JOEL BOUCHARD TO BUY / RELOCATE MONTREAL JUNIORS

Joel Bouchard and his ownership group are

may be the next owners of the Montreal

Juniors

Much has developed during the past 4 weeks surrounding the Montreal Juniors franchise. There was some news I learned of today which merrit a report. So here it is:

Pending sale and potential relocation of the franchise:

Accoring to an article posted by RDS, Montreal Juniors owner Farrel Miller has sold the franchise to RDS Analyist / Montreal Juniors Assistant Coach / Ex NHL player Joel Bouchard and his ownership group. The deal is reportedly worth $4 million. The deal has not yet been approved by the league's Board of Govenors. Should the deal be approved, the Bouchard group would re-locate the franchise to Boisbriand, QC, approximately a 40 minute drive from the Verdun Auditorium where the Juniors currently play. An effort would be made to relocate as early as the upcoming 2011-2012 season. Miller bought the franchise back in the spring of 2008 for $3 million. There is no indication of if the team would change it's name or what it would be called however I would expect the new ownership group to re-brand.

Kirill Kabanov:

A couple of weeks ago the Lewiston Maineiacs folded and the Montreal Juniors acquired two of their players from the league wide dispersal draft. Centerman Jess Tanguay and flashy right winger Kirill Kabanov, a highly toughted New York Islanders prospect, were acquired by Montreal. I'm excited to watch Kabanov play next year (hopefully out of the Verdun Auditorium). He has top notch talent and was lights out in the playoffs this spring for Lewiston. Kabanov can dazzle like the best of them and will bring great entertainment value to the fans who watch him play, similar to the way players like Angelo Esposito, Luke Adam, Jake Allen and Louis Leblanc have done over the past 3 seasons.

Roster changes:

Even with the acquisition of Kabanov and Tanguay, the Juniors still have plenty of work to do before next season. With so many veteran players moving on (Leblanc, Parkes, Meilleur, Berube, Chouinard, Gouchie, etc...) and others being traded during the draft last week (Rose & Landry), there are many holes to fill. The biggest question will start with who returns as the overagers. One thing is for sure, this team will be loaded with young players who may or may not be ready for QMJHL action.

More news to come.....

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POST MORTEM (FINALLY)

The Juniors couldn't beat a younger, less experienced club in the

Lewiston MAINEiacs.

Now that you're all done whipping the tears off your cheeks, let's get started and look at why the Montreal Juniors failed so badly in the playoffs this year.
Some critics have said the Juniors were simply out-coached. Others say the team's best players didn't show up to play. There are those who point to the man between the pipes. While others blame injuries, most notably to star left winger Viktor Hertzberg.

I don't blame any area specifically, but I do consider each of the above reasons for why Montreal fell on their faces so hard and so fast.


A lack of (proper) focus:

Let's start at the top. Coaching. Was it completely the fault of coach Pascal Vincent that his troops lost in round two? Of course not. At least not entirely. Earlier this year Vincent was quoted as saying this was the best team (on paper) he had the pleasure of coaching during his entire 12 years of coaching in the QMJHL. And that's probably true. But as Pascal and company learned the hard way, it's about what you have on paper, but what you have on the ice. And Vincent was a big reason why the product on the ice was never as good as the product he had on paper.

So what could Vincent have done better? Well, from my unprofessional armchair quarterback position, I'll say this; the group lacked both focus and motivation.

Why a lack in focus? All season long the team talked about staying focused, focused about their ultimate goal....winning the Memorial Cup. Wait a minute. Did you say winning the Memorial Cup?!?!? Who cares about the Memorial Cup if you can't even win more than 1 series in your own league! You need to win 4 series just to get a ticket to the Mem Cup, remember??? Point is, it's great to aim high, but in this sport sometimes it's better to follow the good old boring cliche and just; "take it one game at a time". Montreal was caught up in so much hype thinking of what was to come "tomorrow" that they forgot about what they needed to achieve "today".

