| Charles Cote | Rimouski Oceanic | QMJHL | L | D | 6’6″ | 187 | Rimouski Oceanic | 2020 | Valcourt, QC | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
Charles Cote is a 6’6″ 187 pound defenseman who is incredibly raw, but has nothing but upside to his game. Since the 2017-18 season Cote has played a grand total of 96 games. At this point it is too early to say what kind of a true National League prospect he is, but we feel there is a lot to like about where his game could be headed. For such a big young man his foot work looks pretty smooth. That’s not to say it can’t improve, we’re just saying we like how his feet come back under him after a stride and we like his ability to generate power with his outside edge on a cross under. A lot of times we see large young players “hop” when they’re crossing over, but we see Cote’s hips stay low while his head does not bounce. He will need to continue working on his first touch and break the bad habit of taking his lower hand off the stick while looking around to read the forecheck and locating an open forward, but his passes are generally flat. Cote will need to generate some mean in his game and be a defensive force to have a chance at a professional career, but we feel there is a lot to like about where his long term development could take him.
QMJHL: Rimouski Oceanic as of December 21, 2021 Season stats: Games played 14, Goals 1, Assists 2, Points 3, plus/minus +4, Penalty Minutes 4, Penalties Drawn 0, 2021 Game Averages: Time on ice per-game 12:58, Power play time 0:01, Short-handed time 0:38, Shots 3.1, %Shots on goal 44%, Puck battles 9, %Puck battles won 54%, Hits 0.5, Hits against 0.57
| Simon Maltais | Rimouski Oceanic | QMJHL | L | D | 6’4″ | 192 | Rimouski Oceanic | 2019 | Moncton, NB | 2003 | 2021-2022: C |
We feel that Maltais is a player who warrants draft consideration because he is has good mobility and a very large frame. He is never going to be a threat to run a professional team’s power play, but his willingness to block shots and defend hard can separate him from his peers. Maltais has a nice lateral mobility, his hips stay low while pivoting and he does not need to cross over to maintain his speed while staying with a forward who drives wide with speed. We like his active stick and ability to knock down aerial passes. Again, Maltais is not going to change the game by going end to end, but we feel the combination of his size and mobility should lead to professional interest.
QMJHL: Rimouski Oceanic as of December 21, 2021 Season stats: Games played 27, Goals 1, Assists 1, Points 2, plus/minus +8, Penalty Minutes 4, Penalties Drawn 4, 2021 Game Averages: Time on ice per-game 15:31, Power play time 0:04, Short-handed time 1:20, Shots 1.44, %Shots on goal 23%, Puck battles 11, %Puck battles won 51%, Hits 0.33, Hits against 0.93
Monctonian AAA Challenge, January 2, 2020: Maltais is a defenseman who was very calm with the puck and displayed good vision making consistently on the tape passes in transition. Plays a safe game defensively but will join the rush at times and uses his large frame to his advantage, leaning on players in the corner and in front of his own net. Finished pointless in 5 games but provided added stability to the defensive corps. GRADE: B
MPHL Showcase, November 21, 2019: Maltais is a tall, athletic two-way defenseman who had a strong showing here. He is mobile, has a long reach which he uses to its full advantage to keep opponents off balance and knock pucks off sticks and take away passing options. He moves well laterally which is rare at his size and build and has great touch and zip on his passes. He can float a saucer pass over a stick and into space or he can snap it off with power to hit long range passes through the neutral zone. Maltais was even more impressive in his own end; he had a detailed approach, he lifted sticks, he moved bodies around the net to open sight lines for his goalie and won battles down low below the dots. Talented, well-rounded defender who manages gaps well, logged a lot of minutes in all situations clearing pucks out on the PK and running the power play. A late round QMJHL draft pick this summer whose game is trending upwards. Grade: B+
| Alexander Gaudio | Rimouski Oceanic | QMJHL | L | F | 6’5″ | 225 | Rimouski Oceanic | 2019 | Laval, QC | 2003 | 2021-2022: C+ |
Gaudio is a very intriguing professional prospect. At 6’5″ 225 pounds he is very difficult to miss, but what we like is the combination of his skating posture, his return to the ice glide leg and his ability to hunt pucks while his feet are moving. There are issues with his overall consistency, but we feel that may be a result of the continuation of Gaudio growing into himself. Simply, he is player who has continued to grow over the past few seasons and he currently plays at a premium NHL power forward’s size. We know he is a long shot to be drafted, but we do feel like Gaudio should be watched very closely for long term player development. He has never been a player who has been a big point producer in minor hockey, but right now in less QMJHL games he has surpassed last year’s point total and he has surpassed his point total for his last year of midget hockey in 15 less games. At the time of this evaluation Gaudio has recorded 9 points in his past 5 games. Gaudio is a long term project, but we like the direction he is heading and the mass he is going to be bringing with him.
