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Former QMJHL first overall pick Maddox Dagenais is poised to enter his NHL draft campaign in 2025-26. Let's take a look back at when Dagenais made history as he and his father Pierre became the first father-son duo to get drafted first overall to the 'Q'.

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Like Father, Like Son - Sep 9, 2024 - By Will MacLaren

FANS IN QUEBEC CITY are already learning Maddox Dagenais’ name. It certainly helps when it’s plastered on billboards around the city (“Bienvenue avec les Remparts,” the signs proclaim). But even before citizens of one of the QMJHL’s cornerstone cities were introduced from nearly 100 feet above to the teenager they hope will become the latest in a long line of legends, Dagenais had already reached new historical heights, starting with the way he entered the league.

In June, the Remparts made the 16-year-old sniper the top pick of the 2024 QMJHL draft. Along with his father, Pierre, who was alongside him that day, the pair became the first father-son duo in league history to both be No. 1 draft picks. “It was amazing just being there with my parents and seeing all the players waiting to be drafted,” Maddox said. “But then, to hear my name get called first was incredible. Both my dad and I, we worked so hard to achieve what we did.”

Pierre set the wheels in motion for this unique event 29 years ago, when he was the first-ever choice of the expansion Moncton Alpines (now Wildcats). The sense of deja vu, not to mention the tension, was not lost on the elder Dagenais. “I was more nervous than I was on my own draft day,” Pierre said. “Leading up to it, there’s so much pressure. The media exposure increases. As a dad, I just wanted Maddox to enjoy himself and hope he didn’t become affected by that spotlight. For the next few days, from the point he heard his name called onward, it was kind of overwhelming. He ended up handling everything so well.”

Something else Maddox handles well is the puck, yet another trait that runs in the family. With 42 goals and 81 points in 35 games with the Quinte Red Devils of the OMHA under-16 ranks, Maddox displayed not only the same release and nose for the net that made his father a star a generation earlier, but he also showed off a tremendous skating stride and the vision to seemingly generate chances out of thin air. And to top it off, he also honed his skill on the dot to become one of the best faceoff takers in his cohort.

But there’s another, less tangible, aspect to Dagenais’ game. Some might describe it using various obscenities commonly reserved for those who cut people off in traffic (possibly while admiring an eye-catching billboard). The man who swung a trade on the draft floor with the Cape Breton Eagles to grab the No. 1 pick finds somewhat gentler terms. “He’s got grit,” said Remparts GM Simon Gagne. “A real edge to his game. Beyond that, he’s so mature off the ice, especially for a 16-year-old.”

Pierre, 46, knows a thing or two about sizing up talent as well. After a stellar junior career in which he scored 66 goals and 133 points in his final ‘Q’ campaign with Rouyn-Noranda, Pierre embarked on a 14-year pro career that included 142 NHL games with New Jersey, Florida and Montreal. In fact, Gagne, who faced off against Dagenais in both junior and the pros, insists the father of his top prospect can still score seemingly at will while suiting up at Habs alumni events.

Pierre also maintains a presence in the hockey world as an agent with Maloney Thompson and as the director of hockey development for the World Elite Performance Center in Belleville, Ont. He readily adds to Gagne’s assessment of his son. “We can measure the speed, the size, all of that,” Pierre said. “But the will? How badly do you want to be a hockey player? Maddox’s mindset is incredible. I hope it carries him to the next level. He’s got the desire. Yet with all of that, he’s still a very humble kid.”

Would Maddox agree with those descriptors? Consider what he highlighted as one of the minor benefits to entering the QMJHL. “With my dad getting drafted first overall, I looked at it as kind of a competition to do the same,” he said with a chuckle.

That desire can work to other advantages as well. For how does a teenager avoid the distractions that come via suitors from not one but three leagues? (Besides the QMJHL, Maddox was also eligible for the OHL draft and had visited NCAA hotbeds North Dakota and Boston University.) “I just tried to keep being the player I am,” he said. “I also tried to work every day on some aspect of my game I can improve on, whether it’s speed, strength or something else. Between that and focusing on being prepared for the next game really helped take away from the pressure of the draft.”

Naturally, the pressure will continue, only in different forms. The Remparts, who missed the playoffs for the first time in their 27-year history last season, are looking at a long road back to the top. Gagne, who has preached building from within since moving into the GM’s chair last summer, will maintain that same level of patience with his new phenom.

TO HEAR MY NAME CALLED FIRST WAS INCREDIBLE. BOTH MY DAD AND I WORKED SO HARD

-   – Maddox Dagenais  

“We’re not going to put pressure on Maddox to put the team on his shoulders,” Gagne said. “He’s going to have to adapt to playing 64 games, living with billets and travel. If we see flashes of what he can bring to the team in the years to come, we’re happy with that. At that age, one shift, you’re facing another rookie. Next time out, you’re going in the corner against a 20-year-old. As an organization, we’ll make sure he’s able to face whatever challenges come his way.”

With the support of family and his new team, Maddox now wants to simply show he can perform at the junior level, just like his dad did once upon a time. But that modesty belies all the markings of a stellar future at the next level and beyond. All signs point to it.

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