Because we’re curious, we asked which Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team has contributed the most players to the NHL over the last twenty years.
We’ll have to look to the Maritimes for the answer, as three of the top five spots are occupied by teams from the Atlantic, with Moncton at the top of the rankings.
The Wildcats actually produced 19 players who played at least one game in the NHL during the period we examined, namely the 2003-2004 through 2022-2023 seasons.
Next up are the Halifax Mooseheads (17), the Quebec Remparts (16), the Chicoutimi Saguenéens (16) and the Cape Breton Eagles (16).
We contacted Wildcats general manager Ritchie Thibeau to tell him about our findings and he was surprised but emphasized the organization’s mentality.
“I didn’t know we were the first,” he admitted. We have a board in the locker room that lists all the players who played for us and went to the NHL. There are many names. »
“We are an organization that wants to develop professionals, whether in hockey or in life. Our owner gives us everything we need. »
When Robert Irving took over the team in May 1996, he established a strong company culture.
226 players
Therefore, without taking the current season into account, we list 226 players who were produced by QMJHL teams and played in the NHL during the period under consideration.
To simplify the research a little, we included all players who played in the QMJHL starting in the 2003-2004 season, even if they were drafted in an earlier year.
We also included undrafted players who reached the highest level. The exercise provided some interesting data. In particular, we found that the Halifax Mooseheads have a flair for recruiting European players.
In fact, the team earned eight first-round picks, the highest total in the league, four of which came from Europe, namely Jakub Voracek (2007), Nikolaj Ehlers (2014), Timo Meier (2015) and Nico Hischier (2017).
Not that bad
There’s been a lot of talk in recent years about the few Quebec players drafted in the first round, but the league as a whole doesn’t pale in comparison to other counties.
Over the past twenty years, the QMJHL has produced a total of five top picks, the most recent being Alexis Lafrenière of the Rimouski Océanic, who was selected first overall by the New York Rangers in 2020.
During the same period, only the Ontario Junior League (OHL) performed better, with a total of seven first picks. The Western Hockey League (WHL) and the NCAA only had one of their players drafted first.
Only one selection, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, was selected first overall by the Edmonton Oilers.
Another interesting data: the number of QMJHL players drafted by each NHL team. Canadians are accused of not going deep enough into their own backyard. And yet, with ten players, the team ranks second in terms of the number of players recruited from the Quebec junior circuit over the past twenty years. Philadelphia is first with eleven.
Tampa Bay also likes to choose Quebec with nine players. Columbus, New Jersey, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Boston and the New York Islanders follow with eight players each.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Winnipeg Jets have only drafted one player from the QMJHL during the same time frame. Adding the Atlanta Thrashers’ three selections brings that number to four. Washington drew from the Cecchini circuit twice, while Buffalo, Dallas and Minnesota only faced the QMJHL team three times.
Top picks overall
MARC ANDRE FLEURY
- Cape Breton
- Pittsburgh 2003
Marc-André Fleury with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, 2003. Archive photo
SIDNEY CROSBY
Sidney Crosby archive photo, AFP
NATHAN MACKINNON
NICO HISCHIER
- Halifax
- New Jersey 2017
ALEXIS LAFRENIERE
Alexis Lafrenière archive photo, Martin Chevalier
Teams with the most first-round picks
- Halifax: 8th
- Rimouski: 7
- Drummondville: 5
- Saint Jean: 5
- Cape Breton: 4
- Moncton: 3
- Val d’Or: 3
The Club of 1000 Games
- Marc-Édouard Vlasic | Quebec | 1239 games
- Sidney Crosby | Rimouski | 1190 games
- Keith Yandle | Moncton | 1109 games
- Claude Giroux | Gatineau | 1100 games
- Jakub Voracek | Halifax | 1058 games
- David Krejci | Gatineau | 1032 games
- Derick Brassard | Drummondville | 1013 games
- Kristopher Letang | Val d’Or | 1005 games
Some other notable decisions
MONCTON: 19
- Corey Crawford (retired): 2nd round, 2003 Chicago | 488 games, 2005-2020 Chicago
- David Savard: 4th round, 2009 Columbus | 735 games, 2011-2023 Columbus, Tampa, Montreal
HALIFAX: 17
- Jonathan Drouin: Round 1, Tampa | 485 games, 2014-2023 Tampa, Montreal
QUEBEC: 16
- Alexander Radulov (no longer plays in the NHL): Round 1, 2004 Nashville | 524 games, 2006-2022 Nashville, Montreal, Dallas
Alexander Radulov archive photo, Martin Chevalier
- Jonathan Marchessault: Unoccupied | 556 games, 2012-2023 Columbus, Tampa, Florida, Vegas
Jonathan Marchessault Photo AFP
CHICOUTIMI: 16
- David Desharnais (no longer plays in the NHL): Unoccupied | 524 games, 2009-2018 Montreal, Edmonton, Rangers
CAPE BRETON: 16
- Pierre Luc Dubois: 1st round 2016, Columbus | 434 games, 2017-2023 Columbus, Winnipeg
GATINEAU: 15
- Jean Gabriel Pageau: 4th round, 2011 Ottawa | 636 games, 2012-2023 Ottawa, Islanders
- Maxime Talbot (retired): 8th round, 2002 Pittsburgh | 704 games, 2005-2016 Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Colorado, Boston
DRUMMONDVILLE: 14
- Sean Couturier: Round 1, 2011 Philadelphia | 721 games, 2011-2023 Philadelphia
SAINT JOHN: 13
- Jonathan Huberdeau: 1st round, 2011 | 750 games, 2012-2023 Florida, Calgary
Jonathan Huberdeau archive photo, AFP
- Thomas Chabot: Round 1, 2015 Ottawa | 381 games, 2016-2023 Ottawa
VAL D’OR: 13
- Brad Marchand: 3rd round, 2006 Boston | 947 games, 2009-2023 Boston
VICTORIAVILLE: 9
- Phillip Danault: Round 1, 2011 Chicago | 553 games, Chicago, Montreal, Los Angeles
BAIE COMEAU: 10
- Samuel Montembeault: Round 3, Florida 2015 | 103 games, 2018-2023 Florida, Montreal
Samuel Montembeault archive photo, Martin Chevalier
ACADIA BATHURST: 8
- Noah Dobson: 1st Round, Islanders 2018 | 238 games, Islanders 2019-23
SHAWINIGAN: 7
- Anthony Beauvillier: 1st Round, Islanders 2015 | 490 games, 2016-2023 Islanders, Vancouver
- Samuel Girard: Round 2, Nashville 2016 | 416 games, 2017-2023 Nashville, Colorado
Samuel Girard archive photo, AFP
NHL games played by each team’s players (excluding current season)
- Moncton: 5223
- Drummondville: 4881
- Gatineau: 4806
- Halifax: 4461
- Quebec: 3843
- Cape Breton: 3630
- Val d’Or: 3568
- Rimouski: 2929
- Saint Jean: 2564
- Victoriaville: 2318
- Chicoutimi: 2082
- Charlottetown: 1615
- Acadia Bathurst: 1599
- Rouyn Noranda: 1529
- Shawinigan: 1174
- BlainvilleBoisbriand: 811
- Baie Comeau: 747
- Sherbrooke: 137