Why the lack in motivation? I can't really answer that question to be honest, but I do note this. There were players on this team who greatly underperformed this year, for example; Philippe Lefebvre and Charles-Olivier Roussel. Are the players to blame for their sub-par performances? Maybe partially. But in my mind, the coach is also to blame. How was Vincent and his team never able to get a handle on these players. Both were veterans in the league and had already enjoyed greater success elsewhere, Roussel in Shawinigan and Lefebvre in Drummondville. But why not Montreal? Bottom line: Vincent wasn't able to get enough out of two of his top players, nor was he able to get the best out of his team. 

Where were the top players?:

At the forward position, it's not like the Juniors didn't have the offense to beat Lewiston. If you look at the offensive numbers for most players, it becomes clear offense was not the problem. Rather, it was the defensive play of the team that lost the series. To give a few examples; Jeremy Gouchie was a minus -5. Trevor Parkes was a minus -4. Louis Marc Aubry was a minus -3. Extremely uncharacteristic of these veteran players to play so poor defensively.

And where was J-F Berube (more on him later)? I hate hinting blame on a goalie, but common! Look at the numbers. A 3.76 goals against average and a .868 save percentage isn't going to help any team win a series.

Goaltending:

Okay. More on Berube. Like I said, I don't like to pick on goalies. But really, much like his peers, Berube was never at his best in this series. But it wasn't so much his numbers that hurt the team. It was more so the timing of certain goals that were surrendered, helping cripple his team in the process. Berube allowed untimely goals in this series that either lost games (in the last minute of play) or that gave Lewiston quick 2 goal leads, earned off quick back to back tallies. Was Berube fighting an injury that hindered his play? We'll never know for sure. But either way, when you only keep your opponent down to 2 goals once in six tries, it's not a good thing.

Injuries:

The Juniors had a few key injuries during the playoffs. None more important that the concussion injury to left winger Viktor Hertzberg. Before the playoffs Hertzberg was playing along side Louis Leblanc and Trevor Parkes. The line was dynamite but unfortunately for Montreal it never saw life in the post-season. Had Hertzberg played he may have been the difference the team needed to win a game or two, which would have changed the series.

The team had a few other injuries. Most notably to rookie forward J-C Laflamme and veteran forward Philippe Fontaine.

Looking back.....

All in all, this team will be remembered as a great team on paper, one that enjoyed a strong regular season but one that could never get it together during the playoffs. It really is too bad. But it is what it is.

Looking forward.....

Get ready for the re-build.

From Langkowi, Malaysia - I'm out!

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MONTREAL JUNIORS KNOCKED OUT

The Montreal Juniors have been knocked out of the QMJHL playoffs much earlier than expected after loosing to the Lewiston MAINEiacs in 6 games. That's right, in a year where expectations were built up so high, it's now game over for the Juniors.
The series against Lewiston will be remembered as a series where the Juniors just couldn't seem to get their game plan working for them. They were out worked, out skated and out scored by a younger and seemingly more motivated group of MAINEiacs.

To give you a sense of how Montreal never really got things going think about this. In all six games, Montreal either lost, or if they won, they had to do so in overtime. Here's a summary of the final scores throughout the series:

Game 1: Montreal wins 6-5 (OT)
Game 2: Lewiston wins 6-2
Game 3: Lewiston wins 2-1
Game 4: Lewiston wins 4-1
Game 5: Montreal wins 5-4 (OT)
Game 6: Lewiston wins 6-3

Lewiston scored 27 goals which averages 4.5 goals scored per game against Montreal. The Juniors meanwhile only averaged 3 goals scored per game for a sum of 18 goals. Not even close.

In my next blog I'll write more about this series and raise questions about what is to come that must be asked heading into the off-season. in the off-season. That post will be my last before I pull an 8 week disappearing act to re-allocate my energies to other areas of my life.....my upcoming wedding.

Until then.

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CAPTAIN CHOUINARD LEADING THE WAY FOR MONTREAL

First off let me start by saying that I feel like a huge slacker these days. Well, not really. In preparation for my fiance's wedding this May, I've been working hard both at the office and during evenings at home with event planning, etc....needless to say, planning this wedding has taken over my life. I'm obviously excited for the big day. But I also can't wait for all the rushing around to be over with! Okay.....back to what matters to my readers. Hockey.

