On the eve of the NHL selection session, one may wonder how many Quebec prospects will be claimed in the first round.
Last year in Nashville, the first representative of the QMJHL Ethan Gauthier was only selected by the Lightning at the beginning of the second round. A situation that could be re-experienced this weekend.
If there is a Quebecer who has a good chance of being chosen in the first round, it is the Trois-Rivières Sacha Boisvert, who spent the last season in Muskegon in the USHL Boisvert, who preferred to emigrate to the United States at a young age, is ranked 16th in North America by NHL Central Scouting. He likes a robust game, he scores goals and he is ready to play anywhere in the Bettman circuit, and why not with the CH which has two first round picks.
“I think with my size, how I play with my physique, I finish my checks, I can also score goals and make plays with finesse, all that combined together. I would go anywhere. I would go to Australia to play hockey, anywhere. But it’s certain that playing for the Canadiens would be special. It’s the dream of all children in Quebec to play for the Montreal Canadiens so it would definitely be fun. »
As for the Quebecers in the QMJHL, Maxim Massé, Tomas Lavoie and Raoul Boilard are being talked about as those most likely to be chosen quickly. But will quickly rhyme with Friday night in the first round or rather in the subsequent rounds starting Saturday morning?
“I spoke with my agent and it could be at the end of the first round as well as at the beginning of the third round,” says Lavoie. The team that chooses me will take a chance. It’s going to be good. I expect to go out in the middle of the second round on the way down. »
“I still believe it could be Friday, but honestly, at this point, it’s not the rank you’re drafted at that’s going to make you play in the National League one day, so I think I’m approaching it like that,” Massé said. “But I still have hope that it will be Friday and I can’t wait to see if it will be.”
The case of forward Justin Poirier is still intriguing. With 69 goals in 2023-24, no one among the players eligible this year has scored as often as him. But at 5-foot-7, he scares professional teams.
A veteran recruiter from an Eastern Conference team, in confidence, told us that the number 9 of the Drakkar probably had the best shot of all eligible players. Despite this quality, who can predict the fate of the young redhead at the end of the week?
“It’s certainly flattering to hear that,” says Poirier. I think I like taking shots. I’m a shooter. Hearing that proves that no matter my height, my size or my weight, I am ready to play at the next level and I want to try to play at the next level. Greatness, sometimes it’s one thing, but like I said, it was me who scored those goals and that’s another source of motivation, that’s for sure. »
Let us mention in closing that if the QMJHL were to be shut out of the first round again this summer, it would be the first time in its 55-year history that the Quebec circuit would not see any of its representatives climb onto the stage to shake Gary Bettman’s hand two years in a row.
