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After a brief hiatus, Mike Beasley has rejoined the HockeyNow as our QMJHL reporter. He has been a key contributor to HockeyNow through many Memorial Cups, NHL Drafts, and World Junior Tournaments. Originally from Montreal, Mike is a former Junior and college hockey player. He also writes for Metro Ottawa and the Ottawa Citizen.
In this year’s NHL entry draft, Noah Dobson could be the second defenceman to hear his name called by a big league GM. Everybody knows that Swedish defender Rasmus Dahlin will be selected first overall by the Buffalo Sabres.
For the first time in their history, the Acadie-Bathurst Titan has won the Mastercard Memorial Cup. The Titan captured the 100th edition of the tournament with a 3-0 shutout over the Regina Pats in the championship final.
No lead is ever safe in junior hockey, even a five-goal one. That’s the hole the Regina Pats were faced with just minutes into the third period of their game against the Acadie-Bathurst Titan in Day 3 action of the 2018 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Regina.
It didn’t take long for the Acadie-Bathurst Titan to show that they belong at this spring’s MasterCard Memorial Cup. Entering the 100th edition of the tournament as one of the two smallest markets in the Canadian Hockey League, the Titan came up with an effort that befits their name.
The last time the Acadie-Bathurst Titan qualified for the Memorial Cup, Jean Chretien was the Prime Minister of Canada and composite hockey sticks were on the verge of revolutionizing hockey forever.
And then there were four. This past August, 36 teams from the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL), Maritime Hockey League (MHL) and Ligue de Hockey Junior AAA du Quebec (LHJAAAQ) had circled the dates of May 2-6, 2018 on their calendars.
It’s fascinating to see how history or in this case, QMJHL playoff pairings, repeat themselves. Very often, hockey rivalries are born through geographic proximities like the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and Val d’Or Foreurs who are separated by a mere 106 kilometres.
On April 8, the QMJHL acknowledged its best achievements during its annual Golden Puck Gala. The following individuals were singled out for their impressive achievements during the 2017-18 regular campaign.
On Thursday, April 5, the Quebec Major Hockey League announced on behalf of the 2019 Memorial Cup Site Selection Committee that the 101st edition of the tournament has been awarded to the Halifax Mooseheads.
So far, this year’s QMJHL postseason has been filled with twists and turns which very few expected. During the third week of March, 16 teams began their quest for the 2018 President’s Cup.
It’s a long way from Blainville, Quebec to Tampa Bay, Florida. Google Maps lists the trip as over 2,300 kilometres long. It’s even more challenging if you are trying to make that trek as a QMJHL player to a spot with one of the elite teams in the NHL.
The Toronto Jr. Canadiens had a certain flare this season when it came to playing on the big stage. After winning the Toronto Marlboros International Hockey Classic during the holidays, the club added more silverware to their collection winning the 2018 OHL Cup.
It’s the most exciting time of the hockey season with the first round playoff pairings now determined and league awards being handed out.
It’s time to separate the pretenders from the contenders with the start of the CCHL post season playoffs. The positioning of the eight playoffs was not determined until the final day of the regular season.
Dominique Ducharme has admitted that he has replayed the gold medal game at the 2017 U20 world junior championship over and over in his head countless times. Unfortunately for Team Canada’s bench boss the outcome is the same.
It’s full steam ahead for Martin Dagenais and his Ottawa Junior Senators Junior A hockey club. Once again, the governor, general manager and head coach of the organization has his club battling it out for top spot in the overall CCHL standings.
Drake Batherson has finally been able to catch his breath. After landing in Blainville-Boisbriand during the second week of January via a trade with his former team, the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, the newest member of the Armada was able to take the time to collect and express his thoughts following a frantic time in his budding hockey career.
Joel Bouchard is tickled pink for a couple of reasons. Besides sporting a stylish tie in the month of October to honour Breast Cancer Awareness, his giddiness centres around his quest for success this season along with the time, dedication and energy needed to accomplish these lofty goals.
For the second consecutive year Team Canada will play for the gold medal when they face off against Sweden in the championship final at 8:00pm EST on Jan. 5.
It’s time to eliminate the pretenders from the contenders at this year’s World Junior Championships in Buffalo, N.Y. The preliminary round is over. Bring on the playoffs.
