Played on April 2, 2024
Maxime-Olivier Drolet (LW, L, 5’11”, 183, Drummondville Voltigeurs, 07/19/2006)
Game Grade: B-
Maxime-Olivier Drolet is a highly competitive forward with a strong hockey IQ. He plays effectively in all three zones, utilizing his skating, work ethic, and smart decision-making to contribute to both offense and defense.
Strengths:
High Hockey IQ: Drolet reads the ice well, anticipating plays and reacting quickly to changing situations.
Strong Work Ethic: Competes hard throughout the game, giving maximum effort on the forecheck, backcheck, and in loose puck battles.
Above-Average Skater: Has strong edges, a quick first step, and good overall speed allowing him to separate from defenders.
Adaptability: Comfortable playing both left wing and center, showcasing awareness and skills applicable to both positions.
Defensive Awareness: Supports the puck carrier effectively in the defensive zone, reads plays well, and facilitates quick outlet passes.
Offensive Threat: Attacks with speed and uses deception to create scoring opportunities. Protects the puck well and looks for open teammates for outlet passes.
Areas for Improvement:
Strength on the Puck: Using a heavier stick and developing more physical puck protection would complement his work ethic and enhance his ability to win battles in tight spaces.
Overall: Drolet is a well-rounded, intelligent forward with a strong work ethic. He possesses the skating ability, hockey IQ, and versatility to succeed at the next level. Developing a heavier shot and stronger puck protection will further elevate his game.
Projection: Top 6 Junior Player
Renaud Poulin (RW, R, 5’10”, 175, Drummondville Voltigeurs, 11/22/2006)
Game Grade: B-
Renaud Poulin is a highly mobile, defensively responsible forward with a knack for creating offense. He boasts strong hockey IQ and utilizes his agility and anticipation to make a positive impact on both ends of the ice.
Strengths:
Elite Skater: Possesses strong edges, excellent agility, and maintains speed through transitions, allowing him to create pressure offensively and defensively.
Defensive Awareness: Reads the play well, effectively covers the middle of the ice, and utilizes an active stick to disrupt plays, block shots, and create opportunities for breakouts.
High Hockey IQ: Anticipates plays and reacts quickly. His awareness was evident during the observed 2-on-1 where he generated a strong scoring chance with a smart rebound pass/shot.
Offensive Creativity: Creates space with small area give-and-go maneuvers and exhibits quick hands in tight spaces.
Competitiveness: Battles hard for loose pucks in high-traffic areas and isn’t afraid to engage bigger opponents.
Areas for Improvement:
Size/Strength: While competitive, adding size and strength will further enhance his ability to win battles along the boards and in front of the net.
Overall: Renaud Poulin is a smart, well-rounded forward with a strong foundation of skating and defensive responsibility. His offensive instincts and creativity offer promise, and further development of size and strength will solidify his overall game. Poulin projects as a potential mid-round selection in the upcoming 2025 NHL Draft and a valuable contributor at the junior level.
Projection: Potential Late Round Pick (2025 NHL Draft) / Top 6 Junior Player
Maxime Lafond (LW, L, 6’4″, 196, Drummondville Voltigeurs, 03/28/2006)
Game Grade: B
Maxime Lafond is a physically imposing power forward with a relentless work ethic and strong hockey intangibles. He excels in board battles, protecting the puck, and driving to the net, creating scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates.
Strengths:
High Work Ethic: Competes fiercely for pucks in all areas of the ice, as evidenced by his strong positioning and second effort goal.
Power Forward Skills: Uses his size and strength to his advantage, driving pucks to high-danger areas and creating scoring chances. Fearless in attacking the dirty areas of the ice.
Physical Play: Delivers strong checks and plays a physical game along the boards and in the forecheck, disrupting opposing plays and creating turnovers. Reliable in exiting the defensive zone with his puck control.
Net-Front Presence: Effective below the face-off dots, battling for loose pucks, protecting the puck with his size, and generating scoring opportunities or distributing to open teammates.
Intangibles: Demonstrates strong leadership qualities, work ethic, and a desire to win. High coachability with room for growth.
Areas for Improvement:
Footwork: While strong overall, some improvement in agility and explosiveness in his first few strides would enhance his ability to create space and separate from defenders.
Overall: Maxime Lafond is a valuable power forward with a strong foundation of work ethic, physicality, and net-front presence. Adding improved footwork will further elevate his offensive game. He projects as a potential mid round draft pick with a clear path to becoming a strong role player at the next level, contributing with physicality, forechecking, and a scoring touch.