Round 1 is over! The Juniors steam rolled over the Halifax Mooseheads in round #1, winning in four straight games that included two shutouts for goaltender J-F Berube.

Some of the highlights from round one; Louis Leblanc scoring a a goal per game pace (4 goals scored in 4 games played). Jeremy Gouchie's 7 points (2G and 5A) which leads the team in playoff scoring. And how about goaltender J-F Berube? He finished the series with 2 shutouts, a .955 save percentage and a 1.35 GAA.

We can't snub the flashes of excellence we saw from the Halifax side either. Super rookie Martin Frk was a pleasure to watch. He dazzled the Montreal crown with his shifty moves and crafty play. It's amazing to think this kid is only draft eligible in 2012. Should go top-5 or top-10 max. He's definitely one of the best 17 year olds I've ever seen in the Q......imagine the damage he could do if he had real line mates?

My MVP for Montreal in round 1 was team captain Nicolas Chouinard. He was excellent and did everything a team captain needs to do to help his team win hockey games. In game 1 Chouinard led the way offensively, scoring 1 goal and adding 2 assists. He treated every shift like his last, hitting everything that moved. He was named the game's 1st star.
 
Game 2 wasn't much different. Chouinard scored again and added an assist, giving him a total of 5 points through the first two games of the series, making him Montreal's leading point getter at the time. He was named the game's 2nd star.
 
When the series shifted to Halifax for rounds 3 and 4 Chouinard didn't register any points but he still finished the series as the team's 2nd leading scoring. Here are the Juniors top 5 scorers after round 1:

1. Jeremy Gouchie (2G, 5A, 7P, +7)
2. Nicolas Chouinard (2G, 3A, 5P, +4)
3. Louis Leblanc (4G, 0A, 4P, +2)
4. 4 players tied at 4 points (Lefebvre, Parkes, Meilleur, Ouellet)

Next up is Lewiston in round #2. Playoff predictions to be released shortly before puck drop.

Photo Credit: Ron Lemish

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QMJHL PLATOFFS - ROUND 1 PREDICTIONS (CONT...)

Yesterday HockeyPoints unveiled our prediction for the Montreal (2) / Halifax (15) series. Today we look at the remaining 7 match ups. Not only have we predicted who will win and in how many games, but we've also explained the main reasons why. Let's start with an easy one:

Saint John (1) vs. Cape Breton (16):

Saint John is coming off one of the best seasons of all time by any QMJHL team. Loaded with plenty of depth throughout their entire lineup the Sea Dogs are blessed with skill, speed and grit. Among others, Jonathan Huberdeau has been on fire all season and will surely take his game to another level this spring as he did last year. Sorry to say, Cape Breton doesn't stand a chance.
Prediction: Saint John Sea Dogs win in 4 games.

Montreal (2) vs. Halifax (15):

See yesterday's entry.
Prediction: Montreal wins in 4 games (currently leading series 1-0).

Quebec (3) vs. Val D'or (14):

Don't be surprised if Val D'or give Quebec a bit of trouble but at the end of the day Quebec will come out on top. Patrick Roy won't let his team loose control of the series to the point where they'd face elimination.
Prediction: Quebec wins in 5 games

Drummondville (4) vs. Chicoutimi (13):

Sean Couturier and company will drive the pace of every game in the series. The Voltigeurs play both an intense and consistently discipline style which will guide them to victory. Chicoutimi's only chance of winning the series is if star rookie goaltender Christopher Gibson stands on his head and steals a bunch of games.....4 to be precise.
Prediction: Drummondville wins in 5 games.

Gatineau (5) vs. Rimouski (12):

Maybe the most underrated team heading into the post season, Gatineau is likely to defeat Rimouski without too much trouble. Goaltender Maxime Clermont will shut the door behind perhaps the league's top blueline group. QMJHL regular season scoring leader P-M Devos will lead the team's offensive drive. Rimouski's only chance is to try and win low scoring games.
Prediction: Gatineau wins in 5 games.

Acadie-Bathurst (6) vs. Victoriaville (11):

While Bathurst is the light favorite heading into this series, watch out for the Tigres of Victoriaville as their team is no walk in the park. They can be as explosive as they are implosive (gulp). If VIC are to upset they'll need Pillip Danault to be at his best. The 17 year old draft eligible prospect has been excellent all year and his game is built for the post-season.
Prediction: Acadie-Bathurst wins in 6 games.

