Rimouski Oceanic

[Laker2415]

Before I begin, I want to let it be known that not all of this story is true. I am not a triplet and I didn't move to Canada (although I was born in Port Jefferson, New York, so that part is true). I tried to see if I could do a pair of blogs at the same time, but couldn't find a way to make that possible. I also found a story on the General Chat about the Port Huron Flags, so I decided to put my junior story on the General Chat as well.

Although I have been playing EHM for over a year, I had never played as a CHL (Canadian Junior) league team until we did the Saint John challenge. Now, although I didn’t win the Memorial Cup or even my own league (I did manage one series victory though), I did have a lot of fun trying not only my first challenge but junior hockey as well. So much so, that I am playing another game with another QMJHL team. This time, I have done a little tweaking. Instead of being just a Head Coach/GM in the game, I have also elected to become a player and have put myself on three teams, one in each league of the CHL.

And now, onto the story:

Hi. My name is J.P., but you can call me John. After all, that’s what my parents call me, so you may do the same. I was born, along with my two brothers Joseph and Jeremy in Port Jefferson, New York on October 30th, 1990. Yes, you heard me right, I’m a triplet! When I was 13 years old, my parents debated moving to Richmond, Quebec as my father got a job working for my grandfather at the local steel mill as an Executive Vice President, while my mother got a job teaching English at the local High School. During dinner one night during the spring of 2004, my parents decided to spring this announcement on my brothers and I, and the response we gave was stunning. See, we had played Bantam AAA hockey for the Long Island Gulls and went 1-2-3 in scoring for the Gulls, so we had a bit of a reputation. My brother Jeremy was the first to speak and he was telling us about this great offer that our coach had given him. Our coach had a brother who was the Director of Hockey Operations for the San Jose Jr. Sharks and coach wanted Jeremy to head out there to play. It was supposed to be a surprise on our family vacation in June, but that decision was now fast-forwarded. Joseph stunned us all by saying that he and a teammate of ours had made the Little Caesars Midget AAA team of the Midwest Elite Hockey League. My parents couldn’t say no to that offer, especially since they would be billeting with Chris Chelios and his family. My parents then looked at me and asked what my plans were and I told them that I would move with them, as I had no offers to play anywhere and I would just play High School hockey in Richmond.

Fast forward now two summers, to July 2006. Jeremy was 7th and then 1st on the Jr. Sharks in scoring and was selected with the #3 pick in the 2005 Western Hockey League Bantam Draft by the Calgary Hitmen. Joseph had an up and down two years with Little Caesars, as he would only appear in 17 games with 2 goals and 10 assists, but he tore his ACL in his left knee and was out for the remainder of the 2004-05 season, but the following year, he tore the MEHL apart with 63 goals and 82 assists in 42 games and would be selected #5 overall by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League in the 2006 OHL Priority Selection. My road was a little tougher. I tried out for the Richelieu Patriotes in 2004, but was cut and played that season for the Granby Vics. We were terrible and won only 6 games, going 6-48-4. I had a lousy year with 18 goals and 11 assists in those games. However, I grew 8 inches over the year and grew to be 6’5 and put on 25 pounds to get up to 170 and actually made the 2005-2006 Richelieu team. I had 42 goals and 41 assists in that season and we went 31-17-9, a huge improvement over my Vics team the year before. I was planning on taking the summer to relax and get stronger in preparation for another season with the Patriotes, but my coach told me to head to Drummondville for the 2006 QMJHL Draft, where I was selected #2 overall by the Rimouski Oceanic. It was a strange ride to get here, but this is where the fun really begins.

August 15th 2006- I've been here less than 24 hours and I already know that this is where I want to be. I'm billeting with Michael Chiasson from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia and Graham Bona, from Halifax, Nova Scotia. All 23 of the players will live in the same neighborhood and the fact that I have 2 roommates that are also away from home doesn't make me feel quite so homesick. We have 64 players within the organization and/or have their rights held by the Oceanic. The 23 that are currently on the roster have a light workout in the afternoon and then a meeting where we meet the coaches and are told that no one's job is safe, not even the coaches. True to form we get our roster trimmed to 63 as the Front Office makes a great trade with the Saint John Sea Dogs:

Rimouski sends:
The rights to Philippe Cornet and Alexandre Neron as well as the 2nd round pick in 2009

to

Saint John for:
Ryan Sparling

The Front Office also released the rights of 3 players, getting the roster down to 60. Cory Schneider (Goalie-Boston College), Sidney Crosby (Center-Pittsburgh Penguins) and Kyle Kucharski (C-Boston College) were the three in question.

August 16th 2006- We added another exhibition game to our schedule as the Halifax Mooseheads invited us to play on September 6th in Nova Scotia. This will give my housemates an early reason to be happy.

[joehelmer]

Good luck with Rimouski, I really like the QMJHL now after our last challenge it was a new way to play as you know that you can't keep players longer than a maximum of 5 years, and you also need to rebuild with some new players every year.

[bruins72]

This might be better suited for a blog, don't you think? You should really check out the blog section. This is exactly what it was put in for.

[batdad]

It would be..except I think he has another blog going (which he mentions) and this would interrupt it. I Like this story.

Two things: No way a family splits its triplets...no way. But still cool. I enjoyed the read..keep it up.

[Laker2415]

Joe- Thanks for the well wishes. I like the fact about the rebuilding for teams in the junior leagues, year after year. This brings a greater amount of strategy into the game.

Bruins- I tried to see if I could write more than one blog, unfortunately, I cannot do that. If I could write this story in the blog, and not have to delete my other blog or confuse readers, I would do so.

Batdad- You are exactly right. No team would split their triplets, but rather they would try to get all three on the same team and possibly the same line.

One additional comment that I need to make before continuing, without realizing it, the following changes were made:

1) The NHL is now made up of 30 teams of the UHL and a couple expansion teams.
2) The former NHL teams are now competing in the World Hockey Association.
3) The UHL is now made up of 10 former World Hockey Association franchises.

This will hopefully make sense as the story continues.

Now, back to the story……….

August 17th 2006- We will be hosting the Inaugural St. Lawrence River Shootout with 3 teams from the United States participating: Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves (WCHA), Lake Superior State Lakers (CCHA), Umass-Lowell River Hawks (Hockey East).

August 18th 2006- The front office thought that we needed a little more firepower and they made a couple of really good deals:

Rimouski sends:
The Rights to Patrice Cormier
Max Gratchev

To

Halifax for:
Jakub Voracek

Rimouski sends:
The Rights to Jordan Caron
Marc-Andre Laroche
2nd Round Picks in 2008 and 2010

to

Saint John for:
Alex Grant

During our team dinner tonight, Olivier Legault told me that Voracek has all of the tools necessary to be a superstar in the QMJHL and that Grant is a physical, offensive defenseman that is extremely difficult to play against, so as wanted we have improved our lineup dramatically.

August 19th 2006- With our reserve list at 58 players, the front office elected to release three overaged players, defensemen Olivier LaMarre and Hubert Veilleux and center Simon Lablanc, allowing me to breathe a little easier, knowing I still haven’t been cut yet. In the evening, the newest member of the front office staff was announced as Jock Callander was named our new Assistant GM, signing a 3-year deal worth $230K.

August 20th 2006- We had a meeting with Mr. Callander after our morning skate today and he was disappointed with the amount of season tickets that we had sold, which as of today sat at 2,147. He decided to shake things up a little bit as he placed us in random groups of 2 and sent us throughout Rimouski to sell tickets door-to-door. Luckily for me, I was partnered with Alex Grant, who had just arrived last night from Saint John. Everywhere we went, everyone wanted to talk to Alex, most likely because of what he did against the Oceanic last season (9 points in 3 games) and they knew that he is a great player, but what a lot of people didn’t realize is that he’s a class act off the ice. People would ask for pictures, autographs, you name it and he would do it, no questions asked. He will be a valuable piece to the puzzle and don’t be surprised if he wins a few awards this season. We went on to sell 55 tickets in a 3-hour span and made some new friends in the process.

August 23rd 2006- As if I wasn’t nervous to start the day, 24 players accepted training camp offers today, putting my job in even more jeopardy. But, on the bright side, training camp should be that much more competitive. I also find out that we will be playing my 2 brothers in exhibition games. Jeremy and the Calgary Hitmen will be coming to Rimouski on September 2nd and 5 days later, we’ll head to Ontario to take on Joseph and his Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. As soon as I found this out, I called my parents, who immediately started making travel plans.

August 24th 2006- In the morning, another 12 players signed tryout offers with us, bringing the total number of players to 60. Luckily, that group only consists of 9 centermen. After our afternoon skate, we signed two additional players to contracts. Defenseman Benoit Gravel and Left Wing Jordan Gagne are the two newest members of the Oceanic.

