A tough year by all standards sees the Drakkar enter a full rebuild.
As the playoffs pick up steam and the first round is well on its way, it's time to take one more look at the two teams who won't be taking part in the postseason.
First up is the last-placed Baie-Comeau Drakkar, who had a year where it just felt like everything went wrong from start to finish.
Here's what 2025-26 meant to the Drakkar, and why there should be some optimism heading into the future.
Baie-Comeau forward Liam Armit came into his own near the end of the season, and looks to be a serious part of this team's future.It was always going to be a challenging season for Baie-Comeau, with serious departures up front over the summer.
From there, Alexis Bernier's injury made it so he didn't end up playing a single game for the team this season before he was dealt to Chicoutimi during the holiday trade period.
Their overager situation was a mess which didn't really get sorted until October, and there was a clear lack of scoring up front.
They immediately tanked out of the gate, not winning a game for a while to start the year. Even as Lucas Beckman gave them solid performances in goal, there just wasn't any offence or much defence from this team, and they sat lonely at the bottom of the standings for a lot of the season.
Beckman was another player who got traded, and while you'd think that would sink their season, they managed to find a very good replacement.
Sam Caulfield came in and gave them some excellent hockey, posting a 5-8-1 record, 2.72 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage playing behind a basement dweller. These numbers are no joke, and he outright stole some wins for his team.
But then, he ended up getting hurt, and it was right back to the mindless losing down the stretch.
Somehow, Baie-Comeau actually had a chance to not finish last, even though they held the bottom spot for months on end, as Rimouski went on a historic 25-game losing streak.
The two teams faced off twice in the final two games of the season, and if the Drakkar won both, they'd get the moral boost of not being in the depths of the basement.
They ended up winning the first, but losing the second matchup, meaning Rimouski just held on to second-last.
And that's where it all ended up. The Baie-Comeau Drakkar were never really a serious team all season, and the only real silver lining is some of the play of the youngsters in the squad at the end of the year.
Liam Armit, Filip Vlk, Daniele Biagio Jr. and Lynden Larsen can all be parts of this team in the coming years, and they have an arsenal of picks to use this draft to add more talent to this group.
In the end, it was a season to forget in Baie-Comeau. But that doesn't stop anyone from building towards the future.
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