Welcome back to Top Shelf Prospects. We continue previewing the CHL for the 2013-14 season, going East to West across the country. After looking at the Maritime and East divisions yesterday, we move on to the QMJHL’s West Division. As always you can check out the previous Top Shelf Prospects articles here.
The QMJHL West Division has been won by the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in each of the last two years. They look for the three-peat in the 2013-14 season, but things won’t be easy an they will face some tough competition from Gatineau this year. Add to the division the top goal scorer in the QMJHL last season in Detroit draftee Anthony Mantha, and you can expect plenty of fireworks coming out of the QMJHL west.
Top Contenders
Blainville-Boisbriand Armada: A loss of some of their top talent over the summer, means that things will definitely be tougher for the Armada. Up front, the team brings back Oilers second-round pick Marc-Olivier Roy, Panthers fifth-rounder Christopher Clapperton and import Nikita Jevapalovs who will be expected to be the leaders of the offence. A question remains surrounding St. Louis Blues prospect Ryan Tesink, who is AHL eligible, but could be sent back to the Armada for an overage season. Right now the Armada are keeping an overage spot open for him, and if he joins the team, he would be a big boost. In net the Armada are expected to have Etienne Marcoux back for an overage season, and he’s certainly proven that he can get the job done. The big question with the team is on the blue line, where the departures of Xavier Ouellet and Samuel Carrier leave a major hole. The Armada hope that their captain, veteran defenceman Olivier Picard, and his crew of Aaron Hoyles and Julien Bahl, will be able to pick up the slack. The offence and the goaltending should be good, so if they get solid play on the blueline, we could see them leading the division again come spring.
Gatineau Olympiques: The Olympiques spent the summer loading up for a run at the Armada and the East division crown. The trades for forwards Marc-Olivier Brouillard and Senators prospect Vincent Dunn add more grit and skill to a group that already features the skill of Flames first-rounder Emile Poirier, Habs fourth-rounder Martin Reway, and the grit of captain Taylor Burke. On the blueline the Olympiques bring back Alexandre Carrier and Jean-Simon Deslauriers who have shown their ability to play in this league and lead the group.. Meanwhile, overager Robert Steeves will back in the Gatineau net, and should provide a solid last line of defence for the team once again. There is also an interesting story in the back up goalie role as Martin Brodeur’s son, Anthony Brodeur joins the team from Shattuck St. Mary’s. You’ll remember him from the NHL Draft, where the Devils made him their 7th round pick in an emotional move.
Players To Watch
Anthony Mantha, Left Wing, Val D’Or Foreurs: The only 50 goal scorer in the QMJHL last season was the first-round draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings. Mantha will come back to Val D’Or looking for more in 2013-14. At 6’4″ he has impressive size, but what is really intriguing though is that Mantha couples that size with great offensive skills. He’s not just a player who scores in junior hockey because he is physically bigger and stronger than his fellow teenagers, but instead has skill as well. Mantha has a great wrist shot. It is heavy and accurate and is paired with a tremendously quick release which fools goalies and helps him to put the puck in the back of the net. Mantha gets involved physically and digs hard along the boards and fights for his space in front of the net, where he can cause havoc for goalies. I’d like to see more big hits and a bit of a mean streak out of him going forward. While Mantha is more a goal scorer than a playmaker, his vision and passing skills are good. Mantha is also an outstanding skater for his size. He has very good top-end speed, and great acceleration, which allows him to drive wide on defenders and take the puck to the net. As defenders need to back off and defend his speed game, he also has the ability to pull up and let go that tremendous wrister off the rush. He couples his size with good balance which makes him a force on the boards, and helps him to fight through checks and create offense. Defensively, Mantha’s game is inconsistent and he will need to work to get rid of some bad habits this season.
Marc-Olivier Roy, Left Wing/Centre, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada: A second-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers, Roy’s offensive game is built on speed and skating ability. He has great top end speed, and outstanding acceleration. He is often the first man in on the forecheck, or using his speed on the rush, or having the anticipation and quickness to be the first man to a loose puck. A pure sniper who loves to utilize his hard and accurate wrist shot. He has a quick and deceptive release which allows Roy to fool goalies and surprise them with his shot. He is also willing to go to the front of the net and can use his quick hands to deflect shots or bang in rebounds. Roy is known more as a goal scorer than a playmaker, however he does have good passing skills and vision. He can thread passes through tight areas, and can put it on his teammates’ tape. However, in order to develop fully as a playmaker, he needs to be a little bit more poised and patient with the puck as he sometimes tries to force things before the play has fully developed. Roy plays a very simple north-south game and his offense is built out of making the smart play, not necessarily the overly fancy one. He is willing to take hits to make plays and to go to the dirty areas of the ice in order to score. Add in a strong defensive game and Roy will be a team leader for Blainville-Boisbriand.
