2023 QMJHL Draft

[scoutman1]

I’m not comparing the two - If I Was a parent in Quebec or the Maritimes - I’d be pushing my kid to go USHL/NCAA too - Quebec league is just so diluted now and has struggled to churn out talent the past 10 or so years consistently.

I was a scout in the QMJHL for 15 or more years...i have dealt with this issue and have seen impacts on the plus and negative side.....it is not cut and dry and most times the kids that decide to stay in U18 in their province end up being just as good as the ones that went USA route...sometimes the USA route is not always the best, going to a strong program a player that has good potential gets lost on a team that is taking the best kids from many stats or provinces and the kid does not develop like he should...at tournaments such as U17 or Canada Games, the kids that play USA route are no better than the kids who stayed and played U18...

as for the school part of it...if a kid stays to play NCAA IF he gets a scholarship the family is still paying big money because not everyone gets a full one...USA schools are waaaay more expensive than Canadian.....in the QMJHL they have a program set up that if the kid plays 2 full years in the QMJHL then University is fully paid for....

to me unless my kid is Sidney Crosby, or Nathan Mackinnon and a big team like Shattuck comes calling with full paid for prep fees than IMO staying put is a great option and it almost seems like going USA route is a bragging right more for the parents than the kid. That said Shattuck route did not work out well for top 2024 NHL Prospect and 1st overall WHL pick Berkley Catton, he left USA route to come back to Canada last year to play U18 in Saskatchewan. I saw guys like Yasin Cisse be a guy who was being looked at as 1st overall in the QMJHL draft and went USA route and you never heard of him again.

 

[TJHKY]

As far as I know, QMJHL is not developing kids as they should. For NHL first round, Q is worse than BCHL or AJHL in recent years. Not even compared to WHL and OHL.

As for areas, Newfoundland kids would rather go to NCAA if they could. They may get more opportunities than Q. Maritime kids are all home sick and like to stay as close as they are even they got drafted to Q and they do not want to leave their home province. That is all to make Q get weaker and weaker, I guess.

 

[RantAndRoarNL]

As far as I know, QMJHL is not developing kids as they should. For NHL first round, Q is worse than BCHL or AJHL in recent years. Not even compared to WHL and OHL.

As for areas, Newfoundland kids would rather go to NCAA if they could. They may get more opportunities than Q. Maritime kids are all home sick and like to stay as close as they are even they got drafted to Q and they do not want to leave their home province. That is all to make Q get weaker and weaker, I guess.

Not many scouts going to NL to watch U18AAA games in person and don't know if Monctonian / IceJam / Atlantics is a large enough sample size for teams to take the risk, along with the home sickness stuff, unless they were absolute standouts.

Seems like better options for NL kids is US prep or stay in home province (as long as kids are improving) and then make the transition to BCHL/AJHL if possible.

Of five 2006 NL kids Q drafted last year, Kearsey is only one playing Q, 2 in US prep, 1 with Notre Dame and other U18AAA in NL. 07s seem to be a deeper group (no high end) so more may get drafted but unsure how many would make roster spot. Reegan Hiscock who played 3 yrs of U18AAA in NL then this year with Grizzles and NCAA next year, this seems to even more rare for NL kids than those rarely drafted/play Q.

End rant and btw Heave Away Me Jollies

 

[Prospect Tracker]

As far as I know, QMJHL is not developing kids as they should. For NHL first round, Q is worse than BCHL or AJHL in recent years. Not even compared to WHL and OHL.

As for areas, Newfoundland kids would rather go to NCAA if they could. They may get more opportunities than Q. Maritime kids are all home sick and like to stay as close as they are even they got drafted to Q and they do not want to leave their home province. That is all to make Q get weaker and weaker, I guess.

I'm confused.

Q do not develop well for 1st round NHL

Kids prefer NCAA

Kids want to stay in their home province

If a kid wants to get drafted 1st round NHL and stay in the Maritimes, it's going to be difficult someday. Un less until an NHL club arrives in Moncton or Halifax! Also, still searching for the NCAA team in the Maritimes.

 

[Wintersun]

I'm actually mixed on the strength of the Q at this point.

