RIMOUSKI | First-round pick in the last QMJHL draft, Lions du Lac-Saint-Louis M-18 AAA goaltender William Lacelle ultimately decided to join the Rimouski Océanic, thereby eliminating the NCAA option in the United States.
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The news was confirmed on Wednesday by Océanic chief executive Dany Dupont. Lacelle was expected in Rimouski on Wednesday at the end of the day with about ten other candidates from the organization for a mini camp where the progress of these young people can be followed. It is already clear that Lacelle will be Cédric Massé's assistant on Thursday evening against the Tigres and that he will be in the starting line-up against the Remparts at the end of the week.
He will then return to finish his season with the Lions but will be recalled for a few starts throughout the season. “Will turned 16 on December 26th. By mutual agreement with him and his family, it was decided that he will remain in the M-18 to finish the season and dominate in the next series,” commented Dany Dupont.
A very nice catch
Lacelle was the first goalie selected in the last draft, 10th overall. Last year he was the most valuable player in the U18 AAA League. “I've been working on this file since April. We knew this would be a long-term process. He came to visit last summer. He came to training camp. In October we had a meeting with the family. Hosting the Memorial Cup next year certainly played a role, but the continuity of the team for the following season was also important. “Will has also seen the development of Tyson Goguin with us,” continued Dany Dupont.
The deciding factor in Océanic was also the fact that he was able to complete his further education remotely at the Collège Sainte-Anne in Montreal the next year. Lacelle is currently attending 4th secondary school.
The Tigers are coming to town
The Océanic will return to action on Thursday, hosting the Victoriaville Tigres. With the exception of Jakub Hujer, who is taking part in the Junior World Championships with the Czech Republic, Joël Perrault should have a full squad.
“Quinn Kennedy was our only injury before Christmas. He should be able to play. The Tigers are tough but we did well against them in our last game. Of course, we shouldn't give people like Cormier, Roy, Larose and Pellerin too many chances. There are things we need to improve on and things we need to continue to do well,” the head coach said.
Traded for each other just before Christmas, Mathis Aguilar and Pierre-Marc Minville get the chance to compete with their former team. In addition to Minville (18), the Oceanic received a second-round pick in 2024 for Aguilar (19) and a fourth-round pick in 2024.