NHL Draft: “I think it’s going to be the worst year in Quebec’s history”

With the NHL draft just around the corner, we shouldn’t expect a big harvest for the QMJHL, warn five recruiters we interviewed The newspaper. “I think it’s going to be the worst year in the history of Quebec in the Repechage,” says even one of them.

• Also read: Poor vintage: The recruiters and general managers didn’t even come to Quebec this season

The word ran throughout the winter in the various amphitheaters of the Cecchini circuit. Boy Scouts have reiterated several times that the QMJHL class of 2023 was not a great class. If young Ethan Gauthier, who recently joined the Drummondville Voltigeurs from the Sherbrooke Phoenix, Étienne Morin of the Moncton Wildcats and Mathieu Cataford of the Halifax Mooseheads seem to stand out, he’s rather thin afterwards.

“I usually go to the draft with 10 or 12 names on my roster, and this year I’ve got enough on one hand to tell you how many players I have. There will certainly be more than four or five players drafted, but I’m not sure if we’re getting closer to 20,” says one of them.

Since 2010, the QMJHL has hovered around the number of 20 prepared applicants, with some years even exceeding 30 years, for example 2013 and 2015.

But it seems we’re heading towards more similar years to 2016 and 2017, when 14 players were selected at each of those two auctions, in what was the Quebec circuit’s worst harvest in 25 years at the time.

In 2017, 27 prospects were placed on the final list by NHL Central Scouting, only 14 heard their names. This year, 33 QMJHL players appear on this list.

“I was disappointed all year”

But when we’re talking about one of the worst years, it’s not just about the number of players selected, confirms another veteran scout we spoke to.

“Personally, I think it’s the weakest cuvée I’ve ever seen,” he agrees. As for the numbers, I don’t know, but as far as Impact players go, it hasn’t been a good year. I’ve been disappointed all year.

This recruiter goes as far as adding: He wouldn’t be surprised if no QMJHL player was selected in the first round in Nashville Wednesday night.

“It’s the shortest list I’ve ever made. I wasn’t able to fill in 20 names, while I usually never had a list of less than 30 names. In our meetings we talked about several players, but often we came to the conclusion that we weren’t ready to make a pick for him and that if he didn’t get drafted we would invite him.

Another recruiter developing for an East formation is toned down a bit.

“Our list of Quebec players isn’t huge, I’ll admit that. However, I see it differently: you can only have five players on your list, it only takes one to become a good NHL player. Even if you had 102 Quebec men on your list, finding the right one is your job.

A possible explanation?

For these three hockey players, it’s difficult to pin down the reason why this 2023 vintage is weaker than the previous ones.

“It’s not alarming to me. I often say that the barrel is like wine. Why is a wine from such a region exceptional one year while the following year the same wine is perfectly fine? Why is it sometimes a big year for Sweden in the draft and the other is Ontario? The design is cycles.

“I can hear people’s comments the day after the repechage,” adds one of his colleagues. People will want to revolutionize the sport of ice hockey in Quebec! It’s a matter of cycles. In this year’s vintage we encounter players who have not played Midget AAA due to the pandemic. We can’t investigate what impact it had, but it’s a possible solution.

No excuses

For another Western scout, it’s partly a matter of cycles, he concedes. However, as the QMJHL develops its prospects, it needs to look in the mirror and stop hiding behind the league’s victories at the Memorial Cup tournament.

“The draft and the Memorial Cup are two completely different things. We are good at making connections between unrelated things. In Quebec we work in a way. In the west they don’t do trades like we do and respect the game a bit more. Ditto for Ontario. We have the right way to build champion teams, but that has nothing to do with the development of young people aged 17 or 18.

QMJHL PLAYER SELECTED SINCE 2010

• 2010: 22
• 2011: 22
• 2012: 19
• 2013: 31
• 2014: 17
• 2015: 30
• 2016: 14
• 2017: 14
• 2018: 23
• 2019: 18
• 2020: 20
• 2021: 24
• 2022: 19

The top five candidates in the QMJHL

According to NHL Central Scouting