Can They Repeat?

Can the Moncton Wildcats repeat as QMJHL Champions?

Well, that’s the question everyone is asking as we inch closer to the playoffs.  

There’s nothing like playoff time; there’s nothing like heading to the rink and feeling the pressure and excitement. How will the Wildcats temper that pressure and astronomical high expectations? Well, the resilient Wildcats have found a way to win hockey games all season long which is a great trait to possess, but there have been some tendencies to their game as of late that might need to be addressed before kickoff to ensure they get where they want to go.

Starting on Time
“Start on time” It’s about as cliché as it gets, but the Wildcats haven’t bought into that premise lately. Again, you can look at all the wins and the comebacks as showing resiliency, which is great and all, but come playoff time, where you might face a solid team getting down early might cause you to chase the game and digging an early hole can mean the difference between winning and losing. We have seen a plethora of line combinations a lot more than we saw last year from Gardiner MacDougal and as we all know he goes with the guys that are going and isn’t afraid to play the shit out of his top guys.

The Cats are arguably deeper up front than they were a season ago and have a lot more team speed which is no doubt their strongest attribute. Nevertheless, if you have a bad start and things aren’t going, it’s hard to get the flow going which throws a massive wrench into the entire works especially when you rely on a “speed game” and depth as a weapon. Again, it’s great to have the “Comeback Ace” in the hole, but the Cats will want to make sure they get their going at puck drop in order to set the tone and execute their game plan which is predominantly skate the shit out of your opponent, play a north-south quick transition game, capitalize on the power play and then hang on for deer life. Starting on time physically, is one thing, starting on time mentally is another.

Over the course of games coming down the stretch, the Cats have made some uncharacteristic mental mistakes early, again their just kids and that happens, but everything is amplified come playoff time and that’s where you have to balance or temper the nerves and excitement.

We are all familiar with Gardiner MacDougall’s nuances, hunches or superstitions which aren’t so subtle, but my God almighty do they ever work and perhaps that’s one aspect that makes him such an amazing coach who can get the absolute best out of every player. Nonetheless, it’s always intriguing to see his line combos and D pairings to start the game or a period and his constant juggling to maintain, sustain or regain momentum.  

“You Can’t Hit, What you Can’t Catch”

“You can’t hit, what you can’t catch.” The Wildcats are the by far the fastest team in the Q. Speed kills especially in the playoffs, but what makes the Cats chances of success so great is their speed and depth at the forward position. This might not be the deepest talent pool of forwards ever assembled, but there’s no question it’s the fastest. The Wildcats are banking on that speed and forward depth to generate sustained offensive pressure and waves of opportunities from the drop of the puck to the final buzzer. Everyone wants to play fast, but you still have to manage pucks. That could be the “Achilles Heel” for the Cats if teams can get in on the forecheck and pressure their D corps and cause turnovers. Delayed pressure and teams that take away the Cats board/rim play have had success as of late. Calculated puck support and sound decision making coming of their zone will be essential for the Cats to go where they want to go.

What about Physicality and Overall Team Grit or Nastiness?

Well, the Wildcats will continue to be tested in that area entering the playoffs. That’s one area that skilled fast teams struggle with is when their time and space is taken away. You see the Wildcats are built to frustrate the living hell out of their opponents and lately that’s exactly what they’re doing, by setting teams back on their heels and force turnovers and let the offensive onslaught run wild, no pun intended.

The wave of speed might be too much for teams to handle and if they can stay healthy and have all four lines going late in the playoffs some teams might be out of gas by that time, so advantage Moncton.

Moncton will have to be ready to do battle and be physically engaged, at all times come playoff time if they want to reach their full potential and contend for another championship, because you know damn well that teams will try to hit them all over the rink in effort to throw them off their game and as of late when they have struggled in spirts, teams have tightened things up against which have caused Moncton to turn pucks over and take a shit ton of icings. At times the Cats haven’t cheated offensively, but they are so anxious to get out on the rush that they have missed a lot of assignments.

