The Rimouski Océanic are setting themselves up for what could be a picture perfect 30th anniversary season, if all goes right.
With Spencer Gill (PHI), Alexandre Blais (ANA) and Luke Coughlin (FLA) confirmed as returning, and the door still open for goaltender Quentin Miller (MTL), the Océanic are in a spot to contend.
Furthermore, William Lacelle is expected to break out, The 16-year old goaltending prospect has been dominant at the Quebec AAA level the last two seasons and is coming off a 7 game stint with the Océanic where he more than held his own with an .897 save percentage. Lacelle is a top goaltending prospect for the 2026 NHL Draft and was invited to Team Canada's Hlinka-Gretzky U18 camp.
Already a strong team, GM Danny Dupont added some reinforcements, adding star center and 2022 NHL draft prospect Mathieu Cataford (VGK) and undersized offensive defenseman Pier-Olivier Roy (NHL Free Agent),
The pressure to contend is elevated once more after winning the rights to host the 2025 Memorial Cup.
This will be Rimouski's fourth appearance in the Memorial Cup, winning just once in 2000, on a team headed by eventual NHLers Brad Richards, Sebastian Caron, Juraj Kolnik, Aaron Johnson, and Michel Ouellet -- who they just hired as an assistant coach for the upcoming season.
Rimouski has also been the proving grounds of NHL first overall picks Alexis Lafreniere, Vincent Lecavalier and most notably, Sidney Crosby.
As for the 30th anniversary logo, the Océanic announced on their socials that they would drop the commemorative logo August 7th, 2024.