Shawinigan (7) vs. P.E.I. (10):

While most analysts will predict Shawinigan to win this series due in large part to their gritty and physical style of play, watch for P.E.I to try and match that intensity. We may see an upset here. Led by gritty winger and 1st round pick Philippe Paradis the Rocket will not go down without a fight.
Prediction: Shawinigan wins in 6 games.

Lewiston (8) vs. Moncton (9):

Alright. Almost every year there's some kind of upset. This series will be our "upset" pick.....even though the Wildcats are not exactly chopped liver. After winning the Presidents Cup last season and still competitive this year, Moncton will prevail under the leadership of coach Flynn and star defenseman Brandon Gormley. The Pheonix Coyotes 1st rounder in 2010 earned over a point per game this season and is excellent in all facets of the game. Also, mark my words.....Lewiston's penalty issues will be their death in the post-season.
Prediction: Moncton wins in 7 games.

Enjoy the action in round #1!

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QMJHL PLAYOFFS - ROUND #1 PREDICTIONS



17 year old Halifax Mooseheads forward Martin Frk

enjoyed a successful rookie season, finishing the year

with 22 goals and 50 points in 62 games played. Good

enough for 4th place in league wide rookie scoring. 

Today and tomorrow HockeyPoints will release its predictions for which teams will win each series in round #1 of the QMJHL playoffs.

The playoffs kick off tonight with game #1 of the Montreal-Halifax series being played in Montreal. The other series start tomorrow night.

Today we'll start by placing our bets on the Montreal Juniors / Halifax Mooseheads Series:

Montreal is the clear favorite here. Don't make any mistake about that. The Juniors finished the season with 102 points (2nd overall among the QMJHL's 18 teams), which is more than double the 45 points Halifax were able to earn (good enough for 15th overall league-wide).

Offensively, the Juniors have the edge. They scored 263 times this season for an average of  3.86 goals scored per game (4th best in the league). Meanwhile the Mooseheads recorded only 186 goals for an average of 2.73 goals scored per contest (15th best league wide).

Examining the defensive side of the game, the numbers again look to be in Montreal's favor. Montreal allowed only 185 goals against throughout the year for an average of 2.72 goals against per game (ranking 3rd best in the Q). Halifax was scored on 262 times for an average of 3.85 goals against per game (14 best in the Q).

Further, Jean-Francois Berube's goals against average finished the season at 2.60, good enough to rank him 4th best among league goaltenders.

During the season Montreal and Halifax met three times, with Montreal winning each game by scores of 5-3 (in HAL), 5-2 (in MTL) and 2-1 (in MTL).

Overall Outlook:

The Juniors' deep group of veteran player will be too much for the younger Mooseheads players, especially while under the playoff pressure cooker. Even with forwards Viktor Hertzberg and Philippe Fontaine on the IR likely for most of round #1, the Juniors will be too much for Halifax to handle.

Prediction:

Montreal wins in 4 games.

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JUNIORS TO BATTLE THE MOOSEHEADS



Juniors scoring goal vs. the Halifax Moosehead earlier this season.

The Juniors finished the season with a record of 46 wins, 12 losses, 5 overtime losses and 5 shootout losses, earning themselves 102 points in the Q standings which ranked them 1^st overall in the Telus West division and 2^nd overall throughout the entire QMJHL standings.

This means Montreal will face the 15^th overall ranked Halifax Mooseheads in round one of the playoffs. Halifax finished the season with a record of 20-43-2-3, which landed them in 5th place out of six teams in the Maritime division.

The Halifax franchise is both owned and coached by former Montreal Canadiens star Bobby Smith who took over control of the bench earlier this season.

Halifax is one of four QMJHL teams bidding to host the Memorial Cup in 2012 therefore their team is built to peak next year and not this spring. But that doesn't mean this series will be a walk in the park for Montreal...

The Halifax roster is built with loads of young talent, a group of players highlighted by 17 year old super Czech prospect Martin Frk (that’s right – no vowels in his last name) and 16 year old Luca Ciampini, born in Montreal.