Projection: Potential Mid-Round Draft Pick / Bottom-Six Forward with Power Forward attributes
Simon-Pier Brunet (D, R, 6’2″, 196, Drummondville Voltigeurs, 10/24/2005)
Game Grade: B
Simon-Pier Brunet is a mobile, defensively sound defenseman with a smooth skating stride and a smart approach to the game. He excels in puck retrieval, transition play, and disrupting opposing attacks with his active stick.
Strengths:
Skating: Possesses a smooth, efficient skating style, transitioning well between forward and backward skating. His mobility allows him to effectively cover the ice and retrieve dumped pucks in the defensive zone.
Puck Skills: Makes smart decisions with the puck, utilizing a good first pass to teammates or carrying the puck effectively to gain space and time.
Defensive Awareness: Scans the ice well and reads the play effectively, identifying threats quickly and disrupting opposing passes with an active stick. Plays a conservative, intelligent game in all three zones.
Penalty Killing: Utilizes an active stick to disrupt passing lanes and maintains good positioning while blocking shots on the penalty kill.
Areas for Improvement:
Net-Front Defense: Needs to show more aggressiveness when defending in front of his own net, potentially engaging attackers more physically to limit scoring opportunities.
Overall: Simon-Pier Brunet is a reliable defenseman with a strong foundation of skating ability, defensive awareness, and smart puck management. Developing a more aggressive presence around the net will further solidify his defensive game. He projects as a potential mid-round draft pick and a valuable asset at the junior level, contributing with strong defensive positioning, puck movement, and penalty-killing skills.
Projection: Potential Mid-Round Draft Pick / Top 4 Junior Defenseman
Yan Gaudreau (D, L, 5’10”, 181, Drummondville Voltigeurs, 07/31/2005)
Game Grade: C+
Gaudreau is a solid defensive prospect with potential to be an impact junior player.
Scouting Notes:
Skating: Gaudreau displays a strong skating stride with good mobility. He transitions well from backward to forward skating, showing agility and quickness.
Defense: Despite limited ice time, Gaudreau’s defensive awareness was evident. He actively jumps on loose pucks, uses strong angles with his stick to disrupt opponents, and effectively defends the zone entries and battles hard in the corners.
Passing: Gaudreau showcases good passing ability. He can make quick and efficient passes to his teammates during zone exits and neutral zone transitions.
Shooting: Gaudreau possesses a decent shot and can get it through to the net from the blueline in the offensive zone.
Areas for Improvement:
Ice Time: Earning more ice time will allow for a more comprehensive evaluation of his overall game and decision-making abilities.
Physicality: While strong angles and stick work are important, adding some physicality to his game could further enhance his defensive presence.
Projection: With his strong skating, good defensive awareness, and decent passing and shooting skills, Gaudreau has the potential to develop into a solid two-way defenseman. Continued development in his physicality and gaining more ice time will be crucial factors in his future success.
Lukas Landry (C, L, 5’9″, 173, Drummondville Voltigeurs, 05/17/2005)
Game Grade: B+
Landry is a threat offensively while still being aware defensively.
Scouting Notes:
Skating: Landry is an above-average skater with strong edges, agility, and a quick first step. This allows him to play with pace and handle the puck effectively in high-speed situations.
Offense: Landry demonstrates excellent hockey IQ. He makes intelligent plays with the puck, especially during zone entries, retrieving pucks in the corners, and exiting the defensive zone. He utilizes soft chips, passes to open ice, and deception to create time and space for himself and teammates.
Forechecking: Landry competes hard on the forecheck. He uses strong angles and body contact to disrupt puck carriers, forcing turnovers and creating offensive opportunities with his aggressive style.
Penalty Killing: Landry contributes effectively on the penalty kill. His active stick and quickness allow him to disrupt passing lanes and force opponents to move the puck around the perimeter.
Areas for Improvement:
Net Drive: The report suggests Landry could benefit from attacking the net more consistently, both with and without the puck. This could involve driving towards the net for scoring opportunities or crashing the net for rebounds.
Projection: Landry possesses a well-rounded skillset with strong skating, intelligent puck play, and aggressive forechecking. His ability to contribute to the penalty kill adds further value. Focusing on driving the net more consistently will further enhance his offensive prowess. Landry has the potential to develop into a top-six forward with his current skillset.
Coen Miller (LW, L, 5’10”, 160, Saint John Sea Dogs, 02/27/2006)
Game Grade: B-
Miller is an intriguing prospect with limitations.
