The Surge
Often times when a coach gets fired or an organization moves in a different direction teams and players take a jump. The surge in performance is natural, sometimes it only lasts a short period of time or in other cases its career or franchise altering.
All some players need is an opportunity, a chance to grow and show what they can really do. Obviously, everything changed and everything has been different for the Moncton Wildcats since the hiring of Taylor and Gardiner MacDougall and the organization has ridden that surge all the way to the QMJHL final.
The Shift
Any cultural shift is noticeable and while the numbers, stats, analytics and results look so appealing, the shift is often times very fundamental or basic in nature. Fundamental or basic from afar, but groundbreaking at the epicentre, the players.
MacDougall hasn’t re-invented the wheel, he’s created an environment where the players absolutely love coming to the rink and playing the game, they love, but they are held to an incredibly high standard. Everyone sees the win/loss column, but that doesn’t mean shit has been easy and it’s been all sunshine and rainbows.
It’s no secret MacDougall is incredibly demanding, and expects a ton out of his players, but you see that’s how winning gets done. The smallest changes in habits and tendencies usually have the largest impact. The Wildcats surge of change has been long lasting and successful due in large part to MacDougall and the entire coaching staff holding the players accountable, in turn every player has bought into the cultural ideology of the collective.
The Approach
The term “group” has taken the place of the word “team” and that’s one small aspect or perspective that has also been noteworthy when looking at the 2024-2025 Moncton Wildcats. You can dissect winning all you want, but when it comes to Major Junior hockey any developmental level for that matter over the course of the season, the obvious question remains, has every player improved? The answer to that monumental question is a resounding YES.
The most groundbreaking change this season for the Moncton Wildcats has been the players have grown and improved. It doesn’t get more fundamental than that, but in many cases that doesn’t exist when looking at the overall performance of any team or the individual across the CHL.
One would think that’s the end goal of any coach in a developmental league, but it’s not that simple, a matter of fact it’s incredibly complex. The analytics can speak to the stats and the number side of the equation, but what about the execution?
The Execution
Point totals are up for some individual Wildcats or have remained similar for others, but the surge in confidence, execution, accountability and performance has been the biggest shift of them all for the Moncton Wildcats.
Some individual surges were predictable like the play of Caleb Desnoyers, but what about Alex Mercier and Gabe Smith (Read “On Target” Above to See More on Gabe Smith’s Progression) Their point production have increased the most. Smith’s growth was somewhat predictable, but his improvement and growth under MacDougall has been two-fold with point increases, but he’s done it playing through the middle after playing on the wing for his entire Q career to that point. Mercier scored 9 goals in March to reach the 30-goal mark and increased his point totals by 20 points.
Mercier who I deemed the “Quiet Cat” because he goes about his business very quietly continued to deliver under MacDougall. (For more information on Mercier read “The Quiet Cat” below) Desnoyers is just “world class elite”, there’s no other way to say it and he has done that damage having played through injury and a shit ton of hockey coming into the season and a shit ton of TOI for the Wildcats, but the kid just keeps getting better and better.
Obviously, the additions of Dyllan Gill, Juraj Pekarcik and Markus Vidicek has only added to the defensive and offensive arsenal at MacDougall’s disposal, but when push comes to shove, there’s still only one puck to go around and the Wildcats have played like a “group” from the onset.
Every Wildcat player has improved. Every Wildcat player has been given an opportunity to show what they could do within group. The surge continues, but the most noteworthy aspect of all is that Wildcats are still getting better, still learning and improving and that’s the true sign of a winning culture.
FDS Sports Blog 