After two games at this year’s World Junior Championships, everything is looking very good for Canada on the ice and in the win column. But the same may not be said of the team’s growing sick infirmary.
There was never going to a huge contingent of QMJHL players on the Canadian roster at this year’s IIHF U20 World Championship in Buffalo, N.Y.
Pascal Laberge and Maxime Comtois would like nothing better than to spend Christmas and New Years together. The two Victoriaville Tigres forwards have been skating alongside each other since 2015 when Comtois joined the team after being selected in the first round (third overall) in the QMJHL Draft.
Charlottetown, PEI-It wasn’t the prettiest of games but Team QMJHL is happy with the outcome as they knocked off their Russian opponents 3-1 in Game 5 of the CIBC Canada Russia Series.
Grab your parkas and fill up a thermos with something hot because major junior hockey is going to brave the elements with a game outside. The Ottawa 67s will host the Gatineau Olympiques on Sunday, December 17 at 3pm in The Stadium of TD Place in Ottawa’s Glebe district.
One thing is for sure, Eric Landry will never get lost when he drives to and from the Robert Guertin Arena in Gatineau. He probably knows every short cut to the rink on his daily commute during the season.
It’s amazing what man has learned from studying animal behaviour. The Wright brothers spent a great deal of time observing birds in flight. They noticed that the creatures soared into the wind and that the air flowing over the curved surface of their wings created lift.
Nico Hischier likes to do things in hockey that nobody else has been capable of achieving. First and foremost, the Halifax Mooseheads centre was selected No. 1 overall by the New Jersey Devils at the 2017 NHL Entry Draft becoming the first player from Switzerland to earn that lofty distinction.
The calendar says it still summer but that hasn’t stopped the 18 teams in the QMJHL from getting on the ice to start their training camps. On Monday August 21, every Q team began their main camps in preparation for opening night, one month later, on Thursday, September 21.
After a one year hiatus away from the medals, Canada returned to glory as gold medal champions at the 2017 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Team Canada crushed the Czech Republic 4-1 on home ice at the Ice Bors Arena to capture their ninth championship in the last ten years.
Canada’s National Summer Under-18 Team is off to the semifinals after downing Slovakia 6-1 on Wednesday, August 9 at the Slovnaft Arena in Bratislava.
One thing is for sure at this year’s NHL Entry Draft. Nico Hischier won’t be waiting a long time to hear his name called by a big league team. The native of Naters, Switzerland is expected to be a top three selection and will best fifth overall, the highest draft record for a Swiss player, held by Nino Niederreiter (2010, Minnesota Wild).
There’s a good chance the head coaches of the Saint John Sea Dogs and Seattle Thunderbirds gave somewhat of the same pre-game pep talk prior to their pivotal round robin game at the 2017 MasterCard Memorial Cup.
Judging from the Windsor Spitfires performance on opening night of the 2017 MasterCard Memorial Cup, their 44 day layoff from the CHL postseason suited them just fine. On April 4, Windsor was eliminated from the OHL playoffs after losing in seven games to the London Knights.
Rack up another QMJHL championship for the Saint John Sea Dogs. During the second week of May, the Sea Dogs captured their third league crown since 2011 when they swept the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (4-0) in this season’s President’s Cup final.
The stage is now set for this year’s QMJHL final. In mid-March, 16 teams began their quest for the 2017 President’s Cup with eight different playoff series.
It’s happened only once in the 47-year history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Following the 2009-10 season, the Moncton Wildcats and Saint John Sea Dogs squared off in the President’s Cup final marking the first time in league history that two Maritime Division teams made it to the QMJHL championship series.
Team Canada ran their record to 2-1-0-0 at this year’s IIHF U18 World Championship with a 7-3 victory over Switzerland. The win gives Canada eight points in Group A play, one behind Finland (3-0-0-0). The teams will meet up on Tuesday, April 18, the final day of the preliminary round, with first place on the line.
It was exactly the start and result they were looking for. Team Canada began the 2017 IIHF U18 World Championship in the best way possible with a solid 4-1 victory over Latvia as both teams played their first game in the preliminary round.
Team Canada will be looking at making history in Slovakia this April at the 2017 IIHF U18 World Championship in Poprad and Spisska Nova Ves, Slovakia.