A couple of weeks ago we were seeing some forwards be key players at the WJC for their countries, and those same forwards are playing on 3rd and 4th lines in the Q. I'm looking at a guy like Peter Repcik who was the most productive Slovak in the tournament and has been struggling to play in the top 9 of two Q teams. I'm thinking of Marcel Marcel who seems to be a middle 6 Q player and has scored 6 points at the WJC. Attilo Biasca is producing for the first time in 3 years in the Q this season and he's not in Halifax's top 6 anymore, and he was one of the best Swiss players. Other guys like Canonica, Robin, Taibel, Ravinskis to name a few have been producing at the WJC and are middle 6 forwards in the Q as well.

Other good Q players were stand outs. David Spacek and Jakub Brabenec were top guys for their countries, and they're not necessarily destroying the Q, a lot of Quebec and Maritime born players have a similar or better impact, whether they are drafted or not in the NHL.

And when I look at these europeans and rank them against the Quebec and Maritime born players of the same age... I think the Q generates a lot of talent actually, but it doesn't seem to be reflected in the NHL drafts at all.

I'm aware that the european guys' performance in the Q is not that important a factor, but still.

The Q has won 6 of the last 10 memorial cups. I don't know if the caliber in the Q is really that weak, but there is one thing that seems to be true.

The Q has not generated a lot of elite players in the last 10 years. I'm just not sure it's the Q's fault at all.

NL kids don't have a choice to leave to go to prep schools if they want to play in a higher caliber. If they've already crossed to the United States at a younger age, it is normal that they will consider the NCAA route strongly. My feeling is that the Quebec / Maritime guys that went the US route have not done well at all recently. I'm thinking about Mastrodomenico, Rozzi, La Starza, C-A Legault, Tinling from Lac St-Louis. Almost all of their counterparts of the same age group who went the Q route were drafted or invited to NHL camps (Vidicek, Dumais, Orr), and looking back, the ones that were the most highly touted back in the day were those that went to the USA.

Going to the States has looked more like a trap than a great route to me recently for QMJHL prospects.

That was a lot of babbling.

 

[Prospect Tracker]

I'm actually mixed on the strength of the Q at this point.

A couple of weeks ago we were seeing some forwards be key players at the WJC for their countries, and those same forwards are playing on 3rd and 4th lines in the Q. I'm looking at a guy like Peter Repcik who was the most productive Slovak in the tournament and has been struggling to play in the top 9 of two Q teams. I'm thinking of Marcel Marcel who seems to be a middle 6 Q player and has scored 6 points at the WJC. Attilo Biasca is producing for the first time in 3 years in the Q this season and he's not in Halifax's top 6 anymore, and he was one of the best Swiss players. Other guys like Canonica, Robin, Taibel, Ravinskis to name a few have been producing at the WJC and are middle 6 forwards in the Q as well.

Other good Q players were stand outs. David Spacek and Jakub Brabenec were top guys for their countries, and they're not necessarily destroying the Q, a lot of Quebec and Maritime born players have a similar or better impact, whether they are drafted or not in the NHL.

And when I look at these europeans and rank them against the Quebec and Maritime born players of the same age... I think the Q generates a lot of talent actually, but it doesn't seem to be reflected in the NHL drafts at all.

I'm aware that the european guys' performance in the Q is not that important a factor, but still.

The Q has won 6 of the last 10 memorial cups. I don't know if the caliber in the Q is really that weak, but there is one thing that seems to be true.

The Q has not generated a lot of elite players in the last 10 years. I'm just not sure it's the Q's fault at all.

NL kids don't have a choice to leave to go to prep schools if they want to play in a higher caliber. If they've already crossed to the United States at a younger age, it is normal that they will consider the NCAA route strongly. My feeling is that the Quebec / Maritime guys that went the US route have not done well at all recently. I'm thinking about Mastrodomenico, Rozzi, La Starza, C-A Legault, Tinling from Lac St-Louis. Almost all of their counterparts of the same age group who went the Q route were drafted or invited to NHL camps (Vidicek, Dumais, Orr), and looking back, the ones that were the most highly touted back in the day were those that went to the USA.

Going to the States has looked more like a trap than a great route to me recently for QMJHL prospects.

That was a lot

I'm actually mixed on the strength of the Q at this point.

A couple of weeks ago we were seeing some forwards be key players at the WJC for their countries, and those same forwards are playing on 3rd and 4th lines in the Q. I'm looking at a guy like Peter Repcik who was the most productive Slovak in the tournament and has been struggling to play in the top 9 of two Q teams. I'm thinking of Marcel Marcel who seems to be a middle 6 Q player and has scored 6 points at the WJC. Attilo Biasca is producing for the first time in 3 years in the Q this season and he's not in Halifax's top 6 anymore, and he was one of the best Swiss players. Other guys like Canonica, Robin, Taibel, Ravinskis to name a few have been producing at the WJC and are middle 6 forwards in the Q as well.

