Depleted Armada could be in for tough season

The Saint John Sea Dogs are expected to dominate from beginning to end this QMJHL season with help of exceptional player and first overall pick Joseph Veleno.

It’s a changing of the guard with the Blaineville-Boisbriand Armada. After finishing tops in the West Division with 91 points last season, the Armada are without it’s two 100-point men, Danick Martel and Nikita Jevpalovs. Also gone is defensive anchor Daniel Walcott, a prospect in the New York Rangers system, who led blueline scoring with 41 points. With a handful of rookies up front and on defense, new players need to emerge to fill the void left by these three core pieces. Don’t expect a re-run of last season’s division-winning performance.

Prediction

Fifth in the West Division. They have a way of surpassing expectations, but replacing two 100-point scorers is a daunting task.

Forwards

Last season, 20-year-olds Danick Martel and Nikita Jevpalovs were two of the feel-good stories of the season. The Armada surprisingly won their division, largely because of Martel’s 102 points and 100 points from Jevpalovs. Both players landed free agent NHL contracts mid-season, ending their junior careers on a high note. The pint-sized Philppe Sanche is back — he’s 5-foot-5, 152-pounds — after a career-year with 72 points. After that, no other forward on this year’s team had more than 35 points last season.

The forward squad features the team’s two 2015 Import Draft picks, Slovakia’s Kristian Pospisil (46th overall) and Sweden’s Christian Blomqvist (106th overall). Other rookies include 2015 first-round pick Joël Teasdale (12th overall), second-round pick Anthony Boucher (33rd overall) and training camp invitee Connor Bramwell.  Injuries shortened Teasdale’s major midget season, but the play-maker has a chance to carve out a major role in the Armada top six right away.

Defence

Like the forwards, the blueline is young as only Guillaume Beaudoin and Nathanael Halbert have played more than one full season of major junior. Philippe Bureau-Blais scored six goals last season, five on the power play, and once again will get opportunities on special teams.

The top ranked d-man heading into the QMJHL draft, Antonie Crête-Belzile fell into the laps of the Armada in the eleventh slot amid rumours of going the NCAA route. Instead he’s going the QMJHL route, bringing first-rate skating and play-making skills and should be the Armada’s power play quarterback of the future.

Goaltending

In his sophomore season, Samuel Montembeault established himself as one of the league’s top goalies in his sophomore season. He finished fifth in wins with 33 and second with a GAA of 2.59. His save percentage was middle of the road at .891. At 6-foot-3, 188-pounds, the athletic goalie takes up a lot of real estate while going into the butterfly position. Montembeault is backed up by a pair of Armada picks from 2014, Mark Grametbauer and Francis Leclerc. Neither have played in a Q game before, and one should be re-assigned once Montembeault returns from Florida Panthers training camp.

NHL prospect watch

Samuel Montembeault, G, Florida Panthers (2015, 77th overall)

As mentioned above, he has size, a trait that’s becoming the norm in the NHL. He was one of three goalies to participate in Canada’s world junior development camp in August and should get another look in December.

NHL draft watch

Miguel Picard, C

Last season, Miguel Picard mostly played on the fourth line so it’s hard to gauge his offensive potential in the Q. In his rookie season, he scored six goals and added 11 assists in 55 games. This summer, Picard was a late cut for Team Canada in the Ivan Hlinka tournament.

 

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