QUEBEC CITY, P.Q. —Mid-August for majority of QMJHL teams means end of summer vacation, back on the ice. In Quebec, a grand total of 52 players will report to Quebec Remparts head coach Philippe Boucher. For some of them, training camp began several days earlier. Twenty rookies reported to Quebec head coach Boucher on August 16 for first training session.
Remparts rookie camp opens – photo by Serge Poulin
Originally, the coaching staff was expecting 22 rookies but General Manager and head coach Philippe Boucher learned two players won’t show up.
So, with forward Ethan Crossman who has been loaned to the Acadie-Bathurst Titans and rookie defenseman Alec Richer who won’t be present in Quebec the organization will take Chicoutimi direction on Thursday August 17, to participate in a rookie tournament at the Georges Vezina center.
Quebec will open the tournament facing the Baie-Comeau Drakkar rookies. Beside Baie-Comeau, Chicoutimi and Rimouski will be the other participants to the rookie tournament that will end Saturday night. Each team will play three games in three days, rookies will have three days to try to earn an invitation to their respective team’s big camp beginning on Sunday with first day for veterans.
In goal, for example, with the departure of Evgeny Kiselev it will be interesting to see the battle for the second netminder behind Derek Baribeau who will get the pole position as number one goaltender. Boucher and goalie coach Gyslain Rousseau will keep an eye on rookies who will try to earn the backup role. Marc-Antoine Berube-Jalbert, Philippe Bound, Olivier Chalifour, Owen Liskiewicz, Charles-Olivier Rancourt and Oliver Troop will all try to impress the coaching staff to earn the right to wear Quebec sweater and be part of the 2017-18 Quebec Remparts lineup.
On defense, with veteran 20-year old Raphael Maheux gone Quebec will count on several players back, Andrew Pico, Daren Kielb, Christian Huntley, Benjamin Gagne and Samuel Hould, Pierre-Luc Lurette represent a good nucleus on the blueline.
Felix-Olivier Chouinard, Tomas Dajcar, Felix-Antoine Dolet, Sam Dunn, Maxime Lavoie, Eric Nadon, Ryan Nicholson, Felix Tremblay, Brian Villeneuve and David Wener will all fight or try to earn their invitation to the real camp on upcoming Sunday.
Quebec rookie camp opens with 20 rookies – photo by Serge Poulin
On offense, all eyes will be on Quebec first round selection Pierrick Dube, last year in rookie camp defenseman Daren Kielb impressed enough Quebec coaching staff to earn his place in real training camp and at the end, Kielb stick with the team all year. Andrew Coxhead, Jeremy Laframboise were other players who made real good impression.
Five 20-year old players will battle for the three available places on the team, beside forward Matthew Boucher, Austin Eastman (coming from Victoriaville Tigres), defensemen Andrew Pico, Alexandre Drapeau and Samuel Hould are the others. Matthew Boucher and Andrew Pico might begin with little edge but Drapeau, Hould and Eastman will have to battle hard for the last 20 year old place on the team.
Contact the author at: serge.poulin@prohockeynews.com
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