The Mooseheads have 2 NHL affiliated players. Konrad Abeltshauser was drafted in the 6th round (164th overall) of the 2010 draft by the San Jose Sharks and Sawyer Hannay who was drafted in the 7th round (205th overall) of the 2010 draft by the Vancouver Canucks. Both players man the blueline for Halifax.

Game #1 of the best-of-seven series starts this Thursday night in Montreal, with the puck dropping at 7:05pm. Here's a complete list of the series schedule:

Game 1: Thursday March 24th @ 7:05pm ET (in MTL)
Game 2: Friday March 25th @ 7:05pm ET (in MTL)
Game 3: Tuesday March 29th @ 6:00pm ET (in HAL)
Game 4: Wednesday March 30th @ 6:00pm ET (in HAL)
Game 5: Friday April 1st @ 6:00pm ET (in HAL)
Game 6: Sunday April 3rd @ 3:05pm ET (in MTL)
Game 7: Tuesday April 5th @ 7:05pm ET (in MTL)

Note that due to travel time considerations, the Juniors would play game 5 in Halifax (if necessary) and games 6 and 7 would be played in Montreal.

Here's a list of the match ups league wide:

Saint John (1) vs. Cape Breton (16)
Montreal (2) vs. Halifax (15)
Quebec (3) vs. Val D'or (14)
Drummondville (4) vs. Chicoutimi (13)
Gatineau (5) vs. Rimouski (12)
Acadie-Bathurst (6) vs. Victoriaville (11)
Shawinigan (7) vs. P.E.I. (10)
Lewiston (8) vs. Moncton (9)

HockeyPoints will be releasing our Round 1 Playoff Predictions later this week. Last year we predicted 7/8 first round winners correctly and 14/15 winners correctly for the entire playoff bracket. Our mistake? You guessed it! Picking the Juniors in the 1st round. They blew a 3-1 series lead to Gatineau before loosing in double OT of game 7. Wish me luck in going 15 / 15 this year.....but I don't think it'll be easy.

Until the next entry.

Photo Credit: Ron Lemish

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HERTZBERG FINDS CHEMISTRY WITH LEBLANC




Left Winger Viktor Hertzberg has
found great chemistry with centerman
Louis Leblanc.

Viktor Hertzberg has been enjoying some serious success ever since his arrival in Montreal.

Hertzberg was acquired in early January on trade deadline day. The Juniors sent Czech born Denis Kindl and a couple of high draft picks to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles in exchange for Hertzberg.

Since joining the Juniors Hertzberg has 9 goals and 11 assists for 20 points in 17 games played. That blends well with his +8 plus/minus rating and only 2 penalty minutes.

A left winger, Hertzberg was exactly what the Juniors needed. He was immediately paired up with centerman Louis Leblanc, along with David Rose who lined up on the right wing side. But after the Juniors experienced a 3 game loosing streak, Montreal coach Pascal Vincent decided to change things up and moved Trevor Parkes onto the team’s top line in place of David Rose.

The Hertzberg-Leblanc-Parkes trio has been together for the last 4 games and demonstrated great chemistry. The numbers tell the story on their own:

Hertzberg (4GP, 2G, 3A, 5PTS, +3)
Leblanc (4GP, 1G, 2A, 3PTS, +4)
Parkes (4GP, 4G, 2A, 6PTS, +6)
Totals (4GP, 7G, 7A, 14PTS, +13)

If the line continues its strong offensive output Vincent will likely keep it together for the playoffs which should NHL scouts plenty of opportunities to evaluate Hertzberg for the upcoming NHL entry draft. Playing alongside 2 of Montreal's high profile NHL affiliated players won't hurt either. Leblanc is a 2009 1st round pick of the Montreal Canadiens and Parkes earned himself a 3 year entry level contract with the Detroit Red Wings last summer.

Hertzberg was featured this week on the QMJHL website. In the interview he talks about his experience in the QMJHL, specifically with the Montreal Juniors. You can view the video here: Viktor Hertzberg QMJHL Interview.

Since the team moved to Montreal back in 2008, Hertzberg is the first Swedish born European player to suit up for the franchise.