August 25th 2006- The day before training camp starts we find out that Left Wings Pierre-Olivier Landry and Marc-Olivier Desjardins along with Center Bruno Fortin have signed contracts with the club. At dinner, we find out that 8 additional players have signed tryout camp offers. The dinner also allowed the front office to see all of the players that they have brought to camp and it allows the players to see whom exactly will be evaluating us. Mr. Callander then reveals who will be playing on each of the four teams for camp, Montreal, Quebec, Richelieu and Laval. I will be playing for Laval, but unfortunately, there are a lot of players that I don’t recognize on my roster.

August 26th- Finally, after being in Rimouski for 11 days, we finally get camp underway. We have practice from 7am to 830am and it includes everything from conditioning to contact drills to shooting practice and we get drilled. I am certainly not the best player there, but I know that I’m not the worst. I also mess up on a few drills, but despite that, I’m told that Jakub Voracek and I had great practices and Jose Masson and Louie Aubin left a lot to be desired. At the end of practice, we gathered at center ice and we were told that the 22 players who have the most impressive outings in the two scrimmages this afternoon will dress for the exhibition game tonight at 9pm against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.

The first scrimmage took place at 1130am and Montreal flexed their muscles in a 4-0 win over Quebec. Pierre-Alexandre Joncas scored a pair of goals and added an assist, while the goaltending tandem of Tommy Legault and Jerome Watson stopped all 13 shots. My Laval team took to the ice at 1245pm and skated to a 1-1 tie with Richelieu. I scored a garbage goal, stuffing home an errant shot from defenseman Chris Stevens that went over the head of the goaltender. I beat my defenseman to the puck and stuffed it between the post and the goalie’s pad. I didn’t think I played that great of a game, until we were shown the list of the 22 players who would be playing in the game tonight and there was my name, fourth from the top.

Seven hours and a nice pasta meal later, I was in the locker room getting ready to take to the ice on a line with Brent Howorth (Montreal) and Blair Stengler (Laval), in front of 2,122 fans. Back on Long Island and even in Granby and Richelieu, we never played in front of more than 500 fans, let alone over 2,000 for an exhibition game! My nerves were getting to me, but after a swig of a sports drink, I was ready to go. We finished the first two periods and were up 3-2, thanks mostly to Jakub Voracek and his two goals (one of which I assisted on), but in the third period, the defensemen and the goaltenders decided to let the forwards run wild and we did, combining for 9 goals in the final frame, in an 8-6 win for us. I wound up scoring a couple goals in the period, one a shorthanded tally, and ended the game with 4 assists and a +3 rating in 23:48 of playing time. Voracek ended the game with an empty-net goal to complete his hat trick. When the game ended and I was in the locker room, I asked for an IV from the trainer to get fluids in me. It’s painfully clear to me that while my skills might be at this level, my conditioning is nowhere near where it should be.

The front office has finalized two more exhibition games and we will be playing the Saint John Sea Dogs on August 30th and the Drummondville Voltegeurs on September 9th.

August 27th 2006- Michal Frolik will now experience the dream of every youngster growing up and that he will be playing in the NHL. The Muskegon Fury signed Frolik to a 3 year/$1.3 million deal. He will definitely be missed. Also, Mr. Callander has informed all of us, that our door-to-door selling brought in over 400 new ticket sales and we are up to 2,589 season tickets.

August 28th 2006- The second games of training camp are both nail biters as Richelieu tied Montreal in a 1-1 snoozefest that only saw 21 shots between the two teams. Game 2 saw Quebec tie my Laval squad 3-3. This game was extremely chippy and saw 5 power-play goals (of which I had two of them) and the first fight of Training Camp, in which I fought Sebastien Aspirot to a draw. I would later add an assist to complete my “Gordie Howe Hat Trick.”

August 30th 2006- The games from two days prior were so good that we replayed them. In game 1, my Laval squad handily defeated Quebec 5-2. I didn’t have goals today, but I was able to grab 3 assists, one for each of my shots on goal. The 2nd game had Richelieu defeat Montreal 1-0 and Fran Daley scoring the goal of camp as he took the puck from behind his own goal and took it end-to-end, riffling a wrist shot over Tommy Legault’s glove, bringing everyone in the rink to their feet, just a great goal. Scott Fraser and Codey Power

Since I had played in the earlier exhibition game, I was not on either of the flights that departed from Rimouski in the afternoon. Flight #1 carried a group to Saint John, New Brunswick, where part of our squad took on the Saint John Sea Dogs. So, while I was getting a light workout back in Rimouski, the Sea Dogs came back from a 4-2 third period deficit and wound up winning 6-4 thanks to 4 3rd period power-play goals. On the bright side, Francois Bolduc had 3 assists.

August 31st 2006- The Hockey News released their Season Preview for the QMJHL and they picked us to finish 13th. I was given the Team MVP award, while Alex Grant was the Key New Face. I think those should be reversed, as I’m more of a new face and he’ll be saving our teams’ bacon more than I ever will.

Rimouski also signed free agent goaltender Maxime Roy-Desruisseaux to a contract.

Flight #2, which left yesterday, carried another part of our team to St. John’s Newfoundland, to take on the St. John’s Fog Devils. Olivier Guilbault scored a pair of goals as the Fog Devils skated past us 3-1. Frederic Roy had the only Rimouski goal as we ended the August part of our Pre-Season 1-2-0.

After the game, the front office named former NHL player Kelly Kisio as the new head coach of the Rimouski Oceanic.

[Laker2415]

September 1st- The front office was expected to make their final cuts today, and even though I had played well in the first exhibition game, my thoughts were that maybe I would make it on the second line. Our morning scrimmage game gave me little hope for that as I played terribly in Laval’s 2-1 win over Quebec. I had only one shot, if you want to call that a shot and was –1. Antoine Loganiere scored the game-winning goal for us in a game that we definitely stole away. In the afternoon game, Simon LeBlanc and Jakub Voracek each had a goal and an assist as Richelieu defeated Montreal 4-1.

Joseph decided to give me a call in the afternoon to wish me luck in making Rimouski and in my game tonight, but he also told me how his team did in the Inaugural Steel City Shootout in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The Greyhounds defeated the Pittsburgh Amateur Penguins 3-1, the Sault Ste. Marie North Stars 5-1 and the Soo Indians 3-2 to take the Title. Joseph had three assists on the weekend and made the 2nd All-Star Team, lucky brat!

Tonight we invited the Chicoutimi Sagueneens to Rimouski for an exhibition tilt. Coach Kisio placed me on the first line with Voracek and overager Dan Rowe and we were able to click for at least the first two periods, as I assisted on each of the goals they scored and we took a 4-2 lead into the dressing room after two periods. Unfortunately, Chicoutimi came out for the third and we didn’t, giving up 5 goals in the third to lose comfortably 7-4 in front of 2,413 fans. In addition to the 2 assists, I had a shot and a minor penalty that led to the 7th goal for the visitors, all in 23:55. Somehow, I earned the third star, which after my performance, I might’ve given myself the 18th star.

After the game, Rimouski signed Center Simon Gaudreault to a contract, meaning my job security became a little less certain.

September 2nd- I was not supposed to play in tonight’s contest, but Ryan Sparling volunteered to give up his roster spot so that I could play against my brother Jeremy. As for the game, we came back from a 5-1 deficit in the third period to force a shootout, with the game-tying goal coming with 2 seconds on the clock! Both Jeremy and I score in the shootout, but Voracek comes through with the game-winning goal on his attempt and we win 6-5. Jeremy is named #1 star with a 2 goal and 1 assist night and I played a so-so game, with 2 assists, 4 shots, a –2 rating in 26:11. My parents invited Sparling out for dinner after the game and after my dad passes him a $100 bill, he says to Ryan, “If my son fails to carry your equipment to and from the locker room to the bus on road trips, you let me know, and I’ll send you the $50 per game that we were originally going to send him for food and rent!” Ryan now has our house and cell numbers on speed-dial on his cell phone now……thanks guys!

September 3rd- The front office signs Defensemen Joel Hamelin, Christopher Stevens and Alexandre Brunet to contracts as well as Right Wing Vincent Remillard. We have now sold 2,767 season tickets.

September 4th- We defeat the Gatineau Olympiques 4-2 at home tonight. I didn’t play tonight, but Mr. Sparling had a goal and 2 assists, go figure!

September 6th- We travel to Halifax, Nova Scotia to take on the Halifax Mooseheads tonight. I’m on a line with Remillard and Pierre-Olivier Landry, but we never clicked. Coach Kisio reamed me all game long and despite my best efforts (a goal and an assist), we couldn’t overcome poor decision making, especially on my part. I had three shots in 27:08, but 2 turnovers that led to the 2nd and 4th goals for the Mooseheads.

On the flip side of the coin, Tony Esposito signed a contract to be a scout for us for the next 2 seasons.

