Sherbrooke Phoenix have historically poor start for a QMJHL expansion team — for what that is worth

The Sherbrooke Phoenix first-win watch might be close to reacting critical mass.

Expansion teams are supposed to scrape for victories. The Phoenix, who are 0-6 (and outscored 32-5) so far in Quebec League play, have been planning all along for this season to be about developing a rookie-laden lineup, including the league's No. 1 overall draft pick Daniel Audette. Wins are clearly secondary. Sherbrooke, whose owners include former NHLers Jocelyn Thibault and Stéphane Robidas, also had sellout crowds of 4,005 in their first two home games at Palais des Sports Léopold-Drolet.

In the long run, grooming players with potential and getting traction with the ticket-buying public is more important than wins in the short run. At the same time, yes, a new franchise losing its first six games is unprecedented in QMJHL annals. Stéphane Leroux of RDS dug through the record books and found out every new team that completed the season (emphasis mine) had broken the donut in the win column by their fifth game. (The one exception, as pointed out by alert readers Stephen Laroche and Mark Pargas, is the 1984-85 Plattsburgh Pioneers, who were 0-16-0-1 before the plug was pulled on the team, which was stocked with solely American players after the QMJHL didn't hold an expansion roster. So technically the Phoenix don't have the worst start ever for an expansion team, but can you really count a team whose games weren't even counted in the final standings?)

The point of this is not to kick a group who's down, but to wonder when it will happen. (And to point out it just doesn't matter.) The Phoenix's next outing Friday is the home opener of the Gatineau Olympiques, a young team in its own right which is 1-4-0-0 and leading the league in penalties. Next after that is a three-game homestand, but it's against the P.E.I. Rocket, Drummondville Voltigeurs and Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, who each have three wins in four tries. Following that, the franchise heads out on its first Maritimes road trip, which does include games against some less highly regarded teams.

At the end of the day, though, first-season success doesn't amount to much when it comes to building a sustainable winning environment. In 2005-06, the last expansion year in the QMJHL, the St. John's Fog Devils had double the number of wins of the Saint John Sea Dogs. The Fog Devils franchise ended up moving; the Sea Dogs moved on to win consecutive league titles.

In the last round of WHL expansion, the '06-07 Chilliwack Bruins were a playoff team in Year 1, but their performance tapered off and of course, the franchise wound up becoming the Victoria Royals. The Edmonton Oil Kings had early success in their first two seasons after hitting the ice in '07-08, then had to rebuild, which paid off with a championship last season.

If Sherbrooke descends to Don Cherry Mississauga IceDogs levels of futility by December, then people should wonder. For now, it's a new team whose dubious distinction is really a badge for having its priorities right.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.