Speaking of Sweden......

Hertzberg wasn’t the only Swede in the Verdun Auditorium last week. Two of his buddies had flown in from Sweden to support Hertzberg and were easy to notice in the crowd during games against Drummondville, Baie Comeau and Rimouski.

They were hard to miss given the large Swedish flag they were waiving as they repeatedly chanted “let’s go Juniors” and "Hertzberrrrrrrrrrg!!!". Their flag had Hertzberg’s name spelled across the horizontal stripe and his number 27 was stitched along the top and bottom of the flag’s verticle trim.

Both said enjoyed their stay in Montreal. They said they love the city, it's women, and Montreal Juniors hockey. Maybe they’ll come back and visit again next year…..assuming Hertzberg might return as a 20 year old player???

Photo Credit: Ron Lemish (photo of Hertzberg), HockeyPoints (photo of Swedes) 

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ONTARIO BOYS ADD KEY ELEMENTS TO JUNIORS ROSTER

#2 Matt Provost
Oakville, Ontario

#4 Alex Micallef
Fort Erie, Ontario

#12 Dylan Anderson
Greely, Ontario

#19 Trevor Parkes
Fort Erie, Ontario

Convincing players to play major junior hockey isn't always easy for a number of reasons. In most cases, the young men who opt to play major junior are forced to make a number of life altering decisions.

Are they willing to live away from home with a billet? Are they comfortable focusing on an intense hockey schedule and school studies at the same time? What about moving far away from their family and friends to live in foreign cities such as Baie Comeau, Rouyn Noranda or Cape Breton?

All these questions factor into a players decision. Looking around the league there are some teams that are better equipped to attract players than others. Montreal is one of those cities who have an advantage and the Juniors have demonstrated an ability to attract a number of strong players from Ontario looking for an opportunity to play major junior.

So why has Montreal been so successful in this realm? Well....

If school is near the top of a player's list of priorities, Montreal has plenty to offer at both the Cegep and University levels.

If players want to be close to home, Montreal has that too as its situated very close to the Ontario boarder and has various means of travel with convenient departure schedules.

There's the bilingual factor too. Montrealers are fluent in both French and English making it an easier transition for Ontarioites to move to Montreal compared to, say, Chicoutimi.

On top of it all and compared to other cities in the QMJHL, Montreal is arguably the most desirable in terms of being a nice place to live. Perhaps that's a big factor as well?

Either way, Montreal has done a tremendous job at successfully attracting four quality Ontario born players to their team. Defenseman Matt Provost and right winger Trevor Parkes joined the Juniors during the 2009-2010 season, while both defenseman Alex Micallef and centerman Dylan Anderson entered into the mix this season.

All four players are considered key components of Pascal Vincent's roster. Let's look at each player a little more, where they're from and where they played before the joined the Montreal Juniors this season.

#2 - Defenseman, Matt Provost
Hometown: Oakville, Ontario
Born: 1992, junior age = 18
Size: 6'0", 191 lbs
Stats:
2008-2009: Played for the OJHL's Streetsville Derbys (42GP, 0G, 10A, 10PTS, 43PIMS)
2009-2010: Played for the QMJHL's Montreal Juniors (52GP, 2G, 3A, 5PTS, 40PIMS, +2)
2010-2011: Playing for the QMJHL's Montreal Juniors (57GP, 4G, 9A, 13PTS, 35PIMS, +9)

You might as well call him the Mark Streit or Dustin Byfuglien of the Montreal Juniors. While he doesn't have a Swiss background and he isn't 6 foot 5 inches tall, Provost is a reliable player and capable of playing both defense and forward. In 2008-2009 he played in the Ontario Junior A Hockey League before making the jump to the Juniors roster last season as a 17 year old defenseman. His game provided the Juniors with a steady influence on the blueline and he earned himself regular ice time. This season Provost has had an opportunity to split his ice time between defense and right wing as coach Pascal Vincent continues to struggle with the challenge of managing his lineup because of injuries roster depth. Provost plays a responsible two way game. He is a physical player too. This is demonstrated through his checking capabilities and willingness to drop the mitts to defend his teammates (click here to watch Provost coming to the defense of goaltender J-F Berube after he is run over by Sain John Sea Dogs forward Jonathan Huberdeau). Offensively Provost has a quick whip to his shot and is known for making crisp passes in transition. Many around the league consider Provost a #3 or #4 type defenseman, but with the Juniors depth "issue", he probably won't see that type of responsibility until next season after the veteran players move on.

