Played on Oct 4, 2025
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League
Game Played in Avenir Centre
Rafael Courchesne (G, L, 6’2″, 191, Saint John Sea Dogs, 08/21/2008)
Game Rating
B
1 Viewing
Comments: Big body goaltender, and like the current trend indicates he plays too deep at times, good lateral mobility and technique, good downlow and has a solid glove, but that area of his game needs more refinement for him to reach his full potential at the pro level, Down early at times, definitely needs to keep his glove up a touch higher when he’s down in the butterfly, Like any young netminder Courchesne needs more time and reps to gain confidence at this level. If he gains more strength, it will only help his quickness and mobility,
Cameron Chartrand (D, R, 6’0″, 204, Saint John Sea Dogs, 03/03/2008, Boston College)
Game Rating
C
1 Viewing
Comments: I realize first impressions can be misleading and I fully realize that even some of the top prospects can have an off game, but to say I wanted to see more out of Cameron Chartrand would be an understatement. It was my first viewing of him in person and I definitely wanted to see more. Don’t get me wrong Chartrand has all the tools to be an effective two and half zone defender, but on this occasion in my opinion he didn’t show his full potential. You can look at the stat sheet and say he had a productive game, but he didn’t push the pace, he was slow and passive at times to close gaps, didn’t engage fully in one on one puck battles below the dots. Again, he’s a very good skater with strong edges and agility and perhaps he was caught in between at times early on in the season and getting acclimatized to the league still, but he just wasn’t assertive enough or consistent enough. There were spirts of that in open ice at times where he took the puck and jumped in and you could see the processing was there and he’s still the type of kid that can skate for days, and has a solid first pass and great instincts to jump into the play, but it wasn’t on display nearly enough. The Q isn’t easy on young defenders and it takes time to adjust, but in your draft year with so much attention, young prospects with a lot of buzz can’t afford to be passive or flip the switch. He logged a lot of ice in every situation for the Sea Dogs, and has tons of potential and still has a lot of time to impress, but he will need to get even stronger and more intense to ensure he wins puck battles below the dots, his skating ability and edge control will help in that department, I’m looking forward to see how Chartrand continues to grow and develop throughout the season and it’s just another great example that one bad viewing shouldn’t be the basis to cross a kid off, but there are definitely tendencies to his game that need some work.
Dylan Rozzi (LW, L, 6’0″, 181, Saint John Sea Dogs, 03/08/2008)
Game Rating
B
1 Viewing
Comments: Very good skater strong stride and explosive, he’s a reliable two-way winger, but will need to physically engage more in all three zones in order to garner even more attention from NHL scouts. Rozzi doesn’t shy away from the dirty areas, but he needs to be harder on pucks, but he has all the tools to be an effective scoring middle six winger at the pro level. He’s great in traffic with the puck on his stick, very elusive, deceptive speed and agility, makes people miss, and has a very hard accurate shot, Similar to other gifted goal scorers Rozzi needs to bring an element of grit and physically on a more consistent basis in order for him to play at the next level. Clearly, it’s hard to teach what Dylan Rozzi possesses on the offensive side of things which makes him a valuable commodity, but things will come down to his consistency and willingness to continue to mix it up in scoring areas to ensure he gains the time and space needed to create offensive opportunities.
Zachary Morin (C, L, 6’1″, 186, Saint John Sea Dogs, 01/25/2007, Boston University)
Game Rating
B
Zachary Morin impressed in the game with his exceptional ability to read and react in traffic. He showcased creativity and playmaking skills, often using his speed and agility to create opportunities for himself and teammates in open ice. Morin is a solid player who competes hard in tight spaces and doesn’t shy away from physical play. His frame allows for growth and development of strength and muscle mass, but he remains effective at this level despite being slightly undersized. Morin has great vision, puck skills, and accuracy, with a high degree of confidence and poise in all offensive situations. He is likely to be a natural scoring winger at the next level, and his willingness to backcheck and generate chances from defense demonstrates his two-way potential.