Shift Length and The Undercurrent

Blink and you might have missed it, but at times coming down the stretch and at only minor intervals there have been an inkling of “individualism” that seeped into the play of the Moncton Wildcats. At times, certain players hung onto pucks or didn’t move pucks as timingly as they did earlier in the season. At times certain players also took shots instead of moving the puck to the open man. This stuff was very minor and potentially not even in the undercurrent, but still noticeable at times. It’s perfectly normal for this to happen throughout a long season and I don’t think it was rooted in selfishness or anything like that and perhaps we saw players try to care too much or try to do too much which led to that. There’s a big difference between logging massive minutes, being a horse and being a touch selfish and staying out there too long. Budgeting ice time especially when you have a deep fast group is incredibly difficult but shift length at times was also within the undercurrent of the Wildcats at certain points within the second half. The first unit of the power play was on for the full two minutes multiple times and hell perhaps that’s by design, but with everything intensifying in the playoffs, good teams will definitely exploit that. Now can Moncton’s horses handle the workload, shit yeah, but at what cost? By the end of the championship series last year a lot of players were noticeably tired and rightfully so it’s playoff time and it was hard fought, but by the Memorial Cup it was very noticeable. I think that’s one of the reasons the Cats brain trust really keyed in on building a deeper speed driven transitionally oriented group when focusing in on this year’s squad. Are the Wildcats tough enough to play a “rock em stock em” in your face brand of playoff hockey? Probably not, but you can bet your arse they are going to skate their competition into the ground which is great and all, but you need energy for that and that’s where shift length especially early on in the playoffs will pay dividends.

“Speciality Teams and Discipline”

The Moncton Wildcats take a lot of penalties. The Cats are were one of the most penalized teams in the Q. Discipline could be an issue, especially if and when they get challenged and pushed. Again, skilled, talented and fast teams theoretically hate getting hit or having their time and space taken away and usually that’s when overall team discipline gets called into question.

The Wildcats will have to avoid taking selfish retaliatory type penalties in the playoffs. The shit after the whistle will be called a lot tighter. As for the Wildcats power play, it’s exceptional and boasts a lot of weapons. The first unit’s TOI, will vary, and they can’t be used nonstop. The second unit will have to step up and keep things simple, but it’s clear the first unit will see the bulk of the time. Obviously, teams will key in on Tommy Bleyl and try to stop his transitional style, but everything on that top unit has to go through Caleb Desnoyers, he’s the real catalyst for the Wildcats PP.

Zone entries will be the key and the Cats also need to find urgency with puck movement, because at times this season they have been stagnant and far too predictable and fixated on option 1 or 2 rather than keeping things fluid out there. Niko Tournas has to be more mobile and present in different areas of the ice and in seams to keep teams guessing. Watch for the  Cats to use the bumper a lot  more in the playoffs or the quick low to high play in the playoffs because teams will try to key in on Tournas’ one timer. Bleyl needs to walk the blue line and be less predictable when it comes to passing to the left side of the PP structure rather than completely looking off Desnoyers which I don’t really understand. You arguably have the best player in the league camped out on the right side who is also one of the best passers in the league and at times coming down the stretch they haven’t used that side near enough.

Puck movement, hitting the seams and creating 2 on 1’s is obviously the key to any good power play and with the Cats speed they need to enter the zone with speed and get things set up or attack when the opportunities present themselves.

In Game Adjustments

Trust the process, trust the system and play our game. That’s been the mantra ever since Gardiner MacDougall took over the helm and you know something it has worked. Nevertheless, making in game adjustments especially late in the playoffs when the competition gets really tight might be the deciding factor for the Moncton Wildcats to repeat as champions. The Cats have a very smart cerebral team, and they can definitely adjust their style of play to match a multitude of styles of play, but making slight adjustments are going to be critical because the upper echelon of teams are so similar to each other. The team that is the most receptive to in game adjustments and execute on the fly will no doubt hoist the Cup at the end of the day. “Play our game, trust the process and trust the system” is vital, but you still have to adapt and adjust in order to win in the playoffs.