Game played on 9/27/24.
General Game Notes: In a closely contested QMJHL matchup between the Drummondville Voltigeurs and the visiting Gatineau Olympiques, both teams showcased their young talent, with nine first-year draft-eligible players in action. The game saw multiple lead changes, keeping the intensity high throughout the night. Two standout underagers, Thomas Rousseau and Maddox Dagenais, emerged as key players among their older counterparts. The back-and-forth battle was ultimately decided in overtime, with the Voltigeurs claiming a 5-4 victory. Scout: Marco Lavigne.
Louis-Antoine Denault (G, L, 6’7″, 192, Quebec Remparts, 09/26/2006)
Game Grade: C
Comments: Huge goalie who is very athletic, has super strong legs but often falls ‘forward’, his stance is very forward leaned and he seemed not fully in control at times. He is super quick and obviously covers a lot of space on the bottom at 6’08”. Denault needs to work around his crease, as observed in the first, his passes and confidence displayed was not top. His catcher and blocker were not strong tonight, he was not fully in control and gave a lot of rebounds all night long. Many goals scored top net, and some pucks went through him, he was not that clutch, allowed 5 goals on probably less than 35 shots. His reflexes needs to be quicker and more crisp, he has the tendency to be slow and trust his pure body only, he must fight more that he did tonight to have an impact.
Xavier Lebel (RW, R, 5’10”, 161, Quebec Remparts, 03/25/2007)
Game Grade: C+
Comments: Xavier has the speed, the vision and the shot to have an impact at this level, we saw that when he went around a player in the 2nd to make a beautiful pass to his lineman for a goal that gave them the 2-1 lead at mid-game. He went to his 6th gear and he created time and space. On the flip side, he is extremely weak on the boards, rarely won a battle, and doesn’t seem to like being there. Obvious in one occasion in particular in the first where he created a turn-over when pressed and that resulted in a goal, game at 1-1. On the PowerPlay, he must scan better and play with his teammates, has the tendency to be selfish a little, saw that in the first. Offensively in the second, he was super intense and more involved. In the 3rd, came back to his first-period mood. A roller-coaster game for this player who has a lot of speed and a super shot.
Maddox Dagenais (F, L, 6’3″, 181, Quebec Remparts, 03/27/2008)
Game Grade: B+
Comments: Great game for this underage, Maddox has already the size, the hands and the shot of an NHL’er. He showed his skills right of the get go with a nice puck deflection for a goal and a superb one timer later. On the 3rd goal of his team at the end of the second, on Power Play, he did not harvest an assist but he was very useful by screening the goalie with his huge size, he is not afraid to get involved around the crease. Another example of his stellar shot occurred at the end of the game, his second tonight, already his fourth of the season, to make it 4-4. Maddox is still young but will need to get better at the dots if he wants to play centre, he was probably around 33% wining-percentage at the dots, he was not fighting hard.
Nathan Quinn (C, R, 5’10”, 165, Quebec Remparts, 08/29/2007)
Game Grade: C
Comments: Couple of offensive flashes and high hockey IQ spurs for this light offensive player but Nathan must get stronger to be able to win puck battles around the boards to have a positive impact on the game. His winning % at the dots were not stellar neither, below 50%. Couple of interesting tools but not on the radar as of now.
Raphael Messier (LW, L, 5’10”, 156, Quebec Remparts, 01/03/2007)
Game Grade: Limited Viewing
Gabriel Courchesne (C, L, 5’7″, 138, Magog Cantonniers U18, 11/23/2006)
Game Grade: C+
Comments: Late ’06 who started the game on the right foot with a nice pass, after having deployed a lot of speed, to create the first goal of his team. Not huge but played with a lot of intensity, he created something very often tonight. Left shooter who will be interesting to follow.
Sydney Gagnon (D, R, 5’11”, 166, Sherbrooke Phoenix, 11/16/2006)
Game Grade: C+
Comments: Interesting game for this late ’06 defenseman. Sydney shoots right and he was very reliable and solid around his defensive crease, nothing flashy and spectacular but a safe game in general. He displayed his capacity to make short and crisp passes and he was used in Penalty Killing situations as well, good sign for a first-year junior defender. If he can get a little taller, bigger and faster, he could become a prospect.
Florent Houle (F, R, 5’11”, 168, St-Francois Blizzard U18, 08/04/2007)
Game Grade: B
Comments: Great game for this under the radar player, he created a scoring chance with his superior vision at the end of the 1st. He is light, not super strong, but he is not afraid to get involved and drive the boards to get loose pucks, was obvious early in the game. He did rush the goal in many occasions, has the speed to do that and it resulted in an easy goal for him at the end of the second from a superb pass from Rousseau, the underager centre. Houle is not big, not super strong but he can protect his puck efficiently with his body, he is a smart player who seems to start blooming. Under the radar for now but interesting to follow. His 3rd start of the game was well-deserved.
Olivier Lampron (C, L, 6’1″, 170, Sherbrooke Phoenix, 03/21/2007)
Game Grade: B
Comments: A very good game for this prospect who was drafted pretty early in the QM in 2023. Olivier is tall, he has the vision, he is not afraid to get involved but he is still light. he plays soft along the boards. We were able to observe that in the first. Nice deflection in the first as well, similar situations occurred in the second, he has the skills. Defensively, he is not afraid to block shots, great quality, but along the boards, we saw that in the middle-frame, he is afraid to get hit. Raw for the moment but has the possibility to blossom this year and next year in the QMJHL.
Louis-Alex Tremblay (D, R, 5’8″, 161, Sherbrooke Phoenix, 02/05/2007)
Game Grade: C+
Comments: Tremblay was a high draft in the QM in 2023, a very smart right shooter who is able to put a tons of puck on the net (at least 5 tonight), he is super smart, always able to escape from the pressure and able to see the appropriate pass line. Defensively, his gap management is great, we observed that in the 3rd and it was followed by a nice long pass that ultimately created a scoring chance. His limited skating speed and explosiveness and his below average size are limiting him at the moment, but he has the skills, the vision, the hockey IQ and the shot to have a super impact on the game.
Thomas Rousseau (F, R, 5’10”, 145, St-Eustache Vikings U18, 02/12/2008)
Game Grade: A
Comments: Amazingly strong game for this underage right-shooter, he acted like a veteran throughout the game and it started with his goal at the beginning of the game. A nice top-shelf wrister who was triggered like a pro, he was at the right place at the right time and did not lose a second. Thomas was really strong at the dots, he rarely lost a solid one, he was probably close to 100% winning percentage at the dots tonight, quite impressive for a guy of his size and his less than 5 game experience at that level. His vision allowed him to feed his teammates regularly and his positioning, in both zones, are impressive. Definitely a player to watch for the 2026 draft.
Photo Credits: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images