1 Viewing
Comments: Zachary Morin has a lot to prove since being passed over in the draft a season ago, Morin jumps off the page at times with his overall skill set and foundation, but there’s still something missing in his game during certain sequences and I really hope he figures it out and gains more grit, jam ad consistency to his overall game. Like I wrote last year, I was surprised to see how slight he was and it would appear he hasn’t gained a lot of muscle during the offseason as well, If he’s going to garner attention from NHL scouts at his current playing weight, he’s going to have to be more even more explosive and wow them with quickness which he possesses, but it’s apparent he flips the switch sometimes which needs to left on all of the time in order to get to the next level. At times versus the Wildcats he was invisible and then other times he was out there creating and making plays. Morin has power forward potential, he has great vision and puck skills, a very solid accurate pro release, which I would like to see him use more often, but he has to engage and get to the middle in order to do that, he’s definitely a pass first player, possesses tons of confidence and poise in all offensive situations, but lacks that confidence or willingness to battle for pucks at times along the half-boards. He skates well enough at the Q level to play through the middle, but is definitely a natural scoring winger, which only adds another element to his inconsistencies when it comes to battling for pucks. They had him on Joseph’s wing for the vast majority of the game, which is a great spot for him to generate points, but he has to create time and space with his speed and get into the dirty areas because Joseph has the skill and instincts to find him in those spots on the ice.
Olivers Murnieks (C, L, 6’0″, 201, Saint John Sea Dogs, 07/31/2008)
Game Rating
B+
1 Viewing
Comments: This kid has phenomenal speed, type of player that can skate for days, needs to engage more and get to the middle with more frequency, great instincts for the game and position, good distributor of the puck, it’s going to be very interesting to see how this player continues to adjust and adapt to the playing in the Q and where he will slot in the Sea Dogs line up as the season progresses, Reliable and responsible in all three zones, but needs to bring more jam to the game in certain sequences.
Alexis Joseph (C, L, 6’4″, 206, College Esther Blondin U18, 06/16/2009)
Game Rating
A-
1 Viewing
Comments: This is was the first time seeing Joseph live and he didn’t disappoint, he made good things happen out there, he’s powerful skater with good edges and agility, He’s a special young player, he thinks the game and position incredibly well, Joseph is going to be a man amongst boys with regards to his presence on the ice very soon even at 16, by the end of the season he will be a force out there. He will have to continue to work on his 1st step in traffic to be even more elusive at the pro level, Joseph has great puck skills and offensive instincts, He scored a goal with a phenomenal toe drag to create just enough space in traffic to get a quick accurate shot off to score. At times he still turns his back on the play, but that’s a very minute detail on an otherwise very highly touted prospect, Does skate well enough to play through the middle at the next level, He’s going to be a power forward at the next level and things he can do right now only 10 games into his QMJHL career is special, He’s good in the dot, but obviously his faceoff prowess will only get better when he gets stronger. He has a tremendously active stick and great hand eye coordination, and great vision, He’s a very underrated as a passer of the puck.
William Yared (RW, R, 6’1″, 199, Saint John Sea Dogs, 01/22/2008)
Game Rating
B
1 Viewing
Comments: Let’s get something straight right now, I really enjoy watching William Yared play the position and game and he’s a great two-way center and perhaps one of the smartest players in the league, but in saying that he must continue to work on his skating if he wants to play at the next level and be considered for the NHL draft. Yared continues to drive offensive opportunities with size, grit and compete and you can see he’s working hard on getting quicker and more explosive, but there’s still a lot of room to improve that area. His vision and passing ability is tremendous, he makes all of the subtle plays that’s needed to create and play at the next level, and he still gets there at times, but his linear speed needs to increase significantly It’s easy to see this kid cares deeply about the other side of the puck which is very rare and great to see, he competes hard, but he needs to get even more nasty and tougher to play against. His understanding of the position and how to receive pucks in full stride while supporting the rush is outstanding, great heavy quick accurate release, can really fire the puck, but again it’s all about getting to the spots quicker, William Yared is a kid you build around at the junior level and Saint John is doing that with him slotted in as their hybrid 1st line center right now and he logs massive minutes in every situation, but he’s likely to see more time at the 2nd line center after Christmas when Joseph gets his feet under him and becomes their full time 1st line center. Yared will continue to see every team’s top guys and it will be interesting to see how he stacks up and to see if he can still generate the same point totals moving forward.
Photo credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images