QMJHL east division preview: Can Shawinigan make the leap to President’s Cup contender?

Yahoo’s Buzzing the Net will preview the upcoming 2015-16 QMJHL season, going division by division and asking the biggest question of each team. Here is the East Division preview. The West and Maritime Division previews will follow. The season opens on Thursday with the defending President’s Cup champion Rimouski Oceanic hosting the Shawinigan Cataractes.

Shawinigan Cataractes – 2014-15 record: 39-26-1-2 for 81 points; Division finish: 3rd; Result: Lost to Halifax in first round;

Do the Cataractes have what it takes to be a President’s Cup contender?

Short answer, yes. The attacking duo of New York Islander first rounder Anthony Beauvillier and Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Dennis Yan will be one of the best scoring pairs in the QMJHL again this season, and  Alexis D’Aoust’s league-leading 11 points in the pre-season can only help up front. The pair of Alex Pawelczyk and James Phelan might be the best forward duo on the penalty kill. Adding Los Angeles Kings pick Alexander Dergachev gives another dimension to the offence.

The top four of Zachary Taylor, Nicholas Welsh, Samuel Girard and Gabrielle Sylvestre, the latter two up for grabs at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, is formidable for a top team, and adding in the overager Alex Coulombe and freshman Jocktan Chainey will make that group one of the deepest in the league. Antoine Samuel is back to take over for Marvin Cüpper between the pipes.

This is a deep team and one that can challenge the depth of Saint John for tops in the league. The question isn’t whether the Cataractes will be at the top of the table come March, but whether they can handle the playoff pressure.

Rimouski Oceanic – 2014-15 record: 47-16-3-2 for 99 points; Division finish: 1^st; Result: Won President’s Cup;

Can the Oceanic repeat as President’s Cup champions?

It might take some luck, but the Oceanic return one of their most important players from this past President’s Cup winning season in netminder Louis-Philip Guindon. He is back for his 20-year-old season, as well as key forwards Anthony Chapados, Tyler Boland and Michael Joly. The additions of intriguing prospect Carson MacKinnon and the Czech pair of Matous Belohorsky and Nicolas Werbik could fill some holes left by departed scorers Alexis Loiseau, Anthony DeLuca and Christopher Clapperton.

The defensive corps is still solid, flanked by returnees Beau Rusk, Montreal Canadiens pick Simon Bourque, Andrew Picco and Guillaume MacSween, and the addition of blueliner Evan Scott only adds to that.

While the Oceanic will be hard-pressed to compete with the Cataractes for the division title, they may be able to do some damage in the post-season regardless. Their post-cup hangover might be successful if previous role players can step up and Guindon can perform like last year’s playoffs.

Quebec Remparts – 2014-15 record: 40-25-1-2 for 83 points; Division finish: 2^nd; Result: Lost to Rimouski in President’s Cup final;

Do the Remparts have anything left in the tank after last season?

The Remparts are at a cross-roads; they could take one more kick at the can, or they could hold an auction at Christmas for their most talented players and rebuild.

If they push for another chance at a title, the cards are stacked against them. The only real impact forward they return is Toronto Maple Leaf hopeful Dmytro Timashov. That is putting a lot of pressure on the lower lines from last season to step up. Players like Yanick Turcotte, Olivier Garneau, Massimo Carozza and Zachery Moody need to show signs of greatness for that to work, and import forward Auguste Impose will have to impress.

The blueline returns three important minute-eaters in Nicolas Brouillard, Matt Murphy and Raphaël Maheux, but they are raw after that, with the rarely-used Aaron Dutra and rookies behind them fighting for playing time. Carolina Hurricanes pick Callum Booth is back as the undisputed starting goalie, and he has a great pedigree, so he will have to start showing it.

If they go the blow-it-up route, they play the veterans a lot before December, and sell Brouillard, Maheux, Murphy, Timashov, Carozza, Turcotte and Moody to the highest bidder and get prospects to rebuild. They could fetch a good haul and build a contender for two and three years from now.

The Remparts do move from the Colisée Pepsi to the brand-spanking-new Centre Vidéotron this season, and while tickets have been selling at a brisk pace, it still makes me sad, as the Colisée was one of the country’s oldest and most unique arenas. It’s set now to be knocked down for parking after Metallica rocks the foundation one last time.

Chicoutimi Saguenéens – 2014-15 record: 29-32-4-3 for 65 points; Division finish: 5^th; Result: Lost to Moncton in first round;

Can a team win with five 16-year-olds in the fold?