Other good Q players were stand outs. David Spacek and Jakub Brabenec were top guys for their countries, and they're not necessarily destroying the Q, a lot of Quebec and Maritime born players have a similar or better impact, whether they are drafted or not in the NHL.

And when I look at these europeans and rank them against the Quebec and Maritime born players of the same age... I think the Q generates a lot of talent actually, but it doesn't seem to be reflected in the NHL drafts at all.

I'm aware that the european guys' performance in the Q is not that important a factor, but still.

The Q has won 6 of the last 10 memorial cups. I don't know if the caliber in the Q is really that weak, but there is one thing that seems to be true.

The Q has not generated a lot of elite players in the last 10 years. I'm just not sure it's the Q's fault at all.

NL kids don't have a choice to leave to go to prep schools if they want to play in a higher caliber. If they've already crossed to the United States at a younger age, it is normal that they will consider the NCAA route strongly. My feeling is that the Quebec / Maritime guys that went the US route have not done well at all recently. I'm thinking about Mastrodomenico, Rozzi, La Starza, C-A Legault, Tinling from Lac St-Louis. Almost all of their counterparts of the same age group who went the Q route were drafted or invited to NHL camps (Vidicek, Dumais, Orr), and looking back, the ones that were the most highly touted back in the day were those that went to the USA.

Going to the States has looked more like a trap than a great route to me recently for QMJHL prospects.

That was a lot of babbling.

Several facts that can hardly be refuted.

 

[QCM18AAA]

here's another question for you guys,
Are Maritimes players declining Q draft invites if the team is in the Western conference? And/or Quebec born not wanting to play eastern conf...

 

[Wintersun]

here's another question for you guys,
Are Maritimes players declining Q draft invites if the team is in the Western conference? And/or Quebec born not wanting to play eastern conf...

We're seeing a lot of maritime kids wanting to go back to the martimes teams. We also see the Quebec guys asking for trades to go back to the Quebec teams. I'd say that's how it's playing out more and more these days.

Obviously some teams are more convincing than others to keep you around no matter where you're from.

 

[Prospect Tracker]

We're seeing a lot of maritime kids wanting to go back to the martimes teams. We also see the Quebec guys asking for trades to go back to the Quebec teams. I'd say that's how it's playing out more and more these days.

Obviously some teams are more convincing than others to keep you around no matter where you're from.

Contender teams don't have that much problem to retain players who get quality ice-time. It prevails for Quebec teams dressing Maritimes players and Maritimes teams with Quebec players. Teams in a rebuilding mode have more problems with player retention.

Players that don't get the expected role are not patient with the team they're with. If the team is in another province, it accelerate the process and the kid ask for a trade or even decide to leave before a trade is made.

These days many players figure out pretty fast they won't play professional hockey. Many of them want to have fun playing hockey and want to play under their conditions. They just don't stick around if they're not satisfied.

 

[Prospect Tracker]

Contender teams don't have that much problem to retain players who get quality ice-time. It prevails for Quebec teams dressing Maritimes players and Maritimes teams with Quebec players. Teams in a rebuilding mode have more problems with player retention.

Players that don't get the expected role are not patient with the team they're with. If the team is in another province, it accelerate the process and the kid ask for a trade or even decide to leave before a trade is made.

These days many players figure out pretty fast they won't play professional hockey. Many of them want to have fun playing hockey and want to play under their conditions. They just don't stick around if they're not satisfied.

The best example is Elliot Lavoie. Decided to leave Baie Comeau at 17 to come back home and play Junior AAA. Got picked up on waivers by Quebec and is now playing on a contender team at home when everybody thought he was done playing in the league. He might as well play as an overager next year.

 

[IrishtownBruisers]

Sim is OHL eligible. He might opt in to the OHL draft like his brother Landon did.

I've heard he has dual citizenship and the US NTDP is an option as well.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

I've heard he has dual citizenship and the US NTDP is an option as well.

Strong crop this year for the NTDP. Sim might not even make the cut if eligible.

 

[TJHKY]

 

[TJHKY]

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Lane Sim will be going OHL.

