Frederik Gauthier admitted he was still feeling the effects of the game the night before. That was understandable, given that it was Game 7 of the President Cup final and that game in Rimouski went into second overtime before the Oceanics finally put away the Quebec Remparts. Gauthier deflected a shot from the point that hit Quebec goalie Zach Fucale and Michael Joly cashed in the rebound to give the Oceanic a 2-1 victory two minutes into the second extra frame.
“I could be more tired maybe but we have a deep team and roll four lines,” the 20-year-old Gauthier says. “That helped us in overtime and in the second overtime for sure. It can help us if we get in a situation like that in the Memorial Cup. We played five periods thinking you make one mistake and it’s in the back of your net. We have momentum [going to the Memorial Cup]. Seven games were perfect preparation.”
Catch every game of the MasterCard Memorial Cup on Sportsnet. Click here for the broadcast schedule.
Rimouski had already locked up a berth in the MasterCard Memorial Cup before the start of the QMJHL final by virtue of the Cup host Remparts knocking off Moncton in the semifinals. Having finished first overall in the league during the regular season, Rimouski had home-ice advantage and ranked as the favourite—at least the slight favorite—going into the series against Quebec. As it turned out home ice was no advantage during the series, Game 7 turning out to be the only game won by the home team.
“After the series at least we know we can win in Quebec,” says Gauthier, a 2013 first-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Gauthier and Oceanic defenceman Samuel Morin will be going for a trifecta in the tournament, adding a Memorial Cup to their league championship and 2015 world junior gold medals. “It would be the perfect way to end the season,” Gauthier says.
Download Sportsnet magazine now: iOS | Android | Windows
Given that he’s under contract to the Leafs, the 6-foot-4 Gauthier will be getting a lot of attention at this tournament from fans outside of Quebec. He’s still a bit of a mystery man, having missed training camp last fall with broken ribs suffered at the under-20 summer camp. He scored 22 goals in his draft year but only 18 the following season and fans wondered if the Leafs had spent a valuable pick on a player without enough offensive upside to skate on a second line, never mind a first.
This season Gauthier offered a little more promise—with the injury and his commitment to the world-junior team, he picked up 16 goals and 32 points in 37 games. Still, even at the major-junior level, he seems a pass-first centre more than a finisher and in this 20-game playoff run he has just two goals.
Even if he made the critical play on the title-clinching goal, people will still have questions. Will he simply reprise his role from the world juniors, a third- or fourth-line checking centre and faceoff specialist, when he moves on to the NHL or will become something more? The Memorial Cup might provide some answers. Might.
As Gauthier said, though, Rimouski’s strength is its depth. The Oceanic has scoring spread across the top three lines. The team’s top offensive producers in the playoffs aren’t exactly household names: Michael Joly, the scorer of Game 7 overtime goal, an undrafted 20-year-old right winger, and Christopher Clapperton, a left winger drafted in the fifth round by Florida two years ago, lead the team with 12 goals apiece this spring. Overage centre Alexis Loiseau and left winger Anthony DeLuca led the team in scoring during the regular season with 96 and 91 points respectively but also have passed through NHL drafts uncalled.
Many outside the QMJHL will be asking, “Who are these guys?” But the question for the Oceanic coming into the Memorial Cup will be, “Who gets the start?” Phillippe Desrosiers won CHL goaltender of the week honours with his performance in Game 7, allowing just one goal on 48 shots. Still, Desrosiers didn’t even get the start in Game 6 in Quebec. With the Remparts leading 3-1 in the second period, he came on in relief in the second period for Louis-Phillip Guindon, who was the team’s ostensible No. 1 during Rimouski’s run. It will be hard for Oceanic coach Serge Beausoleil to walk away from Desrosiers off the last game.