September 7th- Joseph gets a goal, an assist and a shootout goal tonight as we lose to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in Ontario 3-2. I can only manage a shootout goal, 2 shots and a fight (which I lost) in 27:06. In my brief stints on the bench, I catch a glimpse of some of the 2,922 people in attendance and they look constantly bored to death during the game. I can’t blame them as nobody played well, on either team.

September 9th- It’s my turn to sit out and I watch a horrible display of hockey as we lose 6-2 to the Drummondville Voltigeurs, in front of 2,270. Dave Plante and Jordan Gagne have our two goals, but like 2 nights prior, it just seems that no one wants to be there.

That night, Rimouski welcomes John Ogrodnick to the staff as a scout.

September 10th- Three additional scouts, all with NHL playing experience, are added to the staff. Brian Hayward, Mike Vernon and Ken Linseman sign long term contracts. We are now up to 2,847 season tickets.

September 11th- The Hockey News releases their Top Ten lists for the season. Alex Grant is names the #1 Defenseman in the QMJHL. I was named the #2 Center and David Skokan was named #2 Right Wing. I was also named #2 prospect, while Jakub Voracek was named #5.

Tonight marks the start of the St. Lawrence River Shootout and we decide to not play any of our overagers in this Tournament, unless, we are mathematically eliminated. This turns out to be a huge mistake as Alaska-Anchorage outscores us 5-2 over the last 27 minutes of play, to turn a 2-2 tie into a 7-4 win. A sparse crowd of 551 watched this lack of defense game, in which I had a goal and a helper, a shot on goal, a +3 rating and a penalty in 29:36. In the nightcap, Lake Superior State knocked off Umass-Lowell 4-3.

September 12th- Game #3 of the SLRS went to Lake Superior State, thanks to a 4-goal first period flurry. I managed only an assist, a +1 rating, 2 shots on goal and a penalty in 22:13. 541 people witnessed this debacle in our own building. Game #4 saw Alaska-Anchorage defeat Umass-Lowell 4-2.

September 13th- Before the games started today, Defenseman Guillaume Letourneau signs with Rimouski. We finally decide to dress our overagers for this afternoon’s 3rd Place Game against Umass-Lowell and it made a huge difference as we scored 6 goals in the first period and eventually had 8 different goal scorers in our 9-2 rout of the River Hawks. I played 22:58, with 2 assists, a +2 rating, 5 shots on goal and a penalty, in front of 580 fans. Lake Superior State took the Championship Game, defeating Alaska-Anchorage 5-4. Francois Bolduc and I both made the 1st All-Tournament Team, while Guillaume Letourneau made the 2nd team.

The conclusion of the Tournament also brought us to the finalization of the Roster for the 2006-2007 season:

Players are listed with position rank, name, age, hometown, 05-06 team (if played last season), 05-06 statistics, QMJHL Draft Selection and NHL Entry Draft Selection

2006-2007 Rimouski Oceanic (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League)
Goalies:
1 Michael Chiasson, 20, Cole Harbor, NS, RIM- 6-37-0-5.68-.870 11th rd. (168) by Rimouski in 2003
2 Tommy Legault, 18, Magog, QC, RIM- 0-11-0-5.66-.862
Defensemen:
1 Benoit Gravel, 19, Laval, QC, 12th rd. (187) by Rimouski in 2004
2 Louis-Philippe Lachance, 20, Notre Dame-du-Lac, QC, PEI 70-10-27-37-136 4th rd. (55) by Quebec in 2002
3 Alex Grant, 17, Antigonish, NS, STJ 47-4-9-13-58, 1st rd. (1) by Saint John in 2005
4 Guillaume Letourneau, 19, Quebec City, QC, RIM 32-1-1-2-45
5 Philippe Garnier, 17, St. Georges, QC, RIM-DRU 28-2-6-8-12 4th rd. (62) by Drummondville in 2005
6 Francois Bolduc, 19, Cap-Rouge, QC, RIM 70-5-17-22-146 2nd rd. (17) by Rimouski in 2003
7 Nicholas Goyens, 18, Montreal, QC, RIM 54-2-9-11-34 3rd rd. (50) by Rimouski in 2005
Left Wings:
1 Olivier Legault, 19, Chibougamau, QC, LEW-DRU 63-2-2-4-154 4th rd (60) by Lewiston in 2002, 4th rd. (93) by Florida in 2005 NHL Draft
2 Pierre-Olivier Landry, 19, Amqui, QC, MIR 4-2-0-2-6
3 Marc Olivier Desjardins, 18, Saint-Jerome, QC, SJR 9-1-0-1-4 13th rd. (234) by Rimouski in 2005
4 Jordan Gagne, 18, Granby, QC, GRA 47-26-25-51-42 9th rd. (162) by Rimouski in 2005
Centers:
1 John Joubert, 15, Richmond, QC, RIC 56-42-41-83-36 1st rd. (2) by Rimouski in 2006
2 Ryan Sparling, 18, Sydney, NS, STJ 65-15-24-39-32 2nd rd. (20) by Saint John in 2005
3 Maxime Tanguay, 17, St. Georges Beauce, QC, RIM-CHI 65-5-22-27-50 1st rd. (10) by Chicoutimi in 2004
6 Olivier Fortier, 17, Quebec City, QC, DRU-RIM 40-6-10-16-30
Right Wings:
1 David Skokan, 18, Propad, Slovakia, RIM 53-6-15-21-143 1st rd (17) by Rimouski in 2005 Import Draft
2 Jakub Voracek. 17, Slany, Czech. Republic, HRK 1-0-0-0-0 1st rd (1) by Halifax in 2006 Import Draft
3 Dave Plante, 18, Cambellton, NB, RIM 65-3-1-4-179 7th rd (112) by Rimouski in 2005
4 David Bouchard, 18 Chicoutimi, QC, RIM 61-1-5-6-239
5 Pierre-Alexandre Joncas, 18, Matane, QC, RIM 55-7-10-17-49
6 Frederic Roy, 19, Ste. Etienne-de-Lauzon, QC, RIM-CSL 20-3-6-9-18 8th rd. (123) by Rimouski in 2004

Woodstock Slammers (Maritime Junior A Hockey League)
Goalies:
3 Maxime Roy-Desruisseaux, 19, St. Appolinaire, QC 4th rd. (49) by Rimouski in 2003
4 Scott Fraser, 18, Woodstock, NB, RIM-WOO 12-6-0-3.32-.900 5th rd. (25) by Rimouski in 2004
Defensemen:
8 Graham Bona, 18, Halifax, NS, RIM 67-5-10-15-98 3rd rd. (43) by Rimouski in 2004
9 Guillaume Letourneau, 19, St. Joseph de Beauce, QC, 7th rd. (102) by Rimouski in 2004
10 Josh Hamelin, 18, Delson, QC
11 Christopher Stevens, 17, Sydney, NS, CBW 35-2-4-6-58 6th rd. (93) by Rimouski in 2006
12 Jason Caron, 18, Amqui, QC, RIM 41-1-2-3-92
17 Alexandre Brunet, 17, Laval, QC 9th rd. (152) by Rimouski in 2006
Left Wing:
5 Sebastien Aspirot, 20, Montreal, QC, RIM 69-9-2-11-152
Center:
4 Yanick Charron, 20, Hull, QC, DRU-PEI 50-13-19-32-81 5th rd. (73) by Gatineau in 2002
Right Wing:
7 Vincent Remillard, 18, Laval, QC, 2nd rd. (21) by Rimouski in 2004

Other Leagues:
British Columbia Hockey League:
Goalie:
Burnaby Express- 5 Jerome Watson, 17, Joggins, NS 7th rd. (120) by Rimouski in 2005
Defenseman:
Nanaimo Clippers- 14 Jordan Dewey, 17, Cole Harbour, NS 6th rd. (107) by Rimouski in 2006

Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League:
Defensemen:
Joliette Action- 13 Jean-Francois Losier, 18, Ottawa, ON, JOL 47-2-4-6-145 7th rd. (116) by Rimouski in 2005
Saint Jerome Panthers- 15 Sylvain Deslauriers, 19, Saint-Jerome, QC, SJR 47-2-13-15-34 11th rd. (171) by Rimouski in 2004
Left Wing:
College St-Lawrence Lions- 6 Frederic Desrochers, 17, Quebec City, QC 11th rd. (181) by Rimouski in 2006
Center:
St. Felicien Multiconcessionaire- 7 Philippe Beaulieu, 18, Montreal, QC, STF 48-19-25-44-22 12th rd (216) by Rimouski in 2005

Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League:
Defenseman:
North Bay Skyhawks- 16 Vincent Blanchette-Durand, 17, Pembroke, ON 9th rd. (145) by Rimouski in 2006

Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League:
Defenseman:
Georgetown Raiders- 18 Emmanuel Boudreau, 17, Millgrove, ON 5th rd. (90) by Rimouski in 2005
Right Wing:
Port Hope Predators- 8 Bobby Veriker, 17, Miramichi, NB, 3rd rd. (54) by Rimouski in 2005

