All eyes are on the Moncton Wildcats as they build toward what they hope are two championship caliber seasons.
One could say the heat is on in the Hub City.
Clearly Wildcats General Manager of Hockey Operations Ritchie Thibeau and his staff have put together a plan and a team that has a great chance to contend for the next two seasons in the QMJHL. The Wildcats had a somewhat successful season last year depending on what perspective you want to take. There were a lot of highs and lows and a lot of lessons to be learned and valuable experience to be gain. There’s no question the organization and entire team are looking for stability and consistency heading into this year in every facet of the game.
Daniel Lacroix returns behind the bench and will possess significantly more talent throughout the line up than the last couple of seasons. Obviously, that’s every coaches dream to have more talent, but Lacroix will have his work cut out balancing the line up and making sure every player succeeds within their desired and given roles.
Lacroix relied heavily on predominantly two and half lines and his top 4 a season ago. That can’t happen this season.
The Cats offensive scoring depth was lacking a season ago which forced Lacroix’s hand on some nights. Stability within the lines and pairings should also be an area of focus this season for Lacroix and the Cats.
Clearly it’s way to early to look at ghost rosters or projected lines. Thibeau and Lacroix want to create competition at camp, but they will also have some extremely difficult decisions to make when it comes to personnel. The Cats are opening camp with four overagers and given their recent drafts and crop of free agents will have tons of competition for limited roster spots.
Surprises seem to occur every season no matter what QMJHL team when it comes to personnel decisions. With that being said it’s going very intriguing to see what direction Lacroix and Thibeau take.
There’s going to be a fierce battle for the back up role and limited spots up front. The Cats backend seems pretty secure, but there’s going to be some tight competition for the final few depth spots on the backend. Will they elect to go young or chose more experienced players for those roles? That remains to be seen, but rest assured there’s definitely some pressure for the Wildcats to get off to a fast successful start this season.
If the Cats want to contend they will need a concerted collective effort from top to bottom.
Thibeau, Assistant General Manager of Hockey Operations Rick Melanson and the entire scouting team have done a great job projecting young talent, now they have to develop it and make sure their young aspiring players continue to grow and improve within the organization’s framework.
Everyone is well aware that there’s always an element of pressure to win when it comes to the Moncton Wildcats. That will never change and everyone knows that going in, but the next two seasons are definitely different. The organization has showed restraint and patience since the 2019-2020 season. They have been building towards this moment for what must seemingly feel like an eternity for all those involved since the 2020 load and go model. It’s way to early and extremely unfair to say that Lacroix and Assistant Coach Josh Hepditch are on the “hot seat.” Nevertheless, given the Cats position within their cycle and such high expectations, a quick start to the 2023-2024 campaign would definitely ease some of the built up pressure surrounding the team and their championship aspirations.
All eyes are on the Moncton Wildcats as they embark on arguably two of the most important seasons in franchise history.
The heat is on.
FDS Sports Blog 