On February 25th a Neutral Zone scout watched Gatineau travel to Chicoutimi for a high scoring affair that totaled 11 goals. Here are the Chicoutimi prospects who stood out.
Chicoutimi
Louis Crevier (3.75 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — C) Defense
Game Grade: C+,Creiver is a very large young man. His 6’7 frame gives him a great reach and allows him to take up a lot of space. He has some offensive upside–creeping in for a scoring chance, and getting a couple of shots through from the point. He also attempted to drive a puck to the net which led to his assist on the day. That said, his foot speed is still developing and physically he is still growing into himself. His gap was too soft on one of the early goals against, but we feel Louis is athletic enough to show consistent improvement over the long haul in his gap control. He is never going to be asked to carry the puck end to end, but we would like to see more tape to tape passes in transition when possible. His size is attractive and there is room to grow. He is ranked at #109 by NHL Central Scouting for North American Skaters, and we can see him as a late round prospect. Someone will likely take a chance on him, there is too much potential there with God-given size.
Dawson Mercer (4.5 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — A) Forward
Game Grade: A, Mercer is a very talented player. Ranked 6th among North American Skaters by NHL Central Scouting, Mercer showed why–coming to play here for the Saguenéens, tallying two goals and two assists in the 7-4 win. He started the scoring with a good read on the forecheck, picking off a puck and making a move to the net. He continued to have a good stick in puck battles throughout, including forcing a turnover at the point in his own end and finding Lavoie for a breakaway chance with a stretch pass. Mercer has the skating and puck handling ability to gain entry with ease at this level, and the vision to make passes to the slot for chances for his linemates. His puck movement on the PP was deadly, setting up chances with accurate passes, leading to one of his assists. His second goal of the match came in a net front battle where he kicked a puck from his skate to his stick and finished it–showing good compete and skill. He was impressive here and will be a very high pick.
Raphael Lavoie (4.5 Star Amateur Rating, 2019 round 2 #38 overall by Edmonton Oilers, NHL Grade — B) Forward
Game Grade: A-, Lavoie is a deadly play maker for Chicoutimi, particularly on the Power play. He is a solid passer, but really makes his hay with his shot and the ability to create dangerous chances by shooting from high quality areas. The score sheet credited him with 8 shots on net, which I would say is probably low for what he accomplished here. He scored on a nice shot in tight to the net late in the 2nd, then assisted on a goal a few seconds later to put the game out of reach before the 2nd Period buzzer. He continued his play in the 3rd, tallying two PP assists, both coming as a result of him shooting the puck. Lavoie has good size at 6’4, and is fairly mobile. He can get himself to the net, and is a dangerous shooter from the face-off circles and in. The Oilers 2nd Rounder from last June is an impressive offensive talent.
Hendrix Lapierre (4.5 Star Amateur Rating, NHL Grade — A-) Forward
Game Grade: Did Not Play, Although injuries have shortened this highly touted forward’s season, currently Hendrix is ranked 37th by Neutral Zone NHL.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
Game Evaluation: William White