QMJHL: Rimouski Oceanic as of December 21, 2021 Season stats: Games played 29, Goals 6, Assists 8, Points 14, plus/minus +10, Penalty Minutes 37, Penalties Drawn 2, 2021 Game Averages: Time on ice per-game 15:51, Power play time 1:34, Short-handed time 1:45, Shots 2.2, %Shots on goal 79%, Puck battles 16, %Puck battles won 53%, Hits 0.86, Hits against 0.62
QMJHL: Blainville-Boisbriand Armada at Rimouski Oceanic, January 31, 2021: He looked like a much improved player in this game. He showed good mobility in all three zones, and when combined with his 6-foot-4, 215 pound frame, this made him an effective centre throughout the contest. He displayed solid defensive instincts, intercepting or deflecting cross-ice passes, while using his reach and mobility to push the play to the outside, away from the slot. In the offensive zone, Gaudio got Rimouski on the board in the first period, driving the centre lane to the blue paint, and backhanding a pass into the Armada net. Rating: B
Drummondville Midget Espoir Tournament, December 14, 2017: The younger brother of Francesco (Laval Major Midget), Alexander plays with a lot more skills than his older brother. He’s a good skater. Always has his feet moving and seems to be in the right areas. Look for him to play a big role next year in major midget. Grade: B
| Jacob Mathieu | Rimouski Oceanic | QMJHL | L | C | 5’11” | 170 | Rimouski Océanic | 2020 | St. Prosper, QC | 2004 | Not yet rated |
Mathieu is a slight fleet footed forward who works at both ends of the ice. He is another Rimouski draft eligible forward who has never recorded huge point totals in minor hockey, but who we feel plays with pace, high game awareness and a 200′ game that will translate to professional hockey. We are not a huge fan of plus / minus stats as an indicator of success, but last year’s Rimouski team was littered with high minus ratings and Mathieu finished third on the team with a +2.
2004s: Ville de Saguenay CCM Midget AAA Challenge, February 10, 2020: Mathieu is a small, speedy forward who was always working hard. He displayed some individual talent pulling a nice toe drag move coming out of the corner to beat the defender and quickly pull and shoot. He backchecks with speed and has a quick release snap in stride. Jacob has some burst to his game and is always buzzing out there. A high IQ player who thinks it. He was noted for making a nice cross slot pass for a nice opportunity in the 4v4 overtime. Grade B
| Julien Beland | Rimouski Oceanic | QMJHL | L | C | 6’3″ | 183 | Gatineau Olympiques | 2019 | Québec, QC | 2003 | 2021-2022: C |
The 6’3″ 183 pound Beland is currently in his first year of major junior hockey. In his second year of NHL Draft eligibility we feel he is long shot to be drafted, but we also feel he is player to watch. He was a 4th round pick in the 2019 QMJHL draft who has played his way into earning over fifteen minutes per-game during his rookie season, including over two minutes while on the power play. In the long run Beland will need to continue gaining strength and quickness, but he is player who shows nice offensive instincts around the opponent’s goal.
| Cam Thomson | Rimouski Oceanic | QMJHL | R | C | 5’11” | 194 | Rimouski Océanic | 2021 | Fredericton, NB | 2003 | Not yet rated |
Cam Thomson went undrafted in the QMJHL, but is currently averaging 12:56 of ice time per-game including seeing an impressive 2:25 while on the power play. Thomson has a strong build that is built to withstand net front battles and 50/50 pucks in the corner. He has an easy first touch and can handle poor passes into his feet without it disrupting offensive plans. To have a serious run at a professional career Thomson will need to continue working on lengthening his stride, increasing his footspeed and developing his lower body explosiveness, but we feel he has the offensive awareness and puck anticipation to warrant having a longer look than many expected at the start of the QMJHL season and a very successful junior career.
| Jasmin Simon | Rimouski Oceanic | QMJHL | L | G | 6’4″ | 168 | Sherbrooke Phoenix | 2020 | Ste Martine, QC | 2003 | Not yet rated |
The February 2003 Simon is in his second year of NHL Draft eligibility and his second QMJHL season. He has the structure and frame to be a professional goalie, but is still maturing and developing the mental side of the game. His physical attributes will always garner a second and third look.
QMJHL: Sherbrooke Phoenix at Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, November 12, 2020: Simon is a big goalie at 6-foot-4, and at times he used his size effectively in this game by playing at the top of the crease, challenging shooters and giving them very little net to shoot at. He was effective when staying square to the shooter and showed he can get from one side of the crease to the other quickly on a pair of two-on-one rushes by the Huskies in the second period. However, he went down too early on a couple of Rouyn-Noranda goals, and lost track of the puck on another. Given his size and the way he moves around the crease, it will be interesting to see how he develops throughout the season. Rating: C+
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