Yahoo Sports September Recapped: Regular Season Begins, NHL Pre-Season and More...
This is the monthly recap of all the top news stories from the QMJHL for the month of September.
League:
Amidst rumours of a St. John's based ownership group that is looking to purchase the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, we looked at the history and feasibility of hockey in Newfoundland.
The league saw the additions of five new members to the QMJHL Hall of Fame including the likes of Patrice Bergeron, Alex Daigle and former commissioner Gilles Courteau.
League commissioner Mario Cecchini confirmed some changes for the 2024-25 season, including a shortened schedule, changes to player safety and the renaming of an award in honor of former player David Desharnais.
Additionally, the league raised $16,110 at its first auction for the 'QMJHL Foundation'. The proceeds from the event will go towards funding the academic careers of the league's players.
This month also saw the debut of the Quebec Remparts new black third jersey, which debut the weekend of the retirement of Jonathan Marchessault's number.
Players:
Ahead of the 2024-25 season, we laid down the top players to watch in a number of categories:
We also did full breakdowns on the rosters of all 18 of the QMJHL's teams this past month.
With the season starting, we also published our second 2025 NHL Draft watchlist.
This season has already seen loads of player movement, with Val-d'Or trading NHL first rounder Matvei Gridin to Shawinigan and overager Samuel St-Hilaire being dealt to Rimouski after starter Quentin Miller goes down with injury.
As for signings, Saint John's Eriks Matieko and Rimouski's Spencer Gill have both inked entry level deals with the Washington Capitals and the Philadelphia Flyers respectively.
At the start of the month, three Cape Breton Eagles players were involved in a multi-car accident. Thankfully, neither of three obtained serious injuries and Lucas Romeo has already played in games this season.
International:
Additionally, former Detroit first round pick and Halifax Mooseheads star Filip Zadina has signed in Switzerland with HC Davos.
Alumni:
The QMJHL pre-season may have finished this month, but the NHL pre-season has just begun. League alumni including Jakub Zboril, Mike Hoffman, Sammy Blais earned PTOs, the latter two of whom already have been cut by the Oilers and Canucks.
With that, we looked at a number of players who may break into NHL lineups.
This summer, we looked at former QMJHL stars who might go to free agency. This month, we instead we pondered about who could get dealt this season.
The last remaining restricted free agents from the league have signed with their respective teams in Dawson Mercer (New Jersey), Jakob Pelletier (Calgary) and Nikita Alexandrov (St. Louis).
We wrote about the QMJHL's representation on The Hockey News' Top 50 player list, including the likes of Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby -- who just signed a two year extension to stay in Pittsburgh.
Additionally, we wrote about a number of NHL milestones to track throughout this season.
At the end of the month, the Rimouski Océanic and the Gatineau Olympiques came together to celebrate the life and career of their former goaltender, Creed Jones, who passed away earlier this summer in a motorcycle accident.
Fun:
Former QMJHL star goaltender Olivier Rodrigue attended the NHLPA rookie showcase. He was photographed for promotional material as well as for the purposes of Upper Deck creating a rookie card. Additionally, he likely got his face scanned for the new NHL 25 video game.
Speaking of which, Raphael looked at NHL 25's highest rated former QMJHL talent.
Related: The CHL Announces New Streaming Packages for 2024-25 Season
Related: Game Day: Quebec Dominates Victoriaville 9-1 (2024/09/30)
