The Mooseheads will battle the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Championship Series. Game 1 of the
best-of-seven is tonight at 8pm at the Halifax Metro Centre. The game sold-out
in, like, five seconds but tonight’s match will broadcast live on Sportsnet.
The Mooseheads and Drakkar finished first and second in
the QMJHL’s regular season standings, respectively. Halifax has had a smooth
ride to the final while the Drakkar have lost just two playoff games, both of
them coming in the semi-finals against the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.
This has the makings of a great series. The two
franchises have been linked with each other since the Nathan MacKinnon draft
drama of 2011. This series is the climax of that draft and trade.
Here is what some QMJHL experts are saying about this
year’s President Cup Final:
- The Chronicle Herald’s preview
- Buzzing The Net’s predictions
- HockeyProspect.com’s preview
- Sportsnet.ca’s preview
- RDS’ predictions
- Jean-Francois Plante’s predictions
And here is what some people who write for a Sea Dogs
blog are saying:
This series has all the makings to be one of the more
memorable QMJHL Finals. Few forget the Baie-Comeau Drakkar holding the empty
MacKinnon jersey after selecting him 1st Overall in the 2011 QMJHL Entry Draft.
For me personally this is the final I was hoping for and I believe we
absolutely have the two best teams the QMJHL has to offer vying for the
President’s Cup.
Forwards - The Mooseheads have plenty of fire power and
will be very tough for the Drakkar to contain.
The Moose have the most dangerous trio in the league with MacKinnon,
Drouin, and Frk. Halifax also has plenty of depth at the forward position to
complement their top line. The Mooseheads will be able to look to any of their
four lines for scoring… No one will question this is the best offense in the
league even when Drouin & MacKinnon were away they still were winning
games. Worth noting former Sea Dog Stephen MacAulay will be playing in his 4th
straight final and looking to win his 3rd straight Championship … Impressive!
The Baie-Comeau forwards like the Mooseheads have plenty
of depth although they do lack that top end game breaking talent (MacKinnon
& Drouin). The Drakkar however have a more balanced attack… They have the
same number of players with a point per game or better as the Mooseheads but
don’t have anybody over two points per game or better while the Moose have
three of them although one of the Moose players over a point per game is defenseman
Konrad Abelthauser. The X-factor for me will be the play of Felix Girard who is
one of the more under-rated players for the Drakkar.
The Edge – Halifax Mooseheads
Defense - The Mooseheads defense is led by rugged
defender and Captain Trey Lewis as well as offensive defenseman Konrad
Abelthauser whose defensive ability has improved immensely since last season. Halifax
has plenty of depth in this area as well. The only concern for me might be
their ability to generate offense but when you have creative players up front
like the Moose have it’s not as big of a concern. The Moose will have to play well in their own
end of the ice something they haven’t been forced to do very much thus far.
The Drakkar defense will be giving the Halifax forwards
their toughest challenge to date … fittingly it’s in the league final. The
D-Core for Baie-Comeau will bring a tough and physical style of play like few
teams in the league can offer up. Their defense will call upon their experience
from last year’s playoffs against the Sea Dogs to help them against a similar
up tempo offense in the Halifax Mooseheads. I really like the rugged toughness
of the Drakkar defenders here.
The Edge – Baie Comeau Drakkar
Goaltending - For the Mooseheads the 2013 NHL Draft’s top
ranked goaltender Zachary Fucale has been the go to guy for almost every game
it seems during the past two seasons and hasn’t disappointed. There is no
question that Fucale can close the deal for the Mooseheads between the pipes. In
the final he’ll be facing the deepest team offensively that he’s faced in these
playoffs… (The Huskies had more top end but lacked depth) this could make
things more of a challenge for the young Fucale … but he’s been good thus far
and I don’t expect him to crumble under the pressure.
The Drakkar’s Philippe Cadorette will attempt to slow
down the high scoring Moosehead offense and will need to play the best he’s played
in his young QMJHL career. Cadorette has been excellent thus far in the
playoffs and that will need to continue in the final for the Drakkar to have a
chance of slowing down this Moosehead juggernaut. If Cadorette continues to play as he has in
the playoffs and not revert back to some of his bad habits during the regular
season the Drakkar will have a chance to win this series.
I think this edge could be closer than some might think
but …
The Edge – Halifax Mooseheads
Overall I think (and hope) we will have a very
entertaining league final between the Drakkar and Mooseheads they are clearly
the top two clubs the league has to offer. Both teams bring plenty of depth
both offensively and defensively while both clubs will be resting their hopes
on two 17-year old kids between the pipes. Both teams have quality coaching and
tough barns await both teams and I expect the 7th man to be a factor in this
series.
My Pick – Halifax Mooseheads will win their 1st
President’s Cup in 7 games
3 is the magic number - This would give Stephen MacAulay
an unreal 3 straight league championships … and 3 straight years a Maritime
team has won the league’s top prize - the President Cup! Looking forward it could also be the 3rd
straight year a QMJHL team has won the CHL’s top prize - the Memorial Cup!
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Enjoy the final!
Tim Lumsden | @SNshadowwalker
Halifax in 5. I'm a Sea Dogs fan through and through but
Halifax has heart this year. The team has really pulled together. All the best
to them.
Jamie Tozer | @station_nation
The Mooseheads have lost just 10 games all season so I
like their chances of winning this series. I do think this will be a close one. I also think the Drakkar
will win at least one game. Honestly, I’m looking forward to the fan reaction
more than the actual games. The Metro Centre is going to be jumping and the
Henry Leonard Centre is going to be nuts with MacKinnon in town for a few days.
This should be good. Halifax in 5.
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