Some Random Thoughts

Rather than focus on one specific point, I figured best to go over everything that has happened since the last post. And so, here we go....

Playoffs

- First, a big tip of the hat to the Châteauguay Patriotes for their courageous playoff performance. Short on size but big on heart, they kept working and working and working no matter what the obstacle. In what would prove to be their last game, they came back from a 3rd period deficit against the Collège Antoine-Girouard, only to see the Gaulois score the game winner on a fluke play in the closing seconds. They truly deserved a better faith, and the quality of the team bond was not lost on those in attendance. Congrats Patriotes.

- This year's Cinderella story was the Lac St-Louis Lions. Driven by the strong performances of their 15 year-olds (and ok, a veteran or two), they far exceeded expectations, particularly in eliminating the Collège Charles-Lemoyne Riverains. Defenseman (and I use the term losely, as he spent the finals on the wing) Michael Matheson cemented his status as a first round draft pick, and an early pick at that. His consistent progression throughout the season was very, very impressive and he ended the season as not just a good player, but a dominant one.

- Dillon Fournier justified why I have him so high in my rankings, being an anchor on that blue line. He's got size, smarts, mobility, puck skills, hockey sense and I feel he still has some untapped potential. A terrific prospect.

- How did the QMJHL's CSR rank Patrick Walsh as a second round prospect, I'll never know. This guy is money, but seems to get little respect from the CSR (most notably, being handed a jersey with his name mispelled at the CSR Challenge). Remains as the top Quebec prospect amongst forwards as fas as I'm concerned.

- Gaulois defenseman Simon Desmarais' play was solid all through the playoffs, and he was employed in all situations. While not a quarterback, he's rock solid in his own end and will be ready to step into a QMJHL line-up next season. He should be a second round prospect, but I feel teams are hoping to steal him in the third or higher.

- Defensive forward Sébastien Sylvestre got the 'Rodney Dangerfield' treatment in being ranked in the 9th to 12th status by the CSR, but was a vital part to the Gaulois' playoff success. He could always be counted on for superior performance on the penalty kill and chipped in some timely goals for his team.

- The Collège Antoine-Girouard's championship doesn't really come as a surprise, as they were the best team in the league. They were physically too big and too strong for the rest of the teams. That level of physical maturity is really what set them apart. They were even winning games without playing 60 minutes of hockey, as whenever they needed a goal, they could charge up and get it. Game 4 against the Lions in the finals is the only game I can remember them needing a goal and not getting it. This ability to win games this way probably turned out to be the best and worst thing that could happen to them, as on one hand, it meant they could always walk away with a win, and on the other, in brought about a lack of attention to detail. I know their coaching staff enjoys saying they bring attention to detail in their program, but when you compare to what Marc-André Dumont was doing in Châteauguay before, the Gaulois really don't. And while it won them a league championship, it probably cost them the TELUS Cup.

CSR Challenge

- Luca Ciampini: While some were criticizing his inability to answer the question marks, I say nonsense to that. By now, you should know what kind of player he is, i.e., a goal scorer with all the tools. He may not be a franchise player, but I don't recall the Flyers ever complaining about what they got out of John LeClair, and Ciampini will be competing for the league lead in goals pretty quickly.

- Marc Biega: Consider me officially off the bandwagon. After seeing him show some competitive drive all the way to the finals, the hockey world also got to see him show a complete lack of desire in the finals, of all places. The coaching staff kept throwing him out there, because they really needed him, and all too often he just refused to compete. He basically saw a better team on the other side of the ice and conceded defeat. To then see him not compete again at the CSR Challenge (and wearing one of his brother's Harvard equipment at a QMJHL event) proved just how much of an inflated ego he now has. He's got talent, the game comes easy to him, but if I was going to war, I wouldn't want him in the foxhole next to me.

- Mathieu Lemay: He had a really good showing. Pretty much everybody always seems to put teammate Christophe Lalonde ahead, but he showed that while Lalonde was ahead at the start of the year, Lemay is the leading one at the end.

- Raphael Lafontaine: The Gatineau forward impressed (a lot!) with the improvements in his skating. I can distinctively remember a game earlier in the year where he rarely ever got there, but now he was flying all over the ice, and zooming past Maxime St-Cyr in the rankings.

- Julien Lepage: Already filled with lots of potential, he had a strong showing that could put him in the first round. One of the players with the most to gain with extra strenght (currently at 157 pounds), he proved he has the talent for junior, and with the extra muscle masse he'll put on in the coming seasons, he'll be a force to be reckoned with.

- Maxime St-Cyr: A disppointing showing, sadly. Already had a lot of question marks to answer because of his lack of size & speed, but now it's hard to see him going before the fourth round. Stock is sinking ....

- Victor Provencher: The tank that everybody seems to love (and with tools like that, it's understandable), but I worry about how much he does accomplish. He's a reliable player, no question about it, but he's looking more like a strong supporting cast player rather than the central piece everyone seems to make him to be.

- Loic Leduc: The 6'4 Midget Espoir defenseman had a very strong showing. Playing that way against players in Midget AAA while he himself having been in Midget Espoir says a lot of good things about him. The second round is looking more and more like a possibility for him.

- Jonathan-Ismael Diaby: Having only limited viewings of him, he was a player with lots of upside earlier in the year. Well, to his credit, a lot of that upside has come out during the season, and he no longer looks like a player in need of polishing. A very impressive campaign.

- Mackenzie Vézina: Another who had a strong showing that just may leap him ahead a round or two.

- Jérémy Fraser: A man amongst boys, his level of physical strenght is just off the charts. But I'm still not as sold as I would want to be on his hockey sense. It's not bad, but not great either. There are also durability concerns with him, so, were I drafting in the first round, I'd hope somebody ahead of me takes him.

- PEI Rocket: And finally, I have to jeer PEI's scouting staff, all of whom had left the CSR Challenge before the conclusion of the last game, and I don't mean when there were 5 minutes to go, I'm talking with 20 minutes + left. I just find it a complete lack of profesionnalism on their part.