The former QMJHL first-overall pick really came along in his second season with the Remparts.
The Memorial Cup is officially over, and the entire CHL is now in off-season mode.
With that, it's time to begin to look forward into the summer, and one of the most important events of the off-ice campaign is the NHL entry draft.
Here, we'll take a look at a handful of the QMJHL players that should hear their names called in Buffalo later this June.
Maddox Dagenais' rise could see his name called sometime in the mid-late first round at this year's NHL draft. (Photo: Jonathan Sauvageau-Roy)First up is Maddox Dagenais. The Montréal native was always seen as a top prospect in the QMHJL, but his progress in the league wasn't always linear.
He was the first overall pick in the 2025 Q draft to the Quebec Remparts, and in his rookie year he was just alright. He ended up with 12 goals and 14 assists in 43 games, hardly superstar numbers as he missed a few games during the year.
While Dagenais flashed some offensive skill at times, too often he lacked the vision and getup to really make a huge impact on the game. He used his physicality well, also one of his calling cards, but he entered his draft year being seen more as a day two type of prospect.
The start of the 6-foot-4 centreman's DY seemed to follow the same path. He failed to make a big impact on the scoresheet, had some physical highlights (his reverse hit is seriously his signature move. There aren't many out there who can reverse hit like Dagenais), but overall just seemed like a frustrating complementary player on the Remparts.
But, as the calendar changed, something clicked. Dagenais' game started to mould into something useful, and he started to key in on actions that let him be a positive player.
Instead of tunnel visioning and making a poor play, he began to start making the right play more often than not. He went from not getting into spots to get his very good shot off nearly enough, to beginning to shoot big one-timers all the time.
With that, the production started to follow, and scouts started to pick up interest. A big centre that can be physical and score? That's something NHL scouts adore. Though, it's very possible he gets moved to the wing full-time at the professional level.
Quebec went on a solid run to the second round of the QMJHL playoffs with a pretty young roster, and Dagenais had some good moments in that postseason.
Then, he went to join Canada at the U18 Worlds, and was just alright in the tournament. If Dagenais entered the tournament with a chance to really jump his stock into the top-15 conversation, he didn't do that.
But, he probably didn't ruin his stock, either. While a goal and an assist in five games isn't jumping off the page, he used his physicality well, stuck around the middle of the lineup and was at least a useable player.
It seems likely Dagenais will go in the mid-late first round at the draft, to a team looking for some physical upside on a player with a big shot. If developed properly, he could be a very useful player at the professional level.
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