Played on February 28, 2024
Kian Hodgins (G, R, 6’4″, 201, Gatineau Olympiques, 11/20/2006)
Game Grade: C+
Comments: Standing at 6’4″, 200lbs the right catching Hodgins has the type of frame that will instantly catch NHL attention. He looks to be goalie who plays the percentages and is always at the top of his crease taking away the angle. He had a slow first period but ended up facing 57 shot attempts with 31 hitting the net and 14 of then being shots from inside the house. Hodgins gave up 4 goals. The first came on a full ice race between two of his defenders and two opponents. On the play he made the first save but one of his defenders skated through the crease as he attempted to cover the rebound. His defender’s leg took his arm out of the play and Chicoutimi late man hammered the loose puck into the open net. The second goal was a crossbar height floater that he misjudged. The third was a point blank one-timer that went bar down. The forth was a quick stick on a rebound he failed to control. And the fifth came in the shootout from a right shot who came down through the right doty-lane and fired a 16″ snapper over his right-side glove hand. On the night he stopped three of six high percentage expected goals.
Justin Blais (D, L, 5’11”, 171, Gatineau Olympiques, 09/27/2007)
Game Grade: C+
Comments: Blais is a slightly undersized left shot defenseman with the foot work to play both sides equally well. He showed a chest high knee over toe skating base with quick three-quarter length strides. Over the course of the game he showed four-way agility, a quick fist step and good straight line speed when retrieving dump-ins or going after rebounds. The November 2007 is an accurate tape to tape passer but he also showed the game awareness to use indirect passes to trap opposing forwards below the puck and going the wrong direction. During wall battles his hands were strong, he showed consistent second efforts and he had a quick stick to pull pucks off the wall to start transition. He is not eligible until the 2026 NHL draft so there is plenty of time but this off season will be huge for him in terms of gaining a power base and explosiveness. Neutral Zone feels Blais is a very exciting young defender to track.
Jan Golicic (D, L, 6’5″, 188, Gatineau Olympiques, 06/30/2006)
Game Grade: B
Comments: Golicic is a 6’5″ long lanky left shot defenseman with a nice deep knee’d skating base that will allow him to gain speed and explosiveness as he gains strength, power and weight. He showed a fluid stride with a return leg that lands on its flat edge. We like how he worked to set his gap and how he surfed laterally to keep his gaps tight while defending even man line rush situations. There were times when we feel he over stickhandled the puck before moving it but Golicic’s passes were hard flat and accurate. In the defensive zone he boxed out or cleared shooting lanes by using his inside edges to drive his opponent clear of his goalie’s vision. As a penalty killer he played in straight lines with an active stick and even though he was off angle on Chicoutimi’s forth goal we feel Golicic is more than willing to block shots. Neutral Zone feels that a 6’5″ defenseman with a nice deep knee skating posture is well worth NHL organization’s time and effort.
Nolan Ling (D, L, 5’11”, 179, Gatineau Olympiques, 12/11/2005)
Game Grade: B+
Comments: Ling is a below average sized left shot defender who played the right side. He showed a wide extended shoulder width skating base with quick punch like strides. On the opening shift of the game he made a poor decision while defending a line rush and actually pivoted to the wall away from the puck carrier who was attacking the middle lane. After that he settled in to play a a high compete grimy game with sound defensive decisions. Offensively he passed the puck without needing to stickhandle it before moving it and his passes were highly accurate but he carries his stick with the left hand farther down the shaft of his stick than recommended so there were times that his passes seemed to bounce later in the period when the ice was choppy. Ling is a very interesting player to Neutral Zone simple because he was drafted in the OHL’s U18 Priority Draft but he has ended up in the QMJHL playing over twenty-one minutes per game while winning 61% of his 50/50 puck battles.
Justin Dumais (LW, L, 5’9″, 147, Gatineau Olympiques, 07/24/2006)
Game Grade: B
Comments: Dumais is an undersized left shot left wing with a wide powerful skating base and long strides that return on its flat edge. He was strong through contact by lowering his center of gravity and absorbing the hit without being knocked off stride or off balance. He scored Gatineau’s fourth goal of the game on a quick release backfoot snapshot from outside the left dot-lane and below the face-off dot. It was a fluky goal but he showed a quick release and he put the puck right where he wanted it. Defensively as the weakside winger he was a bit of a wanderer in his end but he would catch himself drifting out of position and quickly get back to where he needed to be. Offensively he worked away from the puck to get open to be an outlet and we like how he quickly moved the puck to be a give-n-go styled player.
Jacob Kaine (C, L, 5’11”, 162, Gatineau Olympiques, 11/07/2005)
Game Grade: Did not play.
Comments: From previous viewings we know Kaine is a conscientious left shot center with good details who contributes on the penalty kill. He skates well showing a deep knee over toes skating posture with powerful strides that return shoulder width on its flat edge. In 2022 Kaine was a 12th round selection who played last year with the Saint John’s Vitos U18 AAA in the NBPEIMU18HL where he had 43 points in 35 games. He is a November 2005 playing in his rookie QMJHL season.
William Labranche (LW, L, 5’11”, 168, Gatineau Olympiques, 07/15/2006)
Game Grade:
Comments: Labranche is a left shot left wing with an upright skating posture who is still developing the flexibility in his hips and lower body to generate long fluid flowing strides. With that said it looked like the puck did not slow him down as he showed a quick first step and his off puck game awareness was above average. He understood when to push the pace to create space for his teammates and when to slow down to allow his teammate to take jump into space for a quick 2 on 1s throughout the neutral zone. His puck touches need some improvements and when the puck was on his stick we feel there were times we felt he made up his mind he was going to do something no matter what was happening around him. In the offensive zone he looked to find the soft areas in coverage.
Felix Ouellet (RW, R, 5’10”, 159, Gatineau Olympiques, 07/03/2006)
Game Grade:
Comments: Ouellet is a below average sized right shot right wing with a nonstop motor who is still gaining the strength to be consistently impactful in his playing style choice. From the first shift of the game it was obvious the Ouellet wanted to be F1 on the forecheck and was going to whatever he could to cause chaos. He showed an inside edge skating base combined with a return leg that landed on its inside edge which made him sway side to side as he strided up the ice. Offensively he kept things simple choosing to go with his first option but he did show the awareness to locate his activating weakside for clean breakouts. We liked his puck management in the grey areas where we saw him use the glass in the defensive zone to alleviate Chicoutimi’s in-zone pressure as well as using a good soft chip to allow his teammates to establish a forecheck and momentum. In the offensive zone there were multiple times where Ouellet was knocked off the puck to end his unit’s cycle so this is another example of where added strength will help his game and offensive productivity.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images