The QMJHL held its annual Gold Puck Awards Gala on April 5 in Quebec City. The Gala is usually held in Montreal but Quebec City had its turn to host the prestigious event this year.
Mississauga Reps Minor Midget AAA head coach Harry Evans always believed in his team, and he knew they would come through when it counted the most.
With mere seconds remaining in regulation time and the game tied, this season’s edition of the OHL Cup Powered by Under Armour looked like it was headed to overtime, just like the last two years.
The Mississauga Reps and Toronto Nationals are headed to this year’s OHL Cup final after earning their berth the hard way. The Reps to work their butts off and face top notch opponents to earn their spots in the final as wild card entries with impressive quarterfinal and semifinal wins against the top ranked teams in the province.
It’s make the playoffs or head home day for several teams at the 2017 OHL Cup. With eight spots on the line for Saturday’s quarterfinals, 12 teams will be packing up and heading home after failing to qualify upon completion of their final round robin game on Friday.
The cream is starting to rise to the top of the 2017 OHL Cup with three teams sporting perfect 2-0 records. There’s still two days of the round robin to be played and anything can happen but it’s better to have two wins than two losses at this point in the tournament.
The 2017 OHL Cup got underway on Tuesday, March 14 at the Scotiabank Pond with the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) playing host to the event.
Winning championships never grows old especially when they come on home ice. Just ask the members of the Whitby Wildcats AAA Minor Midget squad that recently won the OMHA Championship in front of family members and friends at the Iroquois Park Sports Complex in Whitby.
I went to check out the two top scorers in the QMJHL the other night. The scenario was ideal as Tyler Boland the league’s top point getter was in Gatineau with his Rimouski Oceanic for a date with the Olympiques.
Being crowned the QMJHL playoff champion is never an easy task, defending the title the following season is something that most franchises can only dream about.
On Monday, January 30, Team Cherry put an end to a six year drought at the Sherwin-Williams CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. Without a victory since 2012, Team Cherry outlasted off Team Orr 7-5 in the offensive battle at Centre Videotron in Quebec City.
Trying to predict who will win this year’s President’s Cup is about as clear as mud. There’s so much parity at the top of the QMJHL standings that it’s difficult to project which team may take the league championship when it’s decided upon in early May.
On Monday, January 30, the 40 best CHL prospects will gather at the Centre Videotron in Quebec City with the opportunity to shine in front of dozens of NHL scouts and team executives.
The Gatineau Olympiques relieved Mario Duhamel of his head coaching duties on Monday, January 23 after only 47 games with the organization.
When the clock struck noon on Friday, January 6, it signalled the end of trading in the QMJHL this season. The last official trade period for 2016-2017 got underway on Dec. 18 and lasted for about three weeks.
Probably the most difficult thing for a home team to endure is the agony and disappointment of having to watch the visitors celebrate a championship right in front of them and their faithful fans.
It’s going to be a dream matchup in the gold medal game when Canada and the United States go head-to-head with 2017 World Junior bragging rights on the line.
For many hockey purists, winning a game via shootout is basically settling the score through a skills competition. They firmly believe that if a game is tied after 60 minutes, it should be determined by a goal in overtime with play continuing until someone scores no matter how long it takes.
One of the biggest minor hockey tournaments on the globe came to an end on New Year’s Day with the conclusion of the Bell Capital Cup. The yearly event caters to nine- to 13-year-olds and is known worldwide for its quality hockey, camaraderie and outstanding hospitality.
It was really special if you are a Swiss fan because they downed Denmark in a dramatic 5-4 shootout win. Forward Marco Miranda was the hero for Switzerland scoring the only goal in the shootout.
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5) Meet The Winners Of The 2018 HockeyNow Minor Hockey Player Of The Year Award Powered By Hockeyshot
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About HockeyNow
Established in 1999, HockeyNow is the only magazine delivering the best in news and stories from across the minor, junior, collegiate and female hockey ranks, both in print and through our world-class website at HockeyNow.ca. Print copies of our 43 annual issues are available free in hockey rinks across B.C., Alberta, and Ontario. We are deeply involved and committed to developing and promoting the game of hockey to our readers through unique perspectives and stories they won’t find anywhere else.
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