The Sherbrooke Phoenix are in a bit of a conundrum.
The team has been competitive for so long, that besides for one year during the pandemic, which they still made the playoffs, they haven't really rebuilt in eight years.
The team is incuring the loses of overagers Israel Mianscum to the Laval Rocket and Alex Belchamber and Christophe Rondeau to USports.
Samuel St-Hilaire of the Sherbrooke PhoenixOn top of this, the team is missing Samuel St-Hilaire who seems to be leaving for pro one season early after backstopping the team with a .915 save percentage last season.
Linards Feldbergs at the Palais-des-Sports, the home rink of the PhoenixIn his place is 19-year old Latvian import goalie Linards Feldbergs, who is coming off a stellar season in Latvia, winning a championship in the men's top league and also winning the finals MVP.
It's hard to replace a goalie like Samuel St-Hilaire, but if we are to trust Feldbergs resume, it looks like the Phoenix have found an exceptional replacement.
Louis-Alex Tremblay of the Sherbrooke PhoenixThe blueline is fronted by draft eligible Louis-Alex Tremblay. The 5-foot-9 right shot defenseman had 33 points (7+26) over 56 games last season.
The Phoenix added an intriguing player to that blueline in 17-year old Swiss defenseman Elia Pedrotti.
Linards Feldbergs (left) with Elia Pedrotti (right) at training campPedrotti put up impressive numbers in the Swiss Under-17 league, scoring 19 points (10+9) over 27 games and even saw 19 games in the Under-20 league with Lugano Jr. scoring 5 points (1+4).
It's always tough to gauge young imports, especially from central Europe, but if Pedrotti can bring that offense to the Phoenix's blueline, they may have found a gem on their hands.
The team will ice three overagers to start the season, in defenseman Hugo Marcil (13 in 65), left winger Hugo Primeau (47 in 66) and left winger Charles-Antoine Beauregard (34 in 39), all of whom are returning from last year's squad.
Charles-Antoine Beauregard of the Sherbrooke PhoenixBeauregard was a surprising star last season after being cut by Val-D'Or to start the year. He played with the Beauce-Appalaches Condors of the QJHL, scoring a ridiculous 24 goals and 22 assists for 46 points in only 23 games before signing Sherbrooke.
In Sherbrooke, he kept his pedal to the medal as he almost scored at a point per game pace.
Mavrick Lachance of the Sherbrooke PhoenixHelping Primeau and Beauregard up front are centerman Mavrick Lachance (49 in 67), left winger Olivier Dubois (47 points in 63) and centerman Lewis Gendron (44 in 63).
On the right side, should be Sherbrooke's 2024 13th overall pick Thomas Rousseau.
Thomas Rousseau of the Sherbrooke PhoenixHe is coming off a solid 24 point (8+16), 41 game season in Quebec Under-18 AAA, but had an exceptional playoffs scoring 14 points (5+9) in 11 games. The Phoenix will hope that he carries that momentum into his debut season in the QMJHL.
The biggest question mark is whether the QMJHL's 9th overall pick in 2023, right winger Olivier Lampron, will truly arrive in the league.
After a slow start last season, Baie-Comeau dealt him to Sherbrooke, where his lackluster play would continue. He ended his rookie season with just 11 points (4+7) over 53 games. If Lampron can breakthrough, he would also help quell the weakness on the right hand side.
Despite all the departures, I can still see this team keeping their playoff streak alive.
They seem to have a decent forward group even if light on the right side, they have a fairly strong trio of overagers, and Feldbergs and Brochu could be among the better tandems around the league.
The biggest question is defense. Will Marcil become a truly dominant defenseman in his overage year? Will Louis-Alex Tremblay ascend to becoming an elite offensive defenseman? Will Pedrotti play like he did in Switzerland?
More importantly, do they have the depth to really stick as a contender? I'm not so sure about this, at the very least.
The Phoenix seem to have a well rounded roster going into this season, but may lack in true top level talent. Plus the lack of proven talent on the right side offensively is a problem, even with a promising player like Thomas Rousseau coming in.
Ratings
- Forwards: B
- Defense: C
- Goalies: B
- Overagers: B
- Verdict: Pretenders
Notable Players
- G Linards Feldbergs (Import)
- D Louis-Alex Tremblay
- D Elia Pedrotti (Import)
- D Hugo Marcil (Overager)
- LW Hugo Primeau (Overager)
- LW Olivier Dubois
- LW Charles-Antoine Beauregard (Overager)
- C Maverick Lachance
- C Lewis Gendron
- RW Thomas Rousseau
Likely Team MVP
G Linards Feldbergs
Other Season Previews
- Val-d'Or Foreurs
- Victoriaville Tigres