Some will see the title of this column and will surely say: what’s new? “Few Quebecers with national training, this is a fact to which we are accustomed! »
It’s not wrong, but this year it may be even worse. Year after year, between two and five Quebecers carve out a place with the national junior team. However, for the 2025 edition, which, let us remember, will try to win back the gold medal in Ottawa, it is possible that only one player “raised” by Hockey Quebec will end up in the Canadian team.
This column prepares you, two months before the appointment of the team (around December 14), for an observation which will not surprise observers. It should be remembered that there have been no QMJHL players selected in the first round of the NHL selection sessions over the last two years and this fact will be felt with the next edition of ECJ.
If we had to put an old two dollars on the chances of seeing a QMJHL skater on the team, we would invite you to place your bet on four-year veteran of the Drummondville Voltigeurs Ethan Gauthier. Gauthier, 2nd round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2023, has excelled in the national program in both the under-17 and under-18 ranks and has experience in big moments under, among other things, his participation in the Memorial Cup last spring in Saginaw.
If we had a second name to add, it would undoubtedly be that of Mathieu Cataford from the Rimouski Océanic. Cataford won the Michel-Brière Trophy awarded to the QMJHL MVP in 2023-2024 and he can play several roles within a team, but he will have a lot to do for his candidacy to be accepted as the talent is abundant in the country.
Afterwards, for Quebec, it’s nothing… In attack, the team, which will be led by Dave Cameron, will count on the return of four veterans from 2024: Matthew Wood, Brayden Yager, Carson Rehkopf and Easton Cowan. We can assume that the gifted young Gavin McKenna, even at 17, will be part of the training. Which gives us 5 of the 13 filled positions. In addition to Quebecers Gauthier and Cataford, here is a list of forwards likely to find themselves with the maple leaf on their backs during the holiday period: Jett Luchanko and Callum Ritchie are still juniors, but are currently skating in the National League hockey. They will have a favorable bias if they become available… So here we are at 7 attackers.
Subsequently, we must bet on the chances of Beckett Sennecke, Cayden Lindstrom, Tij Iginla, Berkley Catton, Colby Barlow, Riley Heidt and Malcolm Spence. As you can see, that leaves little room for other contenders on the Quebec circuit, especially those aged 18 or younger like Justin Poirier, Maxim Massé, Caleb Desnoyers, Justin Carbonneau, Émile Guité and company, who will have without doubt their chances in 2026 or 2027 for the youngest.
Oh yes! I did not mention Bradly Nadeau who plays in the American Hockey League or even Michael Misa (17 years old), Andrew Cristall, Liam Greentree, Porter Martone or Denver Barkey, who will also have interesting candidates to present.
On defense, Canada will count on the return of Oliver Bonk, from the London Knights, and it is a safe bet that Sam Dickinson, Zayne Parekh and Tanner Molendyk will be among the group of 7 defensemen on the team. Carter Yakemchuk, solid in the Ottawa Senators camp, and Andrew Gibson will also undoubtedly have a favorable bias. There would still be one position to fill and the only Quebecer present at the summer camp, Étienne Morin, of the Moncton Wildcats, seems to be overlooked by the punters.
In front of the net, no Quebec goalkeeper is in the picture this year, because the best goalkeepers in the QMJHL are currently 20 years old and are therefore too old for the national team. Lucas Beckman, from the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, is off to a good start, but he is only 17 years old. If his progress goes well he will also be a candidate for the 2026 and 2027 editions.
In summary, apart from Gauthier and perhaps Cataford who will have to fight for their place, the Fleurdelysée delegation will be thin in Ottawa during the holiday period.
Since the creation of the national Junior Team Canada program in 1982, Quebec has never been completely cleared from the team. On five occasions there was only one Quebecer on the team. The last time, it happened in 2018, when Maxime Comtois was the only one elected. Last year, in Sweden, there were five players trained at Hockey Quebec on the national team and there would have been six, had it not been for the injury to defenseman Tristan Luneau of the Anaheim Ducks. We repeat it often, there are good years and less good years, it’s the cycle of junior hockey…