Midget Espoir:
Left Wing:
Rive-Sud CF- 7 Pierre-Olivier Jean, 16, Grand-Ile, QC, 12th rd (199) by Rimouski in 2006

Alberta Junior Hockey League:
Center:
Calgary Canucks- 5 Bruno Fortin, 18, Lewis, QC, RIM-CSL 51-11-38-49-52 6th rd. (95) by Rimouski in 2005

Maritime Junior A Hockey League:
Centers:
Truro Bearcats- 8 Antoine Laganiere, 16, Halifax, NS, 5th rd. (86) by Rimouski in 2006
Charlottetown Abbies- 9 Francis Leblanc, 17, New Richmond, QC, RIM 9-0-1-1-2 8th rd. (144) by Rimouski in 2005
Weeks Crushers- 10 Felix Lafrancois, Bedford, NS, 4th rd. (55) by Rimouski in 2006

New Brunswick-PEI Midget Major Hockey League:
Right Wing:
Moncton Beavers- 9 Travis Perry, 17, Moncton, NB, 14th rd. (232) by Rimouski in 2006

Unsigned:
Goalies:
6 Jean-Maxime Lepage, 17, Lethbridge, NFLD 15th rd. (246) by Rimouski in 2006
7 Guillaume Tatre, 17, Taymouth, NB 8th rd (127) by Rimouski in 2006
Left Wings:
8 Charles Cote, 17, Laval, QC 11th rd (198) by Rimouski in 2005
9 Benoit Pinard, 16, Hull, QC, 10th rd (163) by Rimouski in 2006
Right Wing:
10 Steven Renouf, 17, Moncton, NB 13th rd. (216) by Rimouski in 2006

Legend:
3 letter abbreviations for where players played in 2005-06
CBW- Cape Breton West Islanders (Nova Scotia Major Midget Hockey League)
CHI- Chicoutimi Sagueneens (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League)
CSL- College St. Lawrence Lions (Quebec AAA Junior Hockey League)
DRU- Drummondville Voltigeurs (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League)
GRA- Granby Inouk (Quebec AAA Junior Hockey League)
HRK- HC-Rabat Kladno (Czech. Republic Elite League)
JOL- Joliette Action (Quebec AAA Junior Hockey League)
LEW- Lewiston MAINEiacs (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League)
MIR- Miramichi Timberwolves (Maritime Junior A Hockey League)
PEI- P.E.I. Rocket (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League)
RIC- Patriotes du Richelieu (Midget Espoir)
RIM- Rimouski Oceanic (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League)
SJR- St. Jerome Panthers (Quebec AAA Junior Hockey League)
STF- St. Felicien Multiconcessionaire (Quebec AAA Junior Hockey League)
STJ- Saint John Sea Dogs (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League)
WOO- Woodstock Subway Slammers (Maritime Junior A Hockey League)

September 15th- It’s opening night of the season and even though it’s a road game and the pressure isn’t on us, my nerves are completely shot. I’m so bad that I lose my lunch right after the pre-game skate. Coach Kisio takes one look at me and slides me down to the 3rd line for the first period, just to shake the nerves. Coach also decides to start Michael Chiasson in net and he looks great in the first two periods, staking us to a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes. Unfortunately that was the best we could do as the P.E.I. Rocket explode for 4 goals in the final frame and allow their 3,360 fans to go home happy after a 5-2 win. Chiasson stops 22 shots, while I manage a pair of helpers and a +1 rating in 26:17.

Goals:
Garnier (1) Joubert 2:16 1st period (1-0 RIM)
Landry (1) Joubert [PPG] 16:50 2nd period (2-1 RIM)

On the bright side, Olivier Legault played in his 200th career QMJHL game.

September 16th- The QMJHL released their Defensive and Offensive Player of the Week winners:

Defensive POTW- Gatineau’s Geoff Oliver, had a goal and 3 assists in 2 games
Offensive POTW- Lewiston’s Simon Courcelles, had a goal and 4 assists in 2 games

September 17th- Goaltender Scott Fraser officially signs with Rimouski and will be sent to Woodstock as were Defenseman Charles Cote and Right Wing Steven Renouf, although they both may be loaned out during the course of the season.

Our 2nd game of the season sees the St. John Fog Devils come to town and unlike the road opener, I’m not nervous at all and Coach Kisio has me back up on the first line with Olivier Legault and David Skokan. Tommy Legault gets the start tonight and after waiting more than a year to get his first QMJHL win, he finally gets it after we score 5 in the first and run away with a 6-2 win. Tommy makes 20 saves, most of them of the harmless variety, and I score my first career QMJHL goal in the win. My final stat line is 2 goals, 3 assists, +2, 6 shots and a fight against Josh Mackinnon (which I won, but only after his helmet came off his head), all in 20:30. The 5,811 in the stands gave us a standing ovation after the game and it just amazed me how hockey crazy the people in Rimouski are.

Goals:
Sparling (1) (Roy, Grant) 1:04 1st period (1-0 RIM)
Landry (2) (Joubert, Bolduc) PPG 2:23 1st period (2-0 RIM)
Joubert (1) (Letourneau, Bolduc) PPG 3:53 1st period (3-0 RIM)
Letourneau (1) (Joubert) PPG 9:03 1st period (4-0 RIM)
Joubert (2) (Letourneau) 19:28 1st period (5-1 RIM)
Skokan (1) (Joubert, Letourneau) 16:05 2nd period (6-1 RIM)

Benoit Pinard signed with Rimouski after the game was over and he will be sent to Woodstock for the time being.

September 18th- Goaltender Jean-Maxime Lepage signed with Rimouski and will be sent down to Woodstock.

September 19th- Guillaume Tatre decided not to sign with Rimouski, but rather with the OCN Blizzard of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. We still have his rights, but he may not see action with us for at least 2 seasons.

Tonight at practice, we found out that Dave Plante will be out for 10 days after bruising his ribs, during a crash the net drill where he simply lost an edge and crashed into the goal post.

September 22nd- I called both of my brothers tonight to see how their preseason went and if they made their respective teams. Joseph made the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds squad, scoring 7 goals, with 10 assists in 8 preseason games. His 22 penalty minutes ranked only 6th on the team during that time. The ‘Hounds also recorded an 11-2-0 record, including their Tournament Championship. Jeremy made the Calgary Hitmen and despite scoring just 3 goals in the 2 games he dressed and his team going 3-3-1 in the preseason, his biggest news didn’t involve him. Their management made a deal with the Everett Silvertips that involved 2 draft picks, the rights to 2 players and a forward to the ‘Tips for sniper Peter Mueller. The 2 combined for 9 points in their last game (a 13-2 win over the Alpena Ice Diggers of the NAHL) and he said that playing alongside Peter will make him a much better player. No kidding, Jeremy!

That night, we took on the Saint John Sea Dogs in front of 4,781 fans. I played a very poor first period, taking 3 stupid penalties. It was so poor, not only did Coach Kisio rip me a new one in front of everyone, I was also benched for a 15-minute stretch in the 2nd period. I made up for the penalties in the third period, scoring the game-winning goal and assisting on an insurance marker as we won 6-3. Tommy Legault won his 2nd straight game and made only 15 saves, but saved our bacon on more than one occasion. My stat line also included a +2 rating and 2 shots in 19:01 and as I said, played well when I had to, which now that I look back, isn’t enough. I have to play well ALL THE TIME to allow our team to be successful. Francois Bolduc played a strong game on both ends of the ice and Ryan Sparling and Guillaume Letourneau each chipped in with a pair of points in a big win for us.

Goals:
Bolduc (1) SHG 15:00 1st period (1-0 RIM)
Letourneau (2) (Bolduc, Landry) 17:06 1st period (2-1 RIM)
Gagne (1) (Voracek, Sparling) PPG 2:20 3rd period (3-2 RIM)
Joubert (3) (Roy, O. Legault) 4:56 3rd period (4-3 RIM)
Letourneau (3) (Joubert) 13:54 3rd period (5-3 RIM)
Landry (3) Sparling, Bolduc) 18:22 3rd period (6-3 RIM)

September 23rd- The QMJHL sent out their Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week for Week #2:

Defensive POTW: Guillaume Letourneau, Rimouski, had 3 goals and 3 assists in 2 games
Offensive POTW: John Joubert, Rimouski, had 3 goals and 4 assists in 7 games

September 24th- We welcome the Baie-Comeau Drakkar to town for a huge game and we respond by playing like absolute garbage. Tommy Legault got the start and despite allowing 4 goals on 9 shots in the first period, Coach Kisio leaves him in the game, telling us in the locker room in the first intermission that we are a disgrace to the uniform, what it stands for and those that wore it before us. We respond the way we should as we crack down on the defensive end (we allowed just 12 shots the rest of the way) and crushed everyone (teammates included, as Francois Bolduc crushed me accidentally at center ice) in our way as we swarmed the Drakkar net, scoring 5 times in the next 2 periods, in our 6-4 come from behind win. Nicholas Goyens had a goal and a helper and Philippe Garnier had a pair of assists, as our best offense came from our defense. I mustered 2 goals and a helper, along with 9 shots, a +1 rating and a penalty in 25:49. After playing tonight, I can now understand the mood swings of some fans, as the same 4,733 that booed us off the ice in the first period, cheered their lungs out the rest of the game.

