The future of the QMJHL is upon us. Going strictly off the QMJHL CSR’s Final List, I dive into some quick analysis on the 2023 draft class. In this edition I will be providing some analysis and scouting reports on players listed from 11th to 20th of the QMJHL’s CSR List
William Lacelle G Lac St-Louis Lions Very square netminder, incredibly composed, athletic, and very good technically, challenges the shooter well, down a little early at times, but is extremely quick and agile, good rebound control and solid downlow, will have to continue to work on his recovery, might need some refinement on his blocker side, a very skilled netminder
Xavier Villeneuve D Pittsburgh Penguins U15’s : Plays a very similar style to that of Charlottetown Islanders defender Marcus Kearsey, actually Villeneuve is probably more explosive than Kearsey, he’s an extremely gifted skater, very smooth operator when it comes to the transition game, great hands and puck skills, great instincts to jump into the play and join the rush, needs to pick and choose his spots a little better so he doesn’t get caught up ice at the next level, solid gap control and active stick, good release from the point position, will have to get stronger to make sure he wins puck battles below the dots at the next level. Like all young offensive defenders, will have to find the balance between trying to drive offence and taking care of his own zone. Projects to be a full three zone defender at the next level, if he continues to work on his physical aspects of the game
Liam Kilfoil F Salisbury Prep Strong skating forward with great offensive instincts, plays a solid two way game, good on the half boards of his zone, great speed and has the ability to play both forward positions, but looks more comfortable on the wing, really hunts pucks down on the forecheck, active stick in all three zones, good vision and solid passer, fantastic release, lethal shot, solid puck skills in traffic, needs to get a little stronger upper body wise so he will be able to bounce off checks in one on one battles downlow,
Graphic Content Courtesy the QMJHL
Will Murphy D Kensington Wild Murphy plays a similar style game to that of Drummondville Voltigeurs defender Matteo Rotondi, Murphy isn’t flashy at all, but this kid can really play, Murphy is extremely composed with the puck in all three zones, great first pass and solid puck skills, thinks the game well, and transitions the puck very well, he will need to get a little quicker, more knee bend and a lengthening of his stride might help in that area, He’s extremely engaged in all three zones, great stick positioning and plays the game with tons of grit, he’s tough to play against and plays a in your face style of d-man, Murphy takes a lot of pride in playing the position and game the right way, won’t be running a ton of power plays at the Jr level, but can definitely lock things down, he will be a lockdown d-man at that level for a long a long time,
Jonathan Prud’homme D Chateauguay Grenadiers : solid skater, good puck skills and good first pass, great poise on the offensive blueline, creative with the puck, good gap control and very active stick, will have to get a little more explosive to reach his full potential at the next level, but possesses all the tools to be a solid two and half zone defender at the Q level. Needs a little bit more urgency to his game on puck retrieval and taking better routes to pucks, Good instincts to jump into the play, very good heavy shot from the point position, will need to work on getting stronger upper body wise like any young defender making the junior level to ensure he wins one on one battles below the dots and in front of the net.
Philippe Veilleux F College Charles Lemoyne Riverains : Highly skilled gritty two-way winger with great speed, doesn’t shy away from the dirty areas of the ice to create time and space for himself, really drives offensive opportunities with his speed and precision on the forecheck, extremely high compete level coupled with great puck skills, thinks the game incredibly well and does everything at top speed, phenomenal release, here’s a player that coaches can trust to put on the ice in any situation, definitely a player that can play up or down the line up, definitely a player that can score and contribute at the next level, given his shot, he will excel as the trigger man on any power play,
Zachary Wheeler F Moncton Flyers: Rankings are rankings and lists are lists, some people will say that Zach Wheeler regressed as the season went on, it’s easy to look at faults or negative aspects of a players game especially when scouts have seen a player a lot, With Wheeler playing as an underager and being a key contributor of a National Championship winning team a season ago, some scouts might say they wanted to see Wheeler drive things more this from an offensive side of things and be a more dominant force this season, his point production was very good as expected, but when you’re a player that is called upon to play in every situation imaginable and log astronomical minutes, it’s extremely difficult to bring you’re “A Game” night in night out.
Let’s get one thing straight, Zachary Wheeler is one hell of hockey player, period. He thinks the game at an elite level, has incredible release, competes hard in every one-on-one situation in all three zones, he has an incredible stick and ability to strip players of puck, he’s solid on the forecheck and is a pass first play making forward that distributes pucks very well from the center of the ice. Wheeler played through the middle all season long, which is good that the player has grown accustomed to playing the position, but there’s no question, Wheeler will become a high end elite level point getter from the wing position at the next level.
Wheeler played a ton of hockey over the last calendar year, which probably led to some of his perceived struggles, There’s areas of his game like his skating and strength that the player will definitely work on over the off season that will only make him that much better for the start of the QMJHL season in the fall. Zach Wheeler is a competitor, he’s unrelenting in his pursuit to get better, there’s no shortcuts to his game, again he was asked to play an incredible amount of hockey this season, and really worked on becoming a more complete player, which will server him well stepping into the QMJHL.
It’s always tough for “exceptional” underage players to live up to the hype, Zach Wheeler has generated points at every level, that will certainly continue at the next level and beyond, It’s really unfortunate to see Wheeler drop in some rankings as of late,
People need to continue to consider the complete body of work that player has accomplished over the last two seasons, I think Zachary Wheeler will be an amazing major junior hockey player,
Present performance or projected performance?
Where’s Zachary Wheeler going to be at 19? Probably a dominant elite level scoring winger at the QMJHL level. One can look at any player and pick apart certain aspects of that players game, there are areas of Wheeler’s game that need to improve, I think a lot of people are overlooking this young player’s character, self-awareness, compete level, drive and will to get to the next level and excel, everyone can see the potential and incredible skill of this player, but it’s the intangibles he brings that will continue to set him apart from his counterparts,
Jordan Labelle F St-Eustache Vikings : Prototypical power forward, skates well for his size, will have to work on explosiveness and agility in tight areas of the ice to ensure he reaches his full potential at the Q level, hunts pucks on the forecheck, nasty to play against which is great to see, good stick in all three zones, thinks the game well and has good puck skills, Won’t light the world on fire when it comes to the offensive side of the game, but is incredibly reliable and thinks it well enough to play up and down any line up, good passer, north and south type of player that can definitely generate energy and grit to any line up, Labelle is the type of player that brings tons of value when it comes to the intangibles of the game and what it takes to win hockey games at the next level, strong heavy accurate release, will have to work on getting his shot off a little quicker at the next level,
Emile Ricard F Magog Cantonniers : speedy gritty two-way winger, who thinks the game very well, high compete level, great on the forecheck, good stick in all three zones, solid on the half boards of the defensive zone, very good puck skills, passing ability and vision, does everything at top speed, energy player extraordinaire, drives offensive opportunities in open ice and definitely has a knack for the net, great release, this kid is engaged from the drop of the puck, always finds a way to get involved, tons of potential and tons of offensive upside, Ricard is going to great things at the next level, can play in any situation
Louis-Francois Belanger F College Notre-Dame Albatros : strong skating winger, thinks the game well, good on the forecheck, will need to get stronger upper body wise to reach his full potential at the next level, needs to tighten things up a little in his own zone from a coverage perspective which can be said about a lot of young draft prospects, great speed to the outside, always gets to the net, has a good shot, willing to go to the dirty areas of the ice to create and is a good passer of the puck in high traffic areas on the ice which speaks to his creativity and hockey IQ.
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