2009-2010 SUMMARY TO DATE

The Juniors were ranked 16 / 18 in the "Q" by The Hockey News heading into the 2009-2010 season. The low-ball ranking was mainly a result of the Juniors loosing 6 or 7 key veteran players. This opened the door for the Juniors to give their younger players a chance to take on greater roles.

That building process has not been as painful as some may have thought. Veterans forwards, Matt Brenton, Jeremy Gouchie and Captain Nicolas Choinard have each averaged just below a point per game throughout most of the season and form a stable number 1 scoring line. The team's scoring depth is well spread with 18 year olds Trevor Parkes (RW, 26 goals, 16 assists in 62 GP), Louis-Marc Aubry (C, 15 goals, 18 assists in 62 GP) and Montreal native Eliezer Sherbatov (LW, 12 goals, 18 assists in 58 GP) each stepping up to help spread out the scoring responsibility. Guillaume Asselin (RW, 19 goals, 21 assists in 62 GP - seen in photo) has produced more than last year and is still only 17 years old. As of today, the Juniors top three lines are as follows:

(LW / C / RW)
1st line: Brenton / Gouchie / Choinard
2nd line: Thorne / Aubry / Asselin
3rd line: Sherbatov / Rose / Parkes

With a young core of defensemen the Juniors have kept things simple and it's a rare sight when the opposition has a 3-on-1 or 2-on-1 break. Since Jake Allen was traded to Drumondville back in early January, LA Kings' draft pick Jean-Francois Berube has been stellar between the pipes. The Juniors currently have the 6th best goals against average in the league.

As of today Montreal ranks 2nd in their division and 11th overall with a record of 30-27-2-5.....which is on pace to finish with a record very close to that of last season. Montreal was a "seller" during the trade deadline this year and are positioned to face off against Gatineau (also a "seller" at the trade deadline) in the first round of the playoffs.