Goals:
Letourneau (3) (Roy, Joubert) PPG 3:06 1st period (1-0 RIM)
Goyens (1) (Fortier) 2:34 2nd period (4-2 BAI)
Sparling (2) (Goyens) 8:04 2nd period (4-3 BAI)
Voracek (1) (Gagne, Garnier) 7:15 3rd period (4-4)
Joubert (4) (Bolduc, Landry) PPG 9:52 3rd period (5-4 RIM)
Joubert (5) (Garnier, Gravel) 15:13 3rd period (6-4 RIM)

September 29th- At the morning skate today, Dave Plante went through a full contact practice and the decision was made to put him in the starting lineup for our game tonight. We also made selections for captains and despite my vote for Alex Grant to be captain and Olivier Legault and Michael Chiasson to be the Assistants, it was decided that Legault would wear the “C” and Benoit Gravel and Francois Bolduc would be the Assistant Captains.

We welcomed the Quebec Remparts to town tonight and before the game, Coach Kisio decided to have me shadow Quebec’s Angelo Esposito. However, that would be easier said than done as he blasted a goal past Tommy Legault just 27 seconds in and would add an assist later as we lost 6-4 in front of 5,062 fans. Esposito talked trash all night long about how I could never be half as good as #87 (Sidney Crosby) and other unmentionable things and names. He talked the talk and walked the walk and despite getting a couple assists, it just wasn’t enough. I would add 4 shots and a –1 in 28:26 of ice time and also watched us come back from deficits of 3-1 and 4-3 to tie each time, only to watch Quebec go ahead. Tommy Legault stopped 20 of 26 shots, Frederic Roy and Francois Bolduc each had goal and 2 assist nights to lead us. Olivier Legault brought his career penalty minute total to 500 as he recorded a fight and a minor penalty in the loss. The post game talk was short as we needed to board the bus and be on our way.

Goals:
Bolduc (2) (O.Legault, Roy) 18:06 1st period (3-1 QUE)
Sparling (3) (Bolduc, Joubert) 18:16 1st period (3-2 QUE)
Grant (1) (Bolduc, Roy) 18:39 PPG 1st period (3-3)
Roy (1) (Joubert) 14:07 PPG 2nd period (4-4)

September 30th- We arrived for our road game at well after 3 in the morning, so there was no morning skate for us, but there was a 1pm film session for tonight’s game against the Shawinigan Cataractes. During the session, I noticed that Francis Pare was allowed a ton of open ice to bury 4 goals in an earlier exhibition game and as I expected, Coach Kisio gave me the responsibility of shadowing Pare. Michael Chiasson was between the pipes for his first game since Opening Night and looked bad on the 2 goals that I allowed Pare to score on him. However, unlike the Quebec game, when Esposito had the last laugh, tonight it was my turn, as I scored 5 goals, the last 2 coming on the power-play as we won 6-5. Chiasson made 25 saves on 30 shots and had he not made some key saves early in the game, we might have lost. I managed a +3 rating and 8 shots in 26:04 along with a bogus hooking call midway through the second period. Guillaume Letourneau added a goal and 3 assists and Francois Bolduc continued his red hot pace with 3 assists.

Goals:
Joubert (6) (Letourneau) 4:50 1st period (1-0 RIM)
Joubert (7) (Roy, Letourneau) 10:46 1st period (2-0 RIM)
Joubert (8) (Lachance, Bolduc) 5:04 2nd period (3-1 RIM)
Letourneau (5) (Landry, Bolduc) 1:49 3rd period (4-3 RIM)
Joubert (9) (Landry, Letourneau) PPG 11:31 3rd period (5-3 RIM)
Joubert (10) Roy, Bolduc) PPG 13:41 3rd period (6-3 RIM)

I also called my brothers after the game to have our monthly chat. Jeremy is tearing up the Western Hockey League with 10 goals and 10 assists after only 5 games! Calgary is 4-1-0 with 8 points (who beat them and how many goals did they have to score was my thought) to lead the Central Division, while the are tied with Prince George for 1st Overall in the WHL. Joseph meanwhile is off to an okay start with 3 goals and 4 assists in 3 games. Sault Ste. Marie is 3-0-0 for 6 points, good for 3rd in the Western Conference, just 2 points behind Saginaw and Owen Sound with 3 games in hand on each team.

[Laker2415]

October 1st- Coach Kisio pulls Francois Bolduc, Guillaume Letourneau and I aside after practice and informs us that Bolduc won Defensive Player of the Week (3 games-1 goal-6 assists-7 points), Letourneau won Defensive Player of the Month (6-5-6-11) and I won Offensive Player of the Week (3-7-3-10), Offensive Player of the Month (6-10-9-19) and Rookie of the Month. We tell him that it would be better news if he told us we won a Championship.

Inside Hockey also ran a story about how I’ve been playing, I told the magazine, that all I want is for the team to succeed.

The NHL Entry Draft List has been released and we have three that have been noticed:
Alex Grant, D, #16
Jakub Voracek, F, #24
David Skokan, F, #110

It must be a great feeling to be listed; I just hope that when I’m draft eligible, I’ll be on the list too.

The CHL Import Draft List was released as well:
#1 Michael Backlund, C, SWE (Vasteras)
#2 Harri Sateri, G, FIN (Tappera Tampere Jr.)
#3 Adrian Frei, D, SUI (Chur)

The QMJHL Draft List was released by the ISS:
#1 Steve Anthony, F, Dartmouth, NS
#2 Jordan Cooke, D, Cape Breton Tradesmen
#3 Reese Wynne, LW, Cape Breton West

October 2nd- Frederic Roy will be out for 3 weeks, so Vincent Remillard will be recalled by Rimouski from Woodstock.

October 4th- Jean-Francois Losier, who is playing for Joliette, strained a hip flexor and will be out for at least a month.

October 5th- We come back home, where the Gatineau Olympiques await us and we just come out flying. Steve Chiasson made 25 saves, including a huge post-to-post pad save on a 3-on-1, which we then transitioned the other way into a goal. It was just that kind of night as we crushed the Olympiques 11-1. I only played 4 minutes in the 3rd, but in my 22:40 of total ice time, I scored 4 goals and added a helper, was a +5 to go with my 5 shots and took a hooking penalty because I wasn’t moving my feet.

Joubert (11) Voracek, O. Legault 6:38 1st period (1-0 RIM)
Sparling (4) Letourneau, Bolduc 10:50 1st period (2-0 RIM)
Joubert (12) O. Legault 12:06 SHG 1st period (3-0 RIM)
Joubert (13) Bolduc, Landry 16:01 PPG 1st period (4-0 RIM)
Lachance (1) Gagne, Joncas 14:38 PPG 2nd period (5-0 RIM)
O. Legault (1) Voracek, Lachance 14:56 2nd period (6-0 RIM)
Plante (1) Goyens 2:34 3rd period (7-0 RIM)
O. Legault (2) Joubert, Bolduc 9:54 SHG 3rd period (8-0 RIM)
Skokan (2) O. Legault 10:47 SHG 3rd period (9-0 RIM)
Letourneau (6) Landry, Sparling 15:12 3rd period (10-1 RIM)
Joubert (14) Letourneau, Bolduc 18:45 3rd period (11-1 RIM)

Jakub Voracek didn’t come out for the 3rd period as he had an arm contusion, but he’s only going to miss a couple days. Members of the board came into our locker room after the game and told us how pleased they were with the win. They also told Coach Kisio that Charles Cote was on his way to Rimouski to replace Voracek in the lineup.

October 6th- The Lewiston MAINEiacs are the opponent for tonight and the game is actually two games in one as we dominate the first half and they dominate the second half. Steve Chiasson gets the start in goal again and stops 20 of 22 shots and the only goals we muster are the two I put in and we head to a shootout. Joncas, Sparling and I all score, unfortunately, their first 4 shooters do the same and Olivier Legault cannot bury his opportunity (we shot first) and we lose 3-2 in a shootout. I played an okay game, 29:49 with 2 goals, a +2 rating, 8 shots and 2 penalty minutes. The 4,696 fans deserved better than the effort we gave tonight and I wasn’t afraid to say that to the media. One bad piece of news is that David Skokan is out with a chest injury and Benoit Pinard will be called up from Woodstock.

Joubert (15) Bolduc, Letourneau 7:51 (1-0 RIM)
Joubert (16) O. Legault 27:32 (2-0 RIM)

October 7th- Francois Bolduc earns Defensive Player of the Week (2-0-5-5) and I earn the Offensive Player of the Week (2-6-1-7).

