MONTREAL – We can’t say that Justin Carbonneau didn’t warn us.
Last spring, when he had just concluded his first full season with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada with 31 goals, the talented forward, ineligible for a few weeks for the NHL draft, described his philosophy as follows: “Show this what you have to show, and next year you’ll show even more. »
The season is young, but so far Carbonneau is keeping his word. After 17 games, he maintained a pace that would lead him to a harvest of 34 goals. The fact that he already has 16 assists also suggests that he has added a string to his bow. “He makes a few more power play plays where he takes good shots and his teammates score on a return. In general, he is more involved in the attack,” confirms Armada coach Mathieu Turcotte.
At this rate, Carbonneau would amass 102 points over a 68-game season. In the last ten years, only five QMJHL players have sustained such production in their first year in the prospect pool of Bettman circuit recruiters: Alexis Lafrenière, Jordan Dumais, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Nico Hischier and Timo Meier.
There would be reason to boast, but Carbonneau is not impressed.
“I would say that I am not 100% satisfied,” assesses the 6-foot-1 guy. I am someone in life who is never necessarily satisfied with what he does. I think I can be proud and happy with what I have accomplished and also with what my team is accomplishing. But last year, my goal was to tell myself that this was my draft year. This year was about taking another step forward. I’ve had a good start to the season, it’s going well, but I think I can show even more. »
“I want to be a complete attacker,” he continues. I’m a power forward who can bring offense, who can bring physical play, all that. It goes with the idea that I have to be perfect at this. There are evenings when I don’t feel that all the parts of my game are perfect. It’s just that I have to play a game complete. »
Perfection. So this is where Justin Carbonneau sets the bar to measure his progress.
Mathieu Turcotte is happy with what he sees from his foal so far. He describes a mature young man “who takes everything seriously.” The figures it compiles internally confirm what the most basic statistics say: the expected progression is there.
But since it is a question here of training a potential first round pick, the coach will not be satisfied with a superficial improvement either. In this relationship between master and student, the devil is in the details.
“In general, I think he has improved his structure on the ice,” says the teacher. Often, that was the key point last year. It is that Justin must stay inside a structure without the puck to have the puck more often and then be able to attack and show his qualities as a hockey player. »
We ask for details. “Players like him, with an offensive vocation, often want to try to force things even without the puck and sometimes they put themselves out of position. This year I think he’s doing a much better job with it, but he needs to work on his patience a little. In the sense that if a scorer like him doesn’t get a point quickly in a game, sometimes he tries to force the play rather than letting it come to him and execute as he is capable when he has the puck. Because there is no doubt that he is one of the best snipers in our league and one of the best at creating plays. »
Comparison, a poison or a motivation
Since the start of the season, Turcotte believes he has noticed a trend, so natural for a 17-year-old, in the sequence of matches of his big winger. When facing another prospect who is under observation by NHL scouts, “Carbo” is more likely to step out of line and try to do too much. The coach cites as an example a match against the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, who count in their ranks the hopefuls Émile Guité and Alex Huang.
“He had two assists, but he finished minus-2. Because he forced, he forced, he forced. When you force things, you stretch your presence on the ice, you make more turnovers, you have less energy and even if you have the puck and you are in a position to score at the end of presence, it is often less effective throws. Ultimately, it hurts you. »
When his coach’s hypothesis was relayed to him, Carbonneau politely opposed it.
“I don’t fight against others, I fight against myself. It’s not the others who will affect my rank. If I do what I have to do and I show everything I have to show, I like my chances. I’m not here to compare myself to others. They are super good players, [Caleb] Desnoyers, Guité, Huang, they are incredible. But I’m not here to compare myself to them. »
Carbonneau, who says he wants to model his style on elements of the game of Adrian Kempe and Travis Konecny, is currently considered the second best prospect in Quebec, behind Desnoyers of the Moncton Wildcats. The two players will be the only QMJHL representatives at the Prospects Challenge at the end of November. They are also the only ones who are currently identified as potential first round picks by the NHL Central Scouting. In his most recent list of prospects, specialist journalist Scott Wheeler places Desnoyers in 10th place and Carbonneau in 20th.
Carbonneau admits that his objective is to “climb the lists as much as possible”, but understands at the same time that he must keep both feet on the ground to properly put their content into perspective.
“It sure is tough not to see them. When you have this sent to you by thirty members of your family, you end up seeing it. No matter how much you say you don’t want to see it, you see it. But then, that’s what you do with that information. In my head, getting drafted is a goal, not a dream. No matter how much I tell myself that I was classified in a certain place or that a certain person thinks I’m good, for me it doesn’t mean anything. It’s a pat on the back every time you see something positive, but you have to move beyond that. »
“I’m not at a point where I can say I’m good enough. I can’t be satisfied. »