#4 - Defenseman, Alex Micallef
Hometown: Fort Erie, Ontario
Born: 1992, junior age = 18
Size: 6'0", 195 lbs
Stats:
2008-2009: Information unavailable
2009-2010: Played for the OJHL's Villanova Knights (38GP, 3G, 29A, 32PTS, 39PIMS)
2010-2011: Playing for  the QMJHL's Montreal Juniors (40GP, 2G, 7A, 9PTS, 34PIMS, +9)

Similar to Provost, Micallef finds himself in a tough position. On the average team in the Q, he'd be considered a #4 defenseman, but with the Juniors deep roster he's constantly fighting to stay in the lineup. Micallef joined the Juniors this season after playing in the Ontario Junior A Hockey League with the Villanova Knights last year when he earned almost a point per game. Not too shabby for a defenseman. Micallef is known to rip low hard shots from just inside the opponents' blueline which is a great asset to have if he ever gets a chance to quarterback the power play. When he eventually gains power play time (probably next season) you will definitely see his numbers improve. While his offensive skills are already very strong, he still needs to work more on his foot speed in his own end to improve his defensive game. Micallef brings an element of toughness to the roster as well. While he isn't as well known for his hitting as much as Provost, he does know how to throw the gloves to the ground. Here's our favorite youtube clip of Micallef, dropping the gloves with one of the league's top brawlers and ex-Montreal Junior defenseman, Dillon Donnelly (click here).

#12 - Centerman, Dylan Anderson
Hometown: Greely, Ontario
Born: 1991, junior age = 19
Size: 6'2", 187 lbs
Stats:
2008-2009: Played for the OHL's Ottawa 67's (51GP, 0G, 4A, 5PTS, 12PIMS, -10)
2009-2010: Played for the OHL's Ottawa 67's (23GP, 0G, 1A, 1PTS, 2PIMS, -6)
2010-2011: Playing for the QMJHL's Montreal Juniors (61GP, 10G, 14A, 24PTS, 18PIMS, +10)

Anderson played the majority of the last two seasons with the OHL's Ottawa 67's before making the jump to the QMJHL for a fresh opportunity. The addition of Anderson to the Juniors roster has been such a positive that it's hard to imagine how things didn't work out for him in Ottawa. Perhaps a regular shift was all Anderson needed to turn the page in Montreal? He has centered the 3rd or 4th line for most of the season and is used as a defensive specialist by coach Pascal Vincent, both on the penalty kill and whenever the Juniors are hard pressed to win a key faceoff in their own zone. In fact, Anderson's faceoff skills are so great that his winning percentage of 56.50% ranks 7th overall in the league amongst players who have taken 500 face-offs or more. Funny enough, two other Juniors have better winning percentages than Anderson. With a face-off winning percentage of 58.79%, Aubry ranks 3rd overall in the league, while at 57.0% Gouchie ranks 5th overall. Offensively, Anderson is effective because he drives the net and looks for rebounds to score goals. Here's a perfect example (watch here - Anderson goal is scored at 2:36 of the video). Down the stretch you can expect to see Anderson continue to fill an important bottom 6 forward role during the team's playoff run.

#19 - Right Winger, Trevor Parkes 
Hometown: Fort Erie, Ontario
Born: 1991, junior age = 19
Size: 6'2", 185 lbs
Stats:
2008-2009: Played for the GOJHL's Fort Erie Meteors (52GP, 23G, 20A, 43PTS, 34PIMS)
2009-2010: Played for the (66GP, 27G, 20A, 47PTS, 34PIMS, +19)
2010-2011: Playing for the (56GP, 29G, 27A, 56PTS, 30PIMS,  +22)

