The Edmonton Oilers have a chance to complete a historic 3-0 series comeback after a convincing win over the Florida Panthers on Friday night. If they succeed, they would be the first team since the Los Angeles Kings in 2014 and the fourth in NHL history to complete this feat.
Of course, many Canadians will be cheering on the Oilers in hopes to see history be made as they chase their sixth Stanley Cup in franchise history.
But if you look solely from the standpoint of a fan of the QMJHL, who do you cheer for? Well, the answer is complicated, but you’ve come to the right place. The Oilers have the most talent from from the QMJHL, but there's a catch.
Raphael Lavoie and Adam Erne are both former QMJHL players that played regular season games this season. Lavoie, an Oilers second-round pick in 2019, didn’t register any points in seven games. Erne, a free agent who signed with Edmonton last offseason, put up two points in 24 games.
But according to the NHL website, “A player is required to have appeared in at least 41 regular-season games with a team, or one Stanley Cup Final game, to be eligible to have his name engraved on the trophy.”
This means that even if the Oilers win the ultimate game, Lavoie and Erne won’t see their names engraved in the trophy. However, Vincent Desharnais and Calvin Pickard are born in Quebec and New Brunswick respectively, making them local talents to cheer on.
None of the Oilers' coaching staff has ever played or coached in the QMJHL.
Meanwhile, the Florida Panthers have Dmitri Kulikov, who was part of a Drummondville Voltigeurs team that became the eventual QMJHL champions. The Russian-born defenseman became Florida's first-round pick following a strong season that saw him win the Emile Bouchard Trophy for defenseman of the year, among many others. He made his NHL debut the following season.
While Kulikov is the only player eligible to have his name on the Stanley Cup from the QMJHL this postseason, there's a lack of local talent on the ice. No Panther is born in either Quebec or the Maritimes.
Off the ice, they have a familiar name on their coaching staff in Sylvain Lefebvre, who played for the Montreal Canadiens and the Quebec Nordiques. Before that, he played three seasons in the QMJHL for the Laval Voisins/Titan franchise, making him the only to do so in both coaching staffs.
Now to answer the ultimate question, who should you cheer for as a fan of the QMJHL? It’s pretty even, but it all depends!
If you like local talent, you’d be better off cheering for the Oilers. If you like former-QMJHL players who are eligible to have their names engraved on the Stanley Cup, the Panthers should be your go-to. Regardless of the winner, there should be some representation from QMJHL and its regions.