That team will be either Cape Breton, Moncton, or Halifax, and will be determined by a two-stage interdivisional knockout with the winner advancing to face the Islanders in a Maritimes Division showdown set for early May.
In the interim, Charlottetown will ready for the playoffs with a group that is led by breakout star Cedric Desruisseaux, a 20-year-old undersized right-wing whose dominant campaign saw him finish with a marked 38-point improvement from a year ago, despite playing in 18 fewer contests. In all, the league’s top four scorers all belong to the Islanders, with Desruisseaux the most productive at 78 points.
Making that accomplishment extra special is Saturday’s contest saw Desruisseaux net both the 100th goal as well as the 200th point of his four-year QMJHL career.
“I am really proud of myself because last year I was not the player that I wanted to be, so to bounce back and have a great year, it is unbelievable,” Desruisseaux told Malloy. “It is also a huge team effort. When you are 35-5, good things happen, so all the credit to my teammates that made the year unforgettable.
“The fun begins right now. That is why we play hockey – for big moments like that – and we have a chance to win a championship. It is my last tour in this league, so I will try to do my best to bring the first Cup to Charlottetown.”
An incredible regular season concludes with an incredible milestone.
Congrats Cédric on 200 career QMJHL points! pic.twitter.com/DfYAJc7Ofw
— Charlottetown Islanders (@IslandersHKY) April 19, 2021
Netting at least one point in all but one game this season – including a goal or an assist in his final 25 appearances – Desruisseaux proved to be an invaluable star for the Islanders, though he did not go it alone as he was also joined at the forward ranks by fellow overager Thomas Casey, another offensive-minded winger who despite his smaller stature finished just four points back of Desruisseaux, with the two combining for 100 points through the season’s first 25 games.
A Charlottetown native who next year will continue his hockey career with the University of New Brunswick, Casey has undoubtedly been a key piece of an Islanders’ forward crop that also counts the likes of 2001-born captain Brett Budgell, whose 15-goal, 43-assist season made him one of three Charlottetown forwards alongside Desruisseaux and Casey to finish north of point-per-game production.
Elsewhere, the Islanders also saw plenty of offense from the back end, led by Vegas Golden Knights draftee Lukas Cormier, a gifted puck-mover whose season saw him collect 16 goals and 38 assists for 54 points, a new career-high that ranked fourth in league-wide scoring and good for a 14-point edge among all rearguards.
This season also saw Cormier play a critical role in ushering in the next wave on the back end, a group that includes budding blue-liners like Oscar Plandowski and William Trudeau, both of whom are earmarked for selection in the upcoming NHL Draft.
Colten Ellis continues to build an incredible legacy in the QMJHL.
On Saturday, he became just the 17th goalie in QMJHL history to record 100 career victories. Congrats, Colten! pic.twitter.com/PAxwHaofAh
— Charlottetown Islanders (@IslandersHKY) March 29, 2021
A well-rounded group, the Islanders are particularly dominant in their own zone where St. Louis Blues prospect Colten Ellis put together a formidable season between the pipes. Through 24 appearances, Ellis came away with 23 victories while also setting several league records along the way. Among them included Ellis’ seven perfect games, giving him 18 total career shutouts, one more than the previous league high that had stood since 2016. Additionally, Ellis closed out the year with an incredible 1.78 goals-against average – having allowed just 43 tallies through 2020-21 – to eclipse Nicola Riopel’s 2.01 mark set with Moncton in 2008-09.
“One of the initial things that stuck out to me with Colten, from the time he arrived here, was his professionalism. How he prepares mentally for both practices and games. That is what pros do,” Hulton told QMJHL writer Will MacLaren. “He has a quiet, calm maturity about him. I think all of our players take a good lead from him.”
Added in an offseason deal with Rimouski, Ellis has undoubtedly proven to be an invaluable addition to the Islanders and is seen as the most valuable player on a club that now has its sights set on claiming its first-ever President’s Cup championship.