The addition of Trevor Parkes has truly been a remarkable find on the part of Pascal Vincent and his scouting staff. Three years ago Parkes was passed over by OHL scouts because he was considered far too small at that time to play in the provinces' top junior league (he was 5'7" and 155 lbs....3 years later he's 6/2" and 185 lbs). So Parkes found a spot on the roster of his local junior team with Fort Erie in the Greater Ontario Junior B Hockey League. His strong two way game caught the eye of the Juniors and a camp invite followed just prior to the 2009-2010 season. Last year Parkes finished 2nd on the team in goals during the season (27 goals in 66 games played) and 1st on the team in goals in the post-season (6 goals in 7 games played). Then last summer the Detroit Red Wings signed Parkes to a 3 year two-way entry level contract which must have encouraged Parkes to work even harder to prepare for this season. Through 56 games this year Parkes is leading the Juniors in both goals (29) and points (56). Parkes' style of game is loved by the scouts. He uses his big frame well to drive the net and protects the puck well in the process. He has a great set of hands and a quick and accurate shot. He finishes his checks and is a very strong skater both on the fore-check and on the back-check. To see a clip of Parkes in action, check out this youtube clip (watch here) which highlights a hat trick he earned last season against Lewiston.

That's all for now.

Photo Credit: Ron Lemish

ROUGH WEEKEND FOR THE JUNIORS

Montreal did not have a successful weekend. They lost

against Rouyn Noranda 5-1 and to Val D'Or 3-2. Both

teams rank near the bottom of the Q standings.

The Montreal Juniors didn't exactly experience the most enjoyable weekend. If you haven't already heard, here's what went down during the past three days.

On Friday, RDS' QMJHL guru Stéphane Leroux released a controversial blog containing his opinion about the management of the Montreal Juniors front office. Leroux's words will without a doubt create a stir around the city and the league but the Juniors can only hope the news generate more followers heading into the Q playoffs. The timing of Leroux's blog is strange considering the Juniors success this season. You'd think he'd wait until the off season to share such a fierce opinion. I'm sure Leroux made these comments with good intentions in an effort to push the Juniors to improve their operations in areas he has identified as weaknesses. But he did so by making some very strong statements. If I was him I'd probably be ducking my head around the Verdun Auditorium during the next few games.

The next piece of bad news came on Saturday during the team's bus drive up to Rouyn Noranda. Somehow the team bus found itself suck in the snow and the players reportedly (again by RDS - see report here) had to push the bus back onto the road. This resulted in the Juniors loosing 25 minutes of travel time. To make matters worse, this event couldn't have occurred at a more inconvenient time. One of Leroux's comments in his blog was about how the Juniors shouldn't be driving so far (Montreal to Rouyn Noranda) on game days in order to help avoid issues such as this.

Finally, on the ice (which is what this blogger really cares about), Montreal had their worst back to back performances of the year. On Saturday they lost to Rouyn Noranda 5-1 and on Sunday they lost to Val D'Or 3-2 in shootouts. To put that in perspective, Rouyn Noranda is the last place team in league standings, ranked 18th, while Val D'Or sits in 14th place. The Juniors still rank 2nd overall in the Q.

In more positive news.....

....Louis Leblanc is heating up at the right time. With only 5 regular season games remaining before the playoffs Leblanc is playing through his best run of the year. In his last 8 games, he has 8 goals and 7 assists. Much of Leblanc's success relates to the chemistry he has developed with his linemates, LW Viktor Hertzberg and RW David Rose, both of whom are also producing big numbers during the past three weeks. Hertzberg has 5 goals and 9 assists during this time, while Rose has 3 goals and 7 assists.

Looking forward to the playoffs.....

....Montreal is on pace to square up against the Halifax Moosehead in the first round. The Q has changed their playoff format this season which now looks like this:

Of the 18 teams in the league, teams ranked 1-16 make the playoffs.

In the first round:
#1 vs. #16
#2 vs. #15
#3 vs. #14
#4 vs. #13
#5 vs. #12
#6 vs. #11
#7 vs. #10
#8 vs. #9  

In the second and third rounds:
The highest ranked winning team from the round prior plays against the lowest ranked winning team from the round prior.

Then in the final, we all know what happens. The last two teams standing battle it out for the Cup.

That's all for now.

Photo Credit: Ron Lemish