Played on April 5, 2024
Christophe Rondeau (D, L, 5’10”, 189, Sherbrooke Phoenix, 06/03/2003)
Game Grade: B
Standing at 5’10”, 190 pounds Rondeau is an undersized but very powerful left shot defenseman with quick smooth feet and a balanced stride. The 2003 is the Captain of Sherbrooke and was involved in all aspects of the game as he earned a team high 25:55 in total ice time including 1:30 on the power play and over a minute more than his closest teammate with 4:16 while shorthanded. Offensively he kept things simple and moved the puck quickly. Before making a pass he did not need to stickhandle, instead firing hard tape to tape passes that often times trapped the Armada forwards below the puck and going in the wrong direction. He completed 91% of his passes. Rondeau won 76% of his 50/50 puck battles (16/21) and he led his team with five hits. He finished -2 on the night with the first coming on a play where he was out muscled for his ice at center ice and this led to a a 2 on 0. Unfortunately it is plays like this that the professional scouts are going to remember and focus which will prevent him from having a professional career in North America. Overall Rondeau does skate well enough and shows the competitive streak that will translate very well to playing professionally in Europe.
Justin Larkin (D, L, 6’0″, 175, Sherbrooke Phoenix, 10/15/2005)
Did not dress.
Louis-Alex Tremblay (D, R, 5’8″, 162, Sherbrooke Phoenix, 02/05/2007)
Game Grade: B
Standing at 5’8″, 160 pounds Tremblay is a 2007 born undersized right shot defenseman with a bit of an “A” frame inside edge skating base. This allows him to use a smooth effortless heel to heel pivot but in the long term this inefficiency will limit his top speed. Offensively he showed high end puck poise and did not get rattled while there was chaos happening all around him. This allowed him to have three point shots that his peers would have fired into the corner, but on each Tremblay coolly used a quick release snap shot. Although still quite light he used his inside edge skating base to be quite strong through contact by quickly spinning through his opponent’s hands and then taking the puck. He won 57% of his 50/50 puck battles and won 59% during the regular season. His soft first touch allowed him to handle poor passes cleanly and (again) he did not need to stickhandle before making a pass to start transition. On the night he completed 91% of his passes. Defensively he still has a tendency to follow the pass and drift more than a stick’s length away from his man but we feel this is a correctable habit that will be broken. Overall Tremblay is transition starting right shot defenseman who we feel will consistently put up assists and play on the power play but his lack of size will limit his professional potential. He is a 2007 so there is obviously a very good chance that he will grow heading into his draft season so this makes him a player will be looking for in 24/25.
Jean-Felix Lapointe (D, L, 6’6″, 198, Sherbrooke Phoenix, 07/11/2005)
Game Grade: C+
Standing at 6’6″, 200 pounds Lapointe is a left shot defenseman who instantly draws your attention to him. The first thing we noticed is that he barely fills up his hockey pants so even though he is about 200 pounds there is serious room for muscle growth and weight gain. The second thing we noticed is Lapointe has surprising quickness and agility. when you combine still being rail thin and his athleticism Lapointe is a defender who keeps your attention. Offensively his job will be to get the puck off his stick as quickly as possible and that is exactly what he did when he earned the primary assist on Sherbrooke’s fourth goal of the game as a simple D to D on a neutral zone face-off led to his partner having time and space. Defensively he still is a bit hyper and can run around but truthfully we don’t view this as a total negative because his being over aggressive allowed us to really watch his feet. We liked how he defended with his stick on the ice and how he used a hidden poke check to cause bouncing bobbled pucks. He is still gaining strength and learning to use his length to his advantage as he won only 25% of his 50/50 puck battles but this percentage was not a result of him not being willing to battles. At this point he is still allowing his opponents to get inside of him and under his hands so this leads to him having a tough night on 50/50’s. Overall in a draft that is viewed as being weak Tremblay is a defender we would take a chance on in the seventh round. We would then have him spend the summer in the weight room with our strength coach and working on the ice with our player development staff. We would then send him back to the QMJHL telling him that points do not matter but that we want to see consistent snarl and abrasiveness, and make sure he knows that we would like to see his penalty minutes near 100. Everyone in professional hockey has a role and we feel Tremblay has some of the necessary ones to be a shutdown defender who kills penalties.
Frantisek Dej (C, L, 6’4″, 214, Sherbrooke Phoenix, 02/28/2005)
Game Grade: C+
Standing at 6’4″, 215 pounds Dej is a left shot center who has the physical characteristics that NHL teams are looking for in a power forward or a center who can win battles below the face-off dots in both ends. Dej showed a deep knee skating base with his feet a little bit wider than his shoulders. His return leg landed on it’s flat edge but his base was so wide that his strides are not as long and efficient as they could be or need to be in professional hockey. Defensively he played with a detailed stick, stopped on every puck and maintained net side positioning throughout battles. These are traits and habits that can be tough to teach, especially to Europeans who are coming to major junior hockey with the expectations of putting up points. He showed good hand strength by winning 53% of his face-offs (8/15) and by winning 57% of his 50/50 puck battles. Offensively his passes were hard flat and accurate completing 87% and he showed the ability to one touch passes though lanes or his opponent’s triangle. He attempted four shots and had two of them blocked due to a long sweeping release that telegraphed his intentions to fire it. He did have a sweeping one-timer off a drop pass on a line rush that showed us he can shoot quickly but he will need to improve his release for a chance to improve his offensive numbers. Overall there is a lot to like about his potential to be a power forward but he will need to improve his skating base and add intimidation to his game for a realistic chance to play professional hockey in North America.