 

[TJHKY]

 

[kyle44]

Hopefully it works out for him. This route certainly has not proven optimal for Quebec players for whatever reason as Wintersun has pointed out.

 

[Chuck Testa]

for Ns Lane Sim might go OHL like his brother and father, Jacob Rhyno is also OHL eligble as he was born in ON, and Luke sinclaire might go NCAA route like his father.

Is Luke's father Robbie Sinclair? Robbie taught a history class I took in High School and also played against him in softball and hockey. Great guy and I had always heard that he had a son who was a really talented hockey player although I have never had the chance to watch him play.

 

[QCM18AAA]

what do they mean even if not in the Q territory? I mean to be eligible, don't you need residency in Quebec and eastern provinces? Nasreddine is from Montreal, I assume he probably still lives there during off season?

So as expected, USHL...can he still be drafted in the Q?

 

[Bjindaho]

what do they mean even if not in the Q territory? I mean to be eligible, don't you need residency in Quebec and eastern provinces? Nasreddine is from Montreal, I assume he probably still lives there during off season?


So as expected, USHL...can he still be drafted in the Q?

Nasreddine is eligible because his dad played in the Q. There is no residency requirement because of that.

 

[QCM18AAA]

Nasreddine is eligible because his dad played in the Q. There is no residency requirement because of that.

oh I see ...like a free pass

 

[TJHKY]

 

[Craig Ludwig]

I was a scout in the QMJHL for 15 or more years...i have dealt with this issue and have seen impacts on the plus and negative side.....it is not cut and dry and most times the kids that decide to stay in U18 in their province end up being just as good as the ones that went USA route...sometimes the USA route is not always the best, going to a strong program a player that has good potential gets lost on a team that is taking the best kids from many stats or provinces and the kid does not develop like he should...at tournaments such as U17 or Canada Games, the kids that play USA route are no better than the kids who stayed and played U18...

as for the school part of it...if a kid stays to play NCAA IF he gets a scholarship the family is still paying big money because not everyone gets a full one...USA schools are waaaay more expensive than Canadian.....in the QMJHL they have a program set up that if the kid plays 2 full years in the QMJHL then University is fully paid for....

to me unless my kid is Sidney Crosby, or Nathan Mackinnon and a big team like Shattuck comes calling with full paid for prep fees than IMO staying put is a great option and it almost seems like going USA route is a bragging right more for the parents than the kid. That said Shattuck route did not work out well for top 2024 NHL Prospect and 1st overall WHL pick Berkley Catton, he left USA route to come back to Canada last year to play U18 in Saskatchewan. I saw guys like Yasin Cisse be a guy who was being looked at as 1st overall in the QMJHL draft and went USA route and you never heard of him again.

Agree with you on most of that, if you can get a full ride at a U.S Prep school though, you have to go for it, because there aren't many offers like that. For the most part you have a to pay a huge amount for U.S Prep school, even with a partial scholarship. And to me, if you get drafted by a team like Baie Comeau/Val D'Or, how in the world do you keep up with your studies with all of that travel? I know you will get 2 years free University, but the kid has to be really disciplined scholastically, on the road, to get good grades to be accepted at the University after his Q years.

 

[RantAndRoarNL]

Much chatter about how the 07s performed at IceJam?

 

[scoutman1]

Agree with you on most of that, if you can get a full ride at a U.S Prep school though, you have to go for it, because there aren't many offers like that. For the most part you have a to pay a huge amount for U.S Prep school, even with a partial scholarship. And to me, if you get drafted by a team like Baie Comeau/Val D'Or, how in the world do you keep up with your studies with all of that travel? I know you will get 2 years free University, but the kid has to be really disciplined scholastically, on the road, to get good grades to be accepted at the University after his Q years.

QMJHL teams employ an assistance for education for teams to make sure kids are doing their work...kids have to grow up fast in sports and players are before being drafted by a QMJHL are asked for school marks...teams want mature players even at 16 years old i know this because i was with Gatineau Olympiques for a LONG time as a scout.

as for the prep school most kids have to decide between U18 hockey or prep school usually not QMJHL or Prep. so if you going the it is hard to juggle all this route, kids going prep school have to juggle a new environment, new friends, no family around, either billets or living at the prep school so that is sometimes a lot of kids 14 to 16 to juggle with school, hockey, new everything....when if they stay and play U18 they are home, familiar area, it takes stress off. There is no clear cut way right or wrong way to go...I was speaking from experiences that I witnessed in my years...