Moncton Wildcats are cautiously approaching the QMJHL trade period with an eye to improving without giving up their future.
Ahead of the QMJHL Holiday Trade Period, Moncton Wildcats Director of Hockey Operations Ritchie Thibeau sees no reason to change the team’s direction after the organization was informed to drop their bid to host the 2025 Memorial Cup.
“We want to win this year. We want to win next year. Whether we’re hosting or not, we still have to be ready to win it. As far as the trading approach, it’s the same.”
Led by Captain Yoan Loshing, the Wildcats currently sit second in the Maritimes Division at 15-5-1-1. A respectable record despite being the fourth youngest team in the league with an average age of 17.88. Asked if there’s a specific need to be addressed ahead of the deadline on January 6, 2024, Thibeau feels there is no pressure to go big.
“We’re not going to overpay for any improvement. If something comes to us that’s reasonably priced, that allows us to be better in the second half and next year, it’s definitely something to look at. For us, in the first 22 games, we’ve learned a lot about our team. We’ve learned we’ve got some depth in scoring. We’ve learned we got a pretty good defense. There’s not one major need; more experience would be my guess.”
Thibeau expects the cost to acquire players to be costly.
“There are not a lot of players available at the right age for teams that are going for it. The ones that are available will probably be expensive. There are a lot of players that moved in the off-season that really decreased the amount of inventory available for trades this Christmas.”
Trusting the process will be key for Wildcats fans with Thibeau at the helm.
“We have exciting young players that are just starting out their careers and are going to get better. For our fans, it’s enjoying those young players through their development. We will add when it’s necessary to make sure we improve our team without giving up the future.”
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