An overachieving regular season led to a disappointing early playoff exit.
It was never supposed to be another winning season in Drummondville, but the development of a number of players on their roster saw them competing for the top seed in the West until the very last weekend of the regular season.
Unfortunately, they dropped to third, and had to face a plucky Val-d'Or Foreurs side in the first round that ultimately pulled the upset.
So, while a first-round exit for Drummondville might've been seen as the expected outcome in September, it ends up looking like a disappointment in April.
Louis-Felix Bourque had a very strong rookie season, and could garner some NHL attention at this summer's draft. (Photo: Ghyslain Bergeron)The biggest positive to take from this season has to be the development of numerous young players.
While nobody took the mantle into being an absolute superstar, names like Louis-Felix Bourque, Dylan Dumont, Yoan Tasse, Carter Fogarty and Jan Larys all likely outperformed their expectations, and were reasons why this team was playing with some of the top groups in the league during the regular season.
Other veterans such as Jesse Allecia, Renard Poulin and Maxime Lafond all took steps as well.
That is what leads to overperforming expectations, and doing that makes it pretty difficult to get a good grasp on evaluating this season.
On one hand, you could say they were playing with house money, and any playoff success would just be a bonus. After all, most preseason observations had this team finishing near the bottom of the standings.
But, once you get a taste of that success, winning the inaugural 55 Cup, challenging to win the conference, it does feel disappointing falling so early in the playoffs, especially against a team that seemed very beatable.
While there are many conflicting feelings about how the season went on the ice, it's clear that the Voltigeurs are building a strong core of young talent.
As well as the aforementioned group, building blocks like Filip Kovalcik, Xavier Cormier, Cooper Campbell, Thomas Duhamel and more played roles on this season's team that should only grow heading into 2026-27, and they now know the level they need to be at to be a competitor in this league.
It would be hard to say the playoffs weren't a disappointment in Drummondville, but it would be just as hard to say the future isn't bright for the 2024 champs. We'll see how close they can come to getting back to that level in the next couple of years.
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