The newly founded CHL/USA Hockey Prospects Challenge is set to take off November 26th, where the CHL's top draft prospects will look to take on the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.
Blainville-Boisbriand right winger Justin Carbonneau will be one of the QMJHL's representatives at the tournament.
Carbonneau, 17, has amassed 38 points (18+20) across 20 games with the Armada this season. That is not only the most points for NHL draft eligible players in the QMJHL, but he also is tied for the league lead in points with Carolina Hurricanes prospect Justin Poirier.
This month alone, he has scored at a goal-a-game rate with 10 goals and seven assists for 17 points over 10 games.
Carbonneau, who stands at 6-foot-1, is a speedy power forward who often uses his speed and his strong hockey sense to make plays.
He's a unit on the rush, with the ability to make end-to-end plays and break into the offensive zone with ease. His rush offensive resembles that of a player like Drake Batherson, as both love to use chip plays to get around defenders when breaking in near the boards.
When his teammates have the puck, he's always looking to open himself up to a pass. He remains active when the puck isn't on his stick, circling around as he tries to find lanes to cut past opposing defenders.
On the cycle, he's got plenty of little tricks that make him just as lethal. He's faked wraparounds, where instead he made a no-look behind the back pass to an open man at the other post. He's also utilized fake one-timers where he's instead passed cross-crease to throw the goaltender way out of position.
Carbonneau likes to engage physically, but even in a league like the QMJHL, you can tell he could use a bit more strength for that to become a real strength.
On the other side, he's an active forechecker. Thanks to his footspeed and motor, Carbonneau is able to close the gap quickly on puck carriers. Once again, some extra strength here could help him seperate puck carriers from the puck.
In his end though, he has a tendency to miss assignments to double team puck carriers -- which can lead to his man getting open and in turn, higher-danger scoring chances against.
A big performance at this tournament, as well as improvements in strength, consistency and defensive commitments could see Carbonneau rise up the draft board and potentially enter the Top 15, if not the Top 10.
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Come back to THN's QMJHL site for the profile of the tournament's other QMJHL representative.