Off year for Quebec juniors on Team Canada
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s only representatives at Canada’s world junior selection camp got there through their hard work outside of Hockey Canada’s development program.
Samuel Harvey, Drake Batherson and Maxime Comtois didn’t attend Hockey Canada’s Summer Showcase in July and August, but on Wednesday they were included in the 32 players invited to next week’s selection camp where the final world junior roster will be determined.
“Those guys really showed up from the first day of the season,” said Joel Bouchard, the general manager of Canada’s world junior team. “All three of them weren’t invited to the summer camp, so credit to the three players that are coming because they performed really well.
“It confirms that you can be part of the selection camp in the winter if you do well with your own club or during your pro camp.”
Hockey Canada invited 18 forwards, 10 defencemen and four goaltenders to its selection camp in St. Catharines, Ont., starting on Dec. 12.
Harvey has been a standout goaltender for the QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies with a 15-8 record, a 2.40 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage. Batherson has 17 goals and 20 assists, fifth in the QMJHL points race, for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles this season and Comtois has 15 goals and 10 assists with the Victoriaville Tigres.
That means that, at most, there will be two players from Quebec (Harvey and Comtois) and one from the Maritimes (Batherson is from New Minas, N.S.) at the world juniors in Buffalo from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5.
Bouchard, who is also co-owner and general manger of the QMJHL’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, doesn’t think the lack of representation is a reflection on the league’s quality.
“We have a lot of good players around the country in all three leagues,” said Bouchard. “Every year is different. Last year we had a lot of guys representing the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and this year it’s three.”
Bouchard also noted that there were two more QMJHL players he’d like to see on Canada’s junior team, but Columbus Blue Jackets centre Pierre-Luc Dubois and Colorado Avalanche’s Samuel Girard are among the six eligible players who have caught on with NHL clubs. Arizona defenceman Jakob Chychrun, Montreal defenceman Victor Mete, Philadelphia centre Nolan Patrick and Colorado centre Tyson Jost are the others.
NHL teams have until Dec. 19 to decide if they will lend those players to Team Canada.
Last season’s world junior team had seven players from the QMJHL and six from Quebec. QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau believes it’s just a matter of timing, and that next year’s world junior team will have greater representation from his league and the province of Quebec.