October 8th- Jakub Voracek gets a lucky break and gets put in the lineup tonight against his former team the Halifax Mooseheads. Tommy Legault gets the start and unfortunately, we fail to give him the support he needs as he stops 24 of 28 shots and we fall 5-4 in a shootout. I was the only Rimouski player to score in the shootout, unfortunately, it was the only goal I had on the night, as in 27:45 I had 4 assists, 7 shots and was a +3. The one good thing we can take from this game is that we proved no matter what the score is, we’re still in the game.

Letourneau (7) Joubert 17:22 1st period SHG (1-0 RIM)
Voracek (2) Joubert 0:55 3rd period SHG (4-2 MON)
Letourneau (8) Joubert 10:55 3rd period (4-3 MON)
Voracek (3) Joubert, O. Legault 15:39 3rd period (4-4)

October 9th- The Fourth Period praised Francois Bolduc for his play and I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t praise his play as he’s been our most solid all-around player this year.

October 10th- Jakub Voracek is completely back to form and Vincent Remillard is sent back to Woodstock.

October 12th- Tonight marks the start of a 6 game in 9 night road trip and to be honest, none of us are looking forward to it as we basically have to pack every article of clothing that we have and get it on the bus. Our first stop is takes us to play the Gatineau Olympiques and we expect to have an easy time with them and with Steve Chiasson is net, we look alright, especially after jumping out to a 5-0 lead. However, we fail to put them away entirely, as they claw back to 6-3 and that’s the way it ended. David Bouchard did not play as Coach Kisio suspended him for getting ejected the last time these two teams met. I don’t blame Coach at all. I think that we could’ve had a really nasty brawl and we don’t need that. I ended up with a hat trick and an assist, in 26:08. I was also a +2 with 8 shots and I really felt like I played a complete game tonight.

Joubert (17) Bolduc, Voracek PPG 2:03 1st period (1-0 RIM)
Gagne (2) Tanguay, Letourneau 9:15 1st period (2-0 RIM)
Joubert (18) Gagne, Letourneau PPG 16:30 1st period (3-0 RIM)
Pinard (1) 5:52 2nd period (4-0 RIM)
Lachance (2) Joubert 14:52 2nd period (5-0 RIM)
Joubert (19) Grant 14:35 3rd period (6-1 RIM)

October 13th- The coaches tell us that Dave Plante will be on the shelf with a lower leg contusion and Charles Cote will be joining is.

October 14th- Both Dave Plante and Frederic Roy return from their injuries, but neither of them will be in the lineup tonight. Steve Chiasson was in net again tonight as we took on the Val-d’Or Foreurs and he was terrific stopping 20 of 21 shots in our 4-1 win. Our power play was lethal tonight, scoring 4 times on 11 chances. David Bouchard was back in the lineup, although he looked ordinary out there on the ice. Coach Kisio wanted me to key on star player Olivier Latendresse and I was lucky enough to keep him off the scoresheet, while bagging 3 points of my own. I played 26:15 and was a –1 with 4 shots and 2 penalty minutes. Everyone played over 8 minutes, which will be key for us on this road trip, as a more rested bench will mean a more successful team.

Voracek (4) Gagne, Letourneau 3:14 1st period PPG (1-0 RIM)
Joubert (20) Bolduc, Voracek 15:53 2nd period PPG (2-0 RIM)
Joubert (21) Gagne, Letourneau 10:20 3rd period PPG (3-0 RIM)
Voracek (5) Letourneau, Joubert 12:45 3rd period PPG (4-0 RIM)

After the game, Coach Kisio received a text message saying that Guillaume Letourneau was named Defensive Player of the Week with 2 goals and 5 assists in 3 games and I was named Offensive Player of the Week with 5 goals and 6 assists over that same span.

October 15th- Tonight we took on the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and our conditioning looked great as we had to comeback from a 4-2 lead late in the game to tie it up, only to lose 5-4 in the dreaded shootout. Steve Chiasson starts tonight and makes 26 saves in regulation to keep us in the game. Hugo Carpentier is the guy that I am assigned to shadow for the game and he only gets an assist. Perhaps now I am getting the hang of this shadowing business. As for me, I play 31:29, picking up a pair of assists, with 5 shots and a +1 rating. Carpentier buried his shootout attempt, while I lost the puck trying to deke the goaltender. Francis Bolduc played in his 200th career Quebec Major Junior Hockey League game.

Voracek (6) Bolduc, Letourneau 3:37 2nd period PPG (1-0 RIM)
Grant (2) Joubert 6:15 2nd period (2-1 RIM)
Letourneau (9) Fortier 3:35 3rd period (4-3 ROU)
Gravel (1) Joubert 7:54 3rd period (4-4)

October 16th- Dave Plante resumes skating and we send Charles Cote back down to Woodstock, which is a shame, because Cote is a pretty good player. The Hockey News gives Jakub Voracek some praise in a really good article. Like I did with Bolduc earlier in the year, I agree with everything said in the article as Voracek is a great two-way player.

October 18th- We travel to play the Quebec Remparts and after the warm-ups, we are given two pieces of information. The first is that Tommy Legault will be our starting goaltender in tonight’s game. The second is that Angelo Esposito would be a scratch tonight, which bummed me out, because I planned on fighting him tonight. Unfortunately for me, I was on the receiving end of a freak injury during a mini-scrap in our own end. While trying to pull a Remparts player off of Tommy, my left glove fell off, I lost my balance and watched in horror as Francois Bolduc accidentally stepped on my hand. It wasn’t a huge cut, but it was enough for three stitches and it knocked my out of a game that we eventually lost 5-2. Tommy makes 26 saves and I only played 4:59, with 1 shot and a –1 rating, so I didn’t do much to help my teammates. We don’t play for a couple days, so the time will give my hand a chance to heal.

October 20th- We travel to take on the Chicoutimi Sagueneens and I tell Coach that I am bandaged up and ready to go tonight in a huge game, for both teams. Steve Chiasson gets the start tonight and makes 18 saves, while I have the task of covering David Desharnais, who manages 2 assists. I manage a hat trick and three assists as we cruise to an 8-4 win. I played 20:07, which was less than the coaching staff wanted to play me, and I also recorded 6 shots, a +3 rating and 12 minutes in penalties, 10 of which game via a misconduct for yelling at the officials for a charging penalty, when, after confronted with a replay of the hit, was a definite charge on my part.

Lachance (4) Joubert 0:311st period (1-0 RIM)
Bolduc (3) Joubert 8:35 1st period PPG (2-1 RIM)
Joubert (22) Gravel 14:54 1st period PPG (3-2 RIM)
Grant (3) O. Legault 17:49 2nd period PPG (4-4)
Gravel (3) Voracek, Grant 6:30 3rd period (5-4 RIM)
Joubert (23) Voracek 10:09 3rd period SHG (6-4 RIM)
Joubert (24) Voracek, Bolduc 15:00 3rd period (7-4 RIM)
Bolduc (4) Joubert, Landry 18:36 3rd period (8-4 RIM)

October 21st- My mom sends me a text message on the bus saying that Jeremy will be out 3 weeks thanks to a rotator cuff strain, so they (my parents) are heading out there to see him. We have business of our own to attend to as our last road game in this stretch takes us to play the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. Steve Chiasson gets the start tonight and makes 17 saves and although it didn’t look great for us early (we fell behind 3-1 after the 15 seconds mark of the second period), we regrouped and came back to win 6-3. I had a point on 5 of the goals, even though I was only a +2 with 4 shots in 22:25 of playing time. I also grabbed another misconduct as I told the referee what I thought about his calls in French and he gave me the misconduct in English.

Voracek (7) Joubert 15:53 1st period (2-1 BAC)
Voracek (8) Garnier, Joubert 14:53 2nd period (3-2 BAC)
Bolduc (5) Tanguay 16:00 2nd period (3-3)
Joubert (25) 18:15 2nd period (4-3 RIM)
Voracek (9) Joubert, Bolduc 6:42 3rd period PPG (5-3 RIM)
Joubert (26) Voracek, Landry 14:03 3rd period PPG (6-3 RIM)

After the game, the QMJHL announces that Billy Bezeau of the Victoriaville Tigres was named the Defensive Player of the Week, scoring 2 goals with 2 assists in 2 games. I am named Offensive Player of the Week, scoring 5 goals and 8 assists in 4 games.

October 24th- We host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan tonight and Steve Chiasson gets the start, stopping 20 shots en route to a 6-2 victory. The game is marred by multiple fights as both Dave Plante and Dave Bouchard get tossed early in the first period and we play the rest of the game with only 10 forwards. I skated 28:07 in the game, well above average, with 5 shots and a +6 rating. Maxime Tanguay played in his 100th career QMJHL game.