Emile Poirier, Left Wing, Gatineau Olympiques: Poirier’s s skating stride is extremely awkward, but improved as the season went on. This led to an improvement in his top end speed that was badly needed, and helped him to really take off in the second half of last year. He had all the offensive skills before that and the skating improvement must have caught the Calgary Flames’ eye as they made him a first round draft pick, 22nd overall in the 2013 NHL draft. Poirier has a well-rounded offensive game. He was once thought of as mainly a playmaker, thanks to his excellent stickhandling, vision, and passing ability. While those skills have not diminished (and in fact continue to improve) he’s added some other strong aspects to his game. Poirier has really improved his wrist and snap shots both in power and accuracy, and his release is also much quicker than in his rookie season. Combining the new shot, with the willingness to go to the net, and some soft hands in tight, and one can see how Poirier went from 15 to 32 goals in a single year and he’ll be looking for more this season. Poirier does get involved in the corners and goes to the dirty areas of the ice at times, but he still doesn’t do it enough to be called a true power forward. Poirier has a well-developed defensive game. He is a willing and able back-checker who places good back pressure on the puck carrier off the rush. He is good positionally in his own end and can create turnovers with his active stick cutting down passing lanes. A willing shot blocker, Poirier has been used on the penalty kill at times.
Martin Reway, Left Wing, Gatineau Olympiques: An undersized winger with a ton of skill, the Slovakian prospect was a 4th round pick of the Montreal Canadiens. Reway has absolutely outstanding stickhandling, with quick, soft hands that can dangle in a phone booth. He also is a very quick and agile skater, he’s shifty and slippery making him extremely hard to contain off the rush, or even off the cycle game in his own zone. Reway has a hard, accurate shot and a quick release which makes him extremely dangerous as a goal scorer. He also has good vision and passing abilities. An offensive dynamo, Reway will need to work on his defensive game this season. Expect to see him get a big role for his home country at the World Juniors as well.
Dillon Fournier, Defence, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies: The 1st overall pick of the 2010 QMJHL draft, Fournier was taken in the second round of the 2012 NHL draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. He is an excellent skater. He has good top-end speed, quick acceleration, uses his edges well and makes tight precise turns and pivots. Defensively, his plus-level skating allows him to take additional offensive chances in the QMJHL and still recover defensively. Fournier is an offensive-minded Dman. He loves to rush the puck and is a very good stickhandler, and is adept and protecting the puck. He has good vision and makes crisp accurate passes on both the breakout and in the offensive zone. He has a hard wrist shot and a good release, but could stand to improve on its accuracy. His slapshot gets decent velocity but can also be a little wild. We would however like to see him use it more. Fournier is an intelligent player who understands when to pinch and when not to, and almost always makes the smart play in the offensive end of the rink. Fournier’s defensive game is still a work in progress. At 6’1″ he has a decent-sized frame for a defenceman. However, he really needs to bulk up, though he has improved in the last year. He can be overpowered by opposing forwards, and needs to rely on his stick checking ability to prevent scoring chances, although he is improving in this area. Fournier could be trade bait at the 2014 trade deadline as the Huskies are in a bit of a transitional year.
Christophe Lalancette, Centre, Drummondville Voltigeurs: A fourth-rounder of the San Jose Sharks in 2012, Lalancette was acquired by the Voltigeurs in a summer trade in order to bolster the offence in Drummondville. Another smaller forward, Lalancette relies on his playmaking ability. He has outstanding vision and hockey sense, as well as the ability to fire tape-to-tape passes through the tiniest of openings to set up his teammates. He’s an outstanding puck distributor who should set up players like Olivier Archambault and Matthew Boudens this season. His shot could be harder, but he has a decent release and good accuracy. His strong balance and good speed make him dangerous off the rush as well.
Draft Eligible Players to Watch
Daniel Audette, Left Wing, Sherbrooke Phoenix: The son of former Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars, and Montreal Canadiens winger Donald Audette, Daniel Audette is proving that the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree. The first overall pick in the 2012 QMJHL draft, Audette is a natural sniper blessed with the fantastic wrist shot and quick release that was his father’s best asset as well. He’s also a very good stickhandler and is able to beat goalies with an array of shootout moves. Audette is a little undersized, but makes up for it with his strong skating and outstanding hockey sense. He needs to have a big season this year, and produce at around a point per game level or better. If he can do that, he can get himself into the conversation for the top two rounds in the NHL draft next June.
