Sizing up the contenders
Charlottetown, Val-d’Or, Victoriaville add key pieces during QMJHL trade period
If you know how trading works in the QMJHL, you'd agree it's virtually impossible to determine winners and losers accurately right after the deadline.
Teams love to structure deals around future considerations so evaluating the assets going both ways can't happen until the final specifics are unveiled at the June midget draft. But that said, it's still possible to size up which teams are put together best for a long playoff run.
Following Monday's trade deadline, here's how I see the landscape among the contenders.
The clear favourites are the
Val-d'Or Foreurs. They might have been the best team in the league before the trade window even opened but went out and added three more stars.
Nathan Legare is one of the five best goal-scorers in the league, Jordan Spence is on a similarly short list of top defencemen and Samuel Poulin might have the best combination of size, skill, intelligence and leadership of anyone in the Q. Veteran defenceman Xavier Bernard was also a nice acquisition who gives them an extra level of stability on the back end.
With the likes of Jakob Pelletier, Maxence Guenette, Justin Robidas and Justin Ducharme already in the fold, the Foreurs are as stacked as they come.
A team that loaded up in a quieter way was the Victoriaville Tigres. They hung just under the radar but added the league's top scorer - Shawn Element - and highly dangerous winger Alex Beaucage.
Those are two extremely effective offensive weapons who also grade high on the leadership and experience scale.
Beaucage won a President Cup and Memorial Cup with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in 2019 and Element is a five-year player who was the captain in Cape Breton.
The Chicoutimi Saguneens, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada and Shawinigan Cataractes all opted to make a few calculated moves that get them in the conversation. Pierrick Dube and Felix Lafrance are underrated scorers headed to Chicoutimi, as is new Cataracte Isiah Campbell. Justin Bergeron also beefs up the Shawinigan defence.
The Armada are an intriguing team because their depth doesn't compare to teams like the Foreurs but Mathias Laferriere and Christopher Merisier-Ortiz were two shrewd additions that certainly transform them into a dangerous darkhorse.
Out here in the East, the Charlottetown Islanders and Saint John Sea Dogs are the teams best suited for a long run. The Islanders added some quality scoring depth in separate trades with the Sherbrooke Phoenix to get Patrick Guay and Bailey Peach, two players who are eligible to be in Charlottetown for at least one more season after this one. The Islanders were already the most cohesive team in the Q in the first half so the limited tinkering should keep that strength intact.
On paper, the Sea Dogs had the best team in the Maritimes heading into the season but haven't found the same rhythm as the Islanders. Unloading unhappy forward Joshua Roy and replacing him in a separate move with Ryan Francis should help, as will the addition of experienced goalie Zachary Emond. He won the Memorial Cup with Rouyn-Noranda two years ago and stabilizes an important position in Saint John.
The challenge now will be for that deep group of talented players to work together with new head coach Greg Gilbert to pull it all together in time to live up to expectations.