The only returning impact defender on the blueline is 18-year-old Frédéric Allard, and four rookies made the team on the back end, including three 16-year-olds. They are all wildcards, but the Sags will likely lean on Allard and Julien Carignan-Labbé, also 18, for veteran leadership. They are the oldest defencemen on the roster heading into the season. That sounds like a recipe for disaster waiting to happen.

Up front though, the Sags look good with returnees Gabryel Paquin-Boudreau, a San Jose Sharks pick who eschewed an ECHL chance for an overage season, Nicolas Roy, a 'Canes prospect who showed more flashes of the size-plus-vision talent combo last season, and Charles Guèvremont. They have two more 16-year-olds in the forward fold, with Nicolas Guay and Nicholas Cardonne, and they added Vancouver Canucks prospect Dmitry Zhukenov in the CHL Import Draft.

Five 16-year-olds on the roster, which the Sags had to ask the league for permission, isn’t a death sentence if the kids are good, but you are giving up a few spots for raw rookies who haven’t played a shift at the pace of the league.

In almost every case, a couple of veterans for low draft picks might be a smarter move, but coach and GM Yanick Jean wants to perform a baptism by fire for his young kids, and they will gain a lot of experience.

Bottom line is that this team goes as netminder Julio Billia does, and he’s ready to make the jump to one of the league’s elite, if he can find the consistency.

Baie-Comeau Drakkar – 2014-15 record: 35-25-5-3 for 78 points; Division finish: 4^th; Result: Lost to Val-d’Or in second round;

Can Keven Bouchard take over for Philippe Cadorette?

The Drakkar have had a great three-year run in the QMJHL, making the finals twice and getting overtaken by a very tough Val-d’Or Foreurs team in overtime of the seventh game.

The biggest factor in those three seasons was the play of netminder Philippe Cadorette. His three year starting gig with the Drakkar got him a record of 99-48 (15 OTL/SOL). He also has the second-most shutouts in league history with 15.

Next in line for the job is former Foreurs goalie Keven Bouchard, proving if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Unlike Cadorette, Bouchard is drafted by the Edmonton Oilers, but his numbers pale in comparison to Cadorette’s. Admittedly, the Drakkar defencemen have been better than the Foreurs in the last two years, but Bouchard has also been to a Memorial Cup in 2014 as the backup to Leafs prospect Antoine Bibeau.

If Bouchard can make things happen, this team could make a push to win a round. They return Buffalo Sabre hopeful Vaclav Karabacek, Jasmin Boutet and Simon Desbiens up front, with Colorado Avalanche pick Nicolas Meloche and Matthieu Desautels on the blueline. New forward Igor Kabanov, who also went second overall in the KHL draft this summer, could make an impact, too.

Victoriaville Tigres – 2014-15 record: 27-34-3-2 for 61 points; Division finish: 6^th; Result: Lost to Rimouski in first round;

Can the Tigres make the playoffs?

They will be hard-pressed, but they could if their young players make an impact. Top prospect Maxime Comtois will be a big add if he adjusts to the league quick, and forwards like Ottawa Senators pick Gabriel Gagné, St. Louis Blues prospect Samuel Blais and Mathieu Ayotte add good scoring depth for teams looking to make a push for a cup. Veterans Mark Beckstead and Carl Marois also bring support, while young sophomores Jimmy Huntington and Pascal Laberge will look to make a step forward.

Their D is adequate, with captain Tristan Pomerleau, Filip Pyrochta and Anthony Gingras returning, and the addition of Brad Lalonde. Chase Marchand is a solid overager in net.

The Tigres just lack a certain something in their lineup, and that’s what they hope Comtois and Laberge will become: impact star players. They have a solid team of support and role players, but there are no stars. There isn’t one player that Victoriaville can look to when the game is on the line to bury the important goal or make the impact play. That is what will sink them, and there is nothing wrong with that this season. They will continue to be patient and rebuild, and they have a solid stock of prospects already in the fold.

They are likely two years away, as Laberge and Comtois age and they build around those two top prospects. Guillaume Beck is a solid blueliner to keep in the fold as well, but they will look to trade off the other players for picks and prospects.

They are a couple years away from contending, though they could give a run in 2016-17 if the youngsters develop quicker than expected and one of James Povall or Olivier Tremblay can take the starter job and run with it.