Joubert (27) Gravel 16:10 1st period SHG (1-0 RIM)
Lachance (5) Joubert 1:47 2nd period (2-0 RIM)
Grant (4) 4:58 2nd period (3-0 RIM)
Voracek (10) 5:08 2nd period (4-0 RIM)
Garnier (2) Joubert 18:44 2nd period (5-2 RIM)
Voracek (11) O. Legault 19:48 2nd period (6-2 RIM)

October 26th- Frederic Roy returns to full contact practice and we return Benoit Pinard back to Woodstock. Roy wasn’t able to make the trip to play the Victoriaville Tigres, but his presence probably wouldn’t have made a difference as we were crushed 8-3. Steve Chiasson started the game, but was yanked after giving up 6 goals on 14 shots in the first period. Tommy Legault made 18 saves on 20 shots in relief. I had the privilege of shadowing Tigres star Benoit Doucet, who only managed an assist and despite my semi-decent stat line of 26:20 played, 5 shots, a +2 rating and 2 penalty minutes, we were schooled from the Opening Face-Off.

Voracek (12) Joubert 3:48 2nd period (6-1 VIC)
Joubert (28) 1:08 3rd period SHG (8-2 VIC)
Joubert (29) 7:03 3rd period SHG (8-3 VIC)

October 28th- Tommy Legault started in goal tonight and made only 14 saves on 18 shots and despite not having Dave Plante and Dave Bouchard in the lineup for their part in the brawls 4 days earlier, we came back from another 4-1 deficit and destroyed the Gatineau Olympiques 12-4. I pulled off a Darryl Sittler type night, with 6 goals and 4 assists, a +7 rating, with 9 shots and 4 penalty minutes in 26:13 of playing time.

Grant (5) Joubert 6:01 1st period (1-1)
Landry (4) Letourneau, Joubert 1:42 2nd period PPG (4-2 GAT)
Tanguay (1) Bolduc 5:07 2nd period (4-3 GAT)
Joubert (30) Voracek 7:26 2nd period (4-4)
Bolduc (6) Joubert 8:25 2nd period PPG (5-4 RIM)
Joubert (31) 12:22 2nd period (6-4 RIM)
Joubert (32) Letourneau 15:28 2nd period (7-4 RIM)
Landry (5) Letourneau, Joubert 7:33 3rd period PPG (8-4 RIM)
Bolduc (7) Joncas 8:03 3rd period (9-4 RIM)
Joubert (33) Voracek, O. Legault 12:20 3rd period (10-4 RIM)
Joubert (34) Roy 14:56 3rd period (11-4 RIM)
Joubert (35) Bolduc 16:51 3rd period (12-4 RIM)

Two events took place after the game was over, one good and one not so good. The good event was that the QMJHL announced their Players of the Week. Jean-Philippe Paquet of the Shawinigan Cataractes was named Defensive Player of the Week, with 3 goals and 3 assists in 2 games and I was named Offensive Player of the Week, with 9 goals and 8 assists in 3 games. The not so good event occurred in the Locker Room. As we were getting ready to leave the rink, I overheard Dave Plante saying that he needed to leave Rimouski as soon as possible, because he didn’t believe that he belongs here. He said that he’s down to two options (Saint John and Victoriaville), but he won’t bring up anything until the Trading Deadline. I wonder if he’ll go, because I fear that if he stays, we may have a problem in the Locker Room.

October 29th- We welcome in the Chicoutimi Sagueneens for a game and Tommy Legault gets the start tonight, stopping all 7 shots that he sees. Unfortunately, he gets run and gets injured (Olivier Legault beat the snot out of the guy that ran Tommy, we just didn’t get the number) and Steve Chiasson came in, stopping 11 of 12 shots in a 9-1 rout. I had 7 points in 29:07, with 8 shots and a +5 rating. After the game, we find out that Tommy’s injury is somewhat serious and he’ll be out 10 days. We will be getting Maxime Roy-Desruisseaux, who was the best goaltender in Training Camp, from Woodstock.

Joncas (1) Bolduc, Letourneau 5:03 1st period (1-0 RIM)
Landry (6) Joubert 11:16 1st period PPG (2-0 RIM)
Joubert (36) Landry, Roy 11:32 1st period PPG (3-0 RIM)
Joubert (37) O. Legault, Letourneau 15:17 1st period (4-0 RIM)
Joubert (38) Voracek, Letourneau 17:30 1st period (5-0 RIM)
Goyens (2) Joubert 10:21 2nd period (6-0 RIM)
Joubert (39) Gravel 11:32 2nd period (7-0 RIM)
Voracek (13) Grant, Joubert 4:13 3rd period (8-1 RIM)
Garnier (3) Tanguay 16:36 3rd period (9-1 RIM)

October 30th- My parents call and wish me a happy birthday, while my teammates get me a cake and the coaching staff gives me the day off…..what a great day!

October 31st- I make my traditional end of the month phone calls and in talking with Jeremy, I find out that he is still out for another 10 days with his injury. He is leading the WHL in scoring, with 20 goals and 24 assists for 44 points. Calgary is 11-5-0 with 22 points and is 2nd in the WHL and the Central Division, 3 points behind the Kootenay Ice. Joseph has 34 points on 14 goals and 20 assists and he is leading the OHL in scoring. His Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds are 12-3-0 for 24 points, leading the Western Conference.

[Laker2415]

Sorry, I added the October post twice

[Laker2415]

November 1st- Guillaume Letourneau was named QMJHL Defensive Player of the Month, scoring 4 goals and added 15 assists for 19 points in 9 games. I was named the Offensive Player of the Month, scoring 29 goals and added 26 assists for 55 points in 13 games. I was also named Rookie of the Month.

The 4th Period ran a great story on Olivier Legault talking about his physical play in the QMJHL. I told the website that with Legault on our line, Jakub Voracek and I can do as we please on the ice.

November 3rd- The Drummondville Voltigeurs come to town and we defeat them 4-2 in front of 4,390 screaming fans in Rimouski. Michael Chiasson gets the start in goal making 21 saves tonight and he was able to watch us skate to a 4 goal lead 15 minutes in and we coasted the rest of the way for the win. I played 28:45, with 8 shots on goals, with 2 penalty minutes and I was +1, which is a pretty good game and I also added 3 points.

Letourneau (10) Bolduc 0:34 1st period (1-0 RIM)
Goyens (3) Joubert 11:39 1st period (2-0 RIM)
Bolduc (8) Joubert 12:42 1st period PPG (3-0 RIM)
Joubert (40) Letourneau, Landry 15:26 1st period PPG (4-0 RIM)

November 4th- Guillaume Letourneau was named Defensive Player of the Week with a goal and 4 assists in 2 games. I was named the Offensive Player of the Week with 5 goals and 5 assists in 2 games.

November 5th- We make the trip down to play the Gatineau Olympiques tonight and with Michael Chiasson in net again, we win 5-2. Chiasson makes 16 saves for us and we come out sluggish, with each team trading a pair of goals in the first period. However, Coach Kisio gets us to regroup and then switches Ryan Sparling and Olivier Legault on the top two lines and it pays off in spades over the last 2 periods. I play 24:58, scoring just a goal, but I was also +2, with 3 shots and 4 penalty minutes.

Joncas (2) Garnier, Fortier 6:39 1st period (1-1)
Letourneau (11) O. Legault, Voracek 9:28 1st period (2-1 RIM)
Tanguay (2) Desjardins 5:53 2nd period (3-2 RIM)
Joubert (41) Voracek, Goyens 12:34 2nd period (4-2 RIM)
O. Legault (3) Grant 18:54 3rd period PPG (5-2 RIM)

November 7th- After the morning skate in Quebec City, Coach Kisio calls Francois Bolduc and I aside for a very important meeting. The Head Coach of Cape Breton called Coach Kisio and selected the two of us for the QMJHL All-Star team that will play against the Russian Selects in 2 weeks in Chicoutimi. Players from 13 teams will be playing on the All-Star team and we have a pretty good chance of beating the Russians.

Our excitement would be short-lived however, as we blow a 2-0 lead early in the 3rd period and lose 3-2 to the Quebec Remparts. Michael Chiasson stops 17 shots in net, but it was Oceanic killer Angelo Esposito who scored the game-winning goal. I tried to get Esposito to drop the gloves, but he said no every time. I play 27:46 with 8 shots and a +1 rating, but don’t do anything else that’s special.

Garnier (4) Joubert 10:26 2nd period (1-0 RIM)
Landry (7) 2:04 3rd period (2-0 RIM)

November 10th- We get a small bit of good news in the locker room today as Tommy Legault shows up to the morning skate and informs the coaching staff that he is ready to go for this afternoon’s game. Unfortunately, that’s the best news of the entire day as we lose at home 3-1 to the St. John’s Fog Devils in front of 4,791 disappointed fans. This game had no intensity at all from either bench. Anything that our coaches did or said really didn’t do much and no one could find line mates to click with. I know that I had 7 different line combinations that I skated and by the time we found a line I could mesh with, the game was over. I ended up playing 27:54 with only 4 shots on goal. After the game, some random journalist said that I was going to a team at a higher level. After bypassing that question, I quietly thought to myself, “Not yet!”