Scouting Notes:
Skating: Miller displays smooth skating with good agility. He can likely play both center and wing positions due to his skating ability.
Versatility: Miller’s ability to play both center and wing adds some versatility to his skillset.
Physicality: Lacks strength on puck battles and needs to be more physical when checking. Currently relies too heavily on his stick checking, which may not be effective at higher levels.
Areas for Improvement:
Strength: A major area for development is adding strength. This will improve his effectiveness in puck battles and overall physical play.
Checking: Needs to develop a more physical checking presence to complement his stickwork.
Speed: Miller doesn’t possess top-end speed. Improving his skating speed would further enhance his overall game.
Projection: Miller has some intriguing elements to his game, with good skating and positional versatility. However, his lack of strength and reliance on stick-checking are limitations that need to be addressed. If Miller can add strength and develop a more complete checking game, he could project as a useful bottom-six forward with the ability to play both center and wing.
Jacob Beaulieu (RW, R, 5’9″, 163, Saint John Sea Dogs, 06/30/2006)
Game Grade: B+
Jacob Beaulieu is a skilled, competitive forward with a strong work ethic. He excels in puck control and battles hard in the corners and along the boards. His physicality and energy are valuable assets, but his offensive production currently lags. To become a professional prospect, Beaulieu will need to develop his scoring touch and refine his offensive skills.
Skating
Strengths: Excellent edge control, quick and agile, effective in tight spaces.
Weaknesses: May be limited by height at the professional level.
Offensive Ability
Strengths: Not a high point producer, but contributes offensively through forechecking and physical play.
Weaknesses: Needs to develop more offensive skills and scoring touch to be a pro prospect.
Physicality
Strengths: Plays a physical, aggressive game, finishes checks, shows some “nastiness.”
Weaknesses: May need to refine physicality to avoid penalties at higher levels.
Intangibles
Strengths: High compete level, strong work ethic, plays hard all over the ice.
Weaknesses: Lack of offensive production will catch up and limit him eventually.
Matthew MacLean (D, L, 6’0″, 190, Saint John Sea Dogs, 04/30/2006)
Game Grade: C+
Matthew Maclean appears to be a reliable, stay-at-home defenseman with a strong focus on defending his own zone. He excels at positioning, disrupting plays with physicality, and making smart decisions with the puck. However, the report suggests limited offensive involvement, which may be an area for development.
Defensive Ability
Strengths: Strong positional awareness, excels at boxing out opponents, plays
physical and disrupts plays, makes smart puck decisions for breakouts.
Weaknesses: Report suggests limited offensive involvement.
Skating
Strengths: The report mentions quick pivots, suggesting good agility for his size.
Physicality
Strengths: Plays a physical game, uses body checks to disrupt opponents.
Decision Making
Strengths: Makes smart, quick decisions with the puck, uses a variety of passes for effective breakouts.
Intangibles
Strengths: Takes pride in defensive responsibility, shows good compete level.
Projection:
Maclean has the potential to be a shutdown defenseman at the collegiate level. With some development of his offensive abilities, he could project as a defensive defenseman at the professional level.
Matteo Rotondi (D, L, 6’0″, 189, Drummondville Voltigeurs, 08/15/2005)
Game Grade: B
Rotondi is a skilled puck moving left shot defender with strong defensive awareness.
Scouting Notes:
Skating: Rotondi showcases smooth skating with good mobility and transition ability. He consistently retrieves pucks shot into the defensive zone, demonstrating strong awareness and positioning.
Puck Handling: Rotondi displays excellent poise with the puck under pressure. He uses effective passing strategies, utilizing the middle of the ice for tape-to-tape passes and maintaining good head awareness during zone exits and neutral zone transitions. His ability to find teammates with short, deft passes through defenders highlights his vision and decision-making skills.
Defense: Rotondi defends well, effectively taking away space and time from opponents. He utilizes an active stick to disrupt plays and employs strong angles to block shots.
Areas for Improvement:
Physicality: The report suggests adding a more consistent physical presence when defending in front of the net. This would complement his current skillset and make him a more well-rounded defender.
Projection: Rotondi possesses a strong skillset with smooth skating, outstanding puck- handling ability, and sound defensive awareness. He makes smart decisions with the puck and can effectively move it out of the zone. While adding physicality is recommended, his current skillset suggests a future as a highly mobile, puck-moving defenseman. Rotondi has the potential to develop into a top-pairing defenseman if he can add some physicality to his defensive game.
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images