Taylor MacDougall and the Moncton Wildcats are 22 days away from the start of the 2026 QMJHL Trade Period. MacDougall and Wildcats Asst General Manager Rick Melanson and the entire scouting staff are no doubt building out their wish list for the second half of the season in hopes of making another run at a championship. 22 days until the start and 43 days away from the end of the trade period, that’s the reality of the situation. It’s never easy to subtract or add players to your group. MacDougall did an amazing job a season ago in his first foray in the role and in the league and obviously that paid dividends in the end. The then rookie GM, pulled off an unpopular trade amongst the fanbase, but it proved to be the correct move in the long run. Making tough decisions is part of the job as a General Manager in the CHL and the window of opportunity is only open for a very short time and for the Moncton Wildcats that window is open now with the possibility to do something very special.
This Year is Different
This year’s version of the Moncton Wildcats is still growing and trying to find its way. Clearly the wins are starting to stockpile which is great for the fanbase and their new cliental are finding their traction in the league, which makes MacDougall’s job even more difficult when identifying certain needs or wants moving forward. This isn’t the Sears catalogue, you just can’t look through the pages and order from your wish list, there’s ultimately a big price to pay. This year is different; the decisions they make this year will have an impact for the next few years moving forward even though they clearly have a pretty rich pipeline to the eastern seaboard when it comes to free agents. Nevertheless, MacDougall is confronted with the prospect of emptying the cupboards even more than he did a season ago to make another run and that might mean departing with some solid young players that they brought in to build out the roster for the first half of the season or to get to this point in the process.
The Wish List
It’s far too early and incredibly unfair to throw names out there, but it’s clear the Wildcats like every team vying to be a championship contender have a wish list or have identified certain areas that they need to address in order to get to that level or realistic championship contenders. Potentially the worst thing anyone or organization can do is go at this half assed or go at which a cautionary approach. You can’t have any doubt when you make moves that could win you a championship or set your organization back for several years. You see that’s part of the process in junior hockey, and you know something you even if you know that going in you still have to have the testicular or intestinal fortitude to make those decisions. In saying that you have to be an incredibly savvy identifier and projector of talent in order to the select the right players, personalities and people to add to your group. There’s a lot more than just having a wish list you have to be aware and know every player’s value or fair market value within the projected deal.
The Caleb Desnoyers Factor
As I’ve previously written, this might very well be the final chapter in Caleb Desnoyers QMJHL career. That’s hard to believe, but it could very well be true given the ever-changing landscape. Whenever you have a high-profile player and you have the chance to go back to back you jump at that opportunity and in years gone by Q teams knew that they would have that player or asset to move in their third year in the league to a contender which in turn would kick start your cycle for the next run. That option might not exist given the new “19-year-old rule” that the NHL and AHL are adopting. There’s numerous factors that go into a decision like this, obviously the Utah Mammoth would have a massive say in the direction that they want Desnoyers to take. The NCAA option is still ever present which we have already seen other high-profile players take to ensure they play against older competition. The third and final option would be the more “traditional” approach where Desnoyers returns to the league plays out his “19-year-old” year with the Cats and gets moved to a contender and subsequently restocks the shelves. Again, this is all speculation at this point and it’s still very early on in the process, but in today’s hockey world you have to start these types of discussions a lot earlier so one gets of ahead of the curve and knows what to expect and plan for. Would Caleb Desnoyers be a perfect candidate for the new 19 rule? The answer to that question is a resounding yes, in my opinion, but his slower than expected start and return from injury could also prove to be a deciding factor. For example, what if Utah wants him to get even more quality touches and make a potential third run at a championship in the junior ranks before making the jump to the pros, which might be a possibility. A wait and see approach should be always take in these cases, but that puts Taylor MacDougall in a tough position if the unknown and uncertainty seeps into the equation.
How Many Pieces Do the 2025-26 Moncton Wildcats Need To Become Contenders?
How many pieces do the Wildcats need to be a realistic back-to-back championship contender?
Well, that’s the ultimate question right now, isn’t it?
It might be too early and unfair to mention names, but there’s certain areas even through 22 games that Moncton need to address moving into the second half.
At a glance the Wildcats could very well be three to four pieces away. How much will four pieces cost you? Well that depends on who they might be targeting and obviously the position of those players.
Every team vying for a championship or believe they are in the upper echelon league always wants to upgrade their defensive corps with a quality puck mover or shutdown presence while adding key forwards to the group including a heavy tough to play against scoring winger, or a quality two-way center with playing making ability.
It remains to be seen what direction Taylor MacDougall and his staff will take in potentially building another championship contender.
The quest for the missing piece of the equation is about to begin for countless Q teams that believe they have a chance to hoist a trophy at the end of the year. The Moncton Wildcats brain trust will no doubt make very calculated moves to give them the best possible chance at going back-to-back.
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