Bolduc (9) O. Legault, Joncas 5:55 2nd period (1-1)

November 11th- Michael Chiasson is in net tonight and despite stopping 21 shots, it isn’t enough as we lose 4-3 in a shootout to the Quebec Remparts. We cough up yet another lead in the third and looked completely uninterested. Joncas was the only one who scored in the shootout, while Jakub Voracek and I both missed. Quebec buried their first two chances and walked out with a win. I played 26:35, was a +1, with 8 shots and 4 penalty minutes. However, any thought that I had about playing a semi-decent game was dashed when Coach Kisio came into the Locker Room and tore us apart, singling out Alex Grant and Jakub Voracek, so much so, that Voracek was told that he wouldn’t be playing in the next game.

Lachance (6) Grant 4:51 2nd period PPG (1-1)
Joubert (42) Letourneau 1:01 3rd period (2-1 RIM)
Bolduc (10) Voracek, Joubert 8:31 3rd period (3-2 RIM)

The QMJHL also released their Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week:

Defensive Player of the Week: Benoit Melanson (Acadie-Bathurst) who, in 2 games, won them both and also had a shutout.
Offensive Player of the Week: Scott Brannon (Cape Breton) who, in 4 games, had 4 goals and 8 assists.

November 14th- Tommy Legault gets the start in net tonight and stops 18 of 23 shots in a wild 7-5 win over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. Both teams combine for 55 shots in the game, so this was a typical QMJHL game, plenty of offense, not much on the defensive side. I actually played my best game statistical-wise in some time as I had 3 goals and 2 assists, in 26:18, with 7 shots and 4 penalty minutes. The only bad part is that 4 of my 5 points came on the Special Teams.

Letourneau (12) Joubert 6:00 1st period (1-1)
Joubert (43) Letourneau, Bolduc 11:59 1st period PPG (2-2)
Joubert (44) Landry, Letourneau 15:23 1st period PPG (3-3)
Landry (8) Joubert, Roy 18:40 1st period PPG (4-3 RIM)
Joubert (45) Roy, Letourneau 11:05 2nd period PPG (5-3 RIM)
Grant (6) O. Legault 13:52 3rd period (6-5 RIM)
Grant (7) Tanguay 18:18 3rd period ENG (7-5 RIM)

November 17th- Tommy Legault gets the start in net tonight as we venture into the United States for a game against the Lewiston MAINEiacs. Legault stopped 24 of 28 shots in the game unfortunately we could only get three goals of our own, losing 4-3. We owned the second period tonight, which is great, but we have to play hard in all three periods if we want to win games, especially when we’re playing such a great team like Lewiston. I was happy with my play tonight, with my goal and assist in 27:15. I also went +2 with 6 shots, the only bad news was a 5 minute major for charging, which would lead to the game-tying goal in the third period.

Joubert (46) Lachance 5:00 2nd period PPG (2-1 LEW)
Lachance (7) Joubert 6:28 2nd period (2-2)
Voracek (14) Goyens 11:23 2nd period (3-2 RIM)

November 18th- The QMJHL released its Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week:

Offensive Player of the Week: Scott Brannon (Cape Breton), who, in 3 games, had 5 goals and 5 assists for 10 points.
Defensive Player of the Week: Jason Swit (Cape Breton), who in 3 games had 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points.

November 19th- Michael Chiasson gets the start tonight and has a relatively easy night making only 20 saves as we cruise past the Halifax Mooseheads 6-2 in Nova Scotia. We fire 57 shots on net and our speed and skill are just too much for the slower Mooseheads, who are forced to take penalty after penalty. We ultimately convert on 4 of 12 power plays and were just the better team tonight. Coach Kisio had nothing but praise for everyone as we played a complete team game. As for me, I had a 5-point night in just over 30 minutes of ice time, with 10 shots and a +2 rating.

Joubert (47) Landry, Roy 7:25 1st period PPG (1-0 RIM)
Joubert (48) 13:53 1st period (2-0 RIM)
Joubert (49) Voracek 19:45 2nd period (3-1 RIM)
O. Legault (4) Joubert, Voracek 5:56 3rd period (4-1 RIM)
Roy (2) O. Legault, Joubert 13:30 3rd period (5-2 RIM)
Lachance (8) O. Legault 19:13 3rd period SHG (6-2 RIM)

November 20th- Mr. Callander called Jakub Voracek into his office after practice today and when Jakub emerged from the meeting, he had a puzzled look on his face. After talking with him, I found out that the Asheville Smoke of the NHL want to draft him in June, which to him was nice, but he would rather go to Thunder Bay or somewhere in Michigan, because they’re hockey crazy in those places.

November 22nd- Francois Bolduc and I head to Chicoutimi for the game between the QMJHL All-Stars and the Russian Selects. I was placed on a line with my good friend Angelo Esposito and he played his normal puck-hogging game, which didn’t sit to well with me. We ended up losing 4-0, although it could’ve been 10 had our goalies not played out of their minds. I had 2 shots in 21:13 and Francois had a –1 rating in 23:40.

After the game, we get a phone call from Mr. Callander and we find out that the roads are terrible all over the Province of Quebec, so we are instructed to stay in Chicoutimi, for the next two nights.

November 23rd- Luckily for Francois and I, one of the local sports bars, Cage Aux Sports De Chicoutimi, not only had great food, but also had our road game against the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies on the television. Michael Chiasson got the start tonight for us, but he gets very little help as he makes 15 saves on 20 shots and is pulled prior to the start of the third period. Tommy Legault only sees 2 shots the rest of the way, as the defense apparently decided to play a little. The Huskies skated to a 5-2 lead after 2 periods and despite our best comeback efforts, the Huskies withstood our 3rd period onslaught and skated away with a 5-3 win.

Gravel (4) Joncas 6:14 1st period (1-1)
Grant (8) Sparling 17:47 2nd period PPG (5-2 ROU)
Gagne (3) Goyens, Gravel 13:34 3rd period (5-3 ROU)

November 25th- The QMJHL has announced their Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week:

Defensive Player of the Week: Pierre-Alexandre Marion, G, (Drummondville), who won both of his starts and had a shutout.
Offensive Player of the Week: Jonathan Laberge (Saint John), who had a goal and 4 assists in 2 games.

November 26th- Mr. Callander calls Olivier Legault into his office and we all know what that means. Olivier has been offered a contract from the Elmira Jackals of the NHL. He’s been told to take as much time as he wishes and he will let them know within a week.

As for the game that we played tonight, well, we just came out and played terribly. We couldn’t skate, we couldn’t hit, and we couldn’t do anything. Actually, I take that back, we did allow the Baie-Comeau Drakkar to light us up for 5 goals, as only a great goal late in the game by Jakub Voracek allowed us to avoid being shutout. We were booed off of the ice by the 4,452 fans after our 5-1 loss and the post game banter was exactly what we expected from Coach Kisio. I was –2, with 4 shots and an assist in 22:18.

Voracek (15) Joubert, O. Legault 15:49 3rd period (5-1 BAC)

November 27th- Our last game of the month saw us lose yet another lead in the third period, as the Chicoutimi Sagueneens came back and defeated us 4-3 in front of 4,711 home fans. Michael Chiasson was in net tonight and stopped 23 shots and he couldn’t be blamed for any part of this debacle. We scored a pair of shorthanded goals in the 1st period, but we just forgot to play the other 2 periods. The only good to come from this game was that I scored my 50th goal of the season. I also had 9 shots and was a +2 in 30:34.

Skokan (3) Bolduc 10:32 1st period SHG (1-0 RIM)
Joubert (50) Bolduc 16:11 1st period SHG (2-1 RIM)
Joubert (51) Voracek, Garnier 14:16 2nd period (3-2 RIM)

November 30th- In the morning, Olivier Legault made it official as he will be the second Rimouski player to sign an NHL contract this season as he signed with the Elmira Jackals. However, unlike Michael Frolik before him, Legault will not join the league until after the season is over.

In the evening, I call my brothers to see how they are doing. I tell both of them that we are 17-10-3 with 37 points, good enough for 3rd place in the Western Conference, 7 behind Chicoutimi. I lead the QMJHL in scoring with 51-45-96. Joseph is having a solid year in the OHL, as he leads the league with 22-39-61 and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds are 16-8-1 with 33 points, good enough for 2nd place in the Western Conference, 5 points behind the Owen Sound Attack. Jeremy didn’t have a great month, as he wasn’t removed from the injured list until November 14th. However, he is 2nd in the WHL with 22 goals and 30 assists for 52 points. The Calgary Hitmen are 15-10-2 with 32 points and in 3rd place in the Central Division, 7 points behind the Kootenay Ice for the top spot.