Chad Bellemare (RW, R, 5’8″, 151, Sherbrooke Phoenix, 06/07/2006)
Game Grade: C
Standing at 5’8″, 151 pounds Bellemare is an undersized right shot forward who played fourth line minutes. He is quick agile and showed above average straight line speed. He is still gaining the strength needed to be an antagonist but he did look to run into opponents whenever possible including after the whistle. On the night he won 38% of his 50/50 puck battles. At this point we do not feel he is an NHL draft prospect but do feel he can have a very productive QMJHL career.
Alexis Doucet (RW, R, 6’0″, 173, Sherbrooke Phoenix, 01/09/2006)
Game Grade: C
Standing at 6’0″, 175 pounds Doucet is a below average sized right shot right wing who played fourth line minutes. He showed above average straight line speed and used it to cause chaos on the forecheck. He only earned 5:02 in ice time but he had two shots on net. At this point he is an energy forward who we do not view as an NHL draft prospect.
Lewis Gendron (C, R, 5’7″, 161, Sherbrooke Phoenix, 10/23/2005)
Game Grade: B+
Standing at 5’7″, 160 pounds Gendron is an undersized right center who showed a fearless nature along the walls that allowed him to draw opponents to him thinking they were going to hit him, only to have Gendron spin off contact into the open ice looking to use his quickness and speed to generate odd man rushes. Offensively he showed excellent puck anticipation often times retrieving a loose puck without much resistance. He showed a soft first touch with the ability to make hard accurate passes on his backhand and a hard flat backhand pass was how he earned the primary assist on Sherbrooke’s third goal. Gendron was strong during wall battles winning 53% of his 50/50 puck battles (8/15). We liked the deception and puck poise he played with as he did not telegraph his passes and he put his passes where his teammates could confidently make the next play. Overall we do not view Gendron as an NHL draft prospect simply because of his size but we do feel his confidence and fearless nature will lead to him having the opportunity to play in top leagues in Europe.
Mavrick Lachance (C, L, 5’10”, 160, Sherbrooke Phoenix, 04/28/2006)
Game Grade: B+
Standing at 5’10”, 160 pounds Lachance is a below average sized left shot forward who played left wing. He showed above average speed and agility that he used to constantly be around the puck or to beat his man off the wall to the top of the crease. Offensively he played a direct simple game that left to a secondary assist on Sherbrooke’s third goal simply because he made the right outlet pass on a breakout. He is more than willing to engage in battles but he is still gaining the strength needed to consistently win those battles as he only won 36% of his 50/50s (5/14). His straight forward attitude and high compete led to him being used in the power play (1:41 TOI) and penalty kill (2:16 TOI). This competitive nature allowed him to earn 25 PIMs in a post game scrum after he thought his opponent took liberties on him with a late hit. Honestly we feel this is a real positive and says a lot about the former QMJHL tenth round selection’s mindset as he just put up 27 goals, 22 assists for 49 points in 67 games during his rookie QMJHL season. At this point we do not feel he is a 2024 NHL draft prospect but we have no doubt that his competitiveness and willingness to battle will catch the eye of an NHL team and Mavrick Lachance is a name we will see in the future.
Israel Mianscum (LW, L, 6’1″, 198, Sherbrooke Phoenix, 04/18/2003)
The assistant captain did not play.
Olivier Lampron (C, L, 6’0″, 169, Sherbrooke Phoenix, 03/21/2007)
Game Grade: B+
Standing at 6’0″, 170 pounds Lampron is a 2007 born slightly below average sized right shot forward who played top line right wing. He has long fluid strides that end with a toe snap and a return leg that lands on its flat edge. On his opening shift he showed excellent agility and edge control as he jumped out of the way of an opponent’s hard charging run at him and this agility led directly to his primary assist on Sherbrooke’s first goal. On the play he gained the offensive blueline then used his left inside edge to avoid another hard charging opponent and then fired a beautiful royal road pass to a streaking teammate to the backdoor. It was a beautiful high skill passing play. At this point he is still gaining the strength to win his loose puck battles as he won 42% in this game (11/26) and he won 45% during the regular season but we like his willingness to engage and dig for loose pucks. Lampron is a player who we will be watching closely at the start of the 24/25 season to see if he has added strength and explosiveness to his slight frame because we feel he has a the skating skills and direct no nonsense offensive instincts that translate to professional hockey.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images