| Mael St. Denis | Rimouski Oceanic | QMJHL | L | C | 6’0″ | 183 | Rimouski Océanic | 2021 | Nominingue, QC | 2005 | 2022-2023: C |
QMJHL: Rimouski vs Charlottetown, January 6, 2023: St. Denis totaled 11:57 in ice time including 2:52 while on the power play. Rimouski did not take a penalty. We feel he was most noticeable while on the power play where he was positioned as the net front or extended goal line when needed. He showed a real willingness to screen the goalie as he was hit in the thigh by two of his teammate’s shots while he was taking the goalie’s eyes away. He finished the game even with 0 points, 1 shot, 1 grade “A” opportunity, 4/5 on face-offs, 1 hit, 6 giveaways, 2 takeaways and he won 25% of his 4 puck battles.
QMJHL: Rimouski vs Val-d’Or, December 10, 2022: St. Denis totaled 18:25 in ice time including 0:52 while on the power play and 3:30 while shorthanded. He looked very strong on the puck using his wide skating base to lower his center of gravity to take opposing player’s leverage away. His first assist came off a net front battle where he stayed below the defender to spin off contact to win the race to a 50/50 puck. He then made a quick one-touch backhand pass through the crease to a teammate waiting for a backdoor tap-in. The goal showed very nice game awareness. We liked his attention to detail while penalty killing as he recognized when to force versus when to buy time and stay in space. We also liked that he changed when he was supposed to and did not stay on the ice looking for an ice time bonus. He finished the game +2 with 2 assists, 2 shots, 2 grade opportunities, 7/12 on face-offs, 0 hits, received 3 hard body checks, 7 giveaways, 5 takeaways and he won 80% of his 15 puck battles.
QMJHL: Rimouski vs Sherbrooke, November 11, 2022: St. Denis totaled 13:23 in ice time including 2:33 while on the power play and 0:59 while shorthanded. He was on the ice for two goals against with the second one coming when his defenseman beat him up the ice after he finished a body check on him below the goal line in the offensive zone. He had three shots on goal with all three coming as a result of him changing pace on a line rush and then driving to the net with his stick on the ice. Truthfully he looked tired and a bit sluggish when it came to his pace of play. He finished the game -2 with 0 points, 3 shots, 1 PP shot, 2 grade “A” opportunities, 6/10 on face-offs, 1 hit, received 1 hard body check, had 1 shot blocked, 6 giveaways, 2 takeaways and he won 50% of his 6 puck battles.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images