2004 QMJHL Prospects: January ranking

By Phil Laugher
With the passing of the trading deadline in the QMJHL in early January, a weight was lifted off of many shoulders. No longer would any of the top QMJHL prospects have to worry about where they would finish playing their season; they could now focus on the stretch drive in the regular season, towards the QMJHL playoffs, and could focus on improving their draft status for the June NHL Entry Draft.

Slovakian-born Chicoutimi Saguneens forward Stanislav Lascek posted an incredible month of January, jumping onto many pre-draft radars by claiming the QMJHL Rookie of the Month award for the month. Lascek went on an offensive outburst this month, posting ten goals and nine assists in thirteen games, equalling the month’s offensive output of fellow rookie and Team Canada representative Sidney Crosby.

The top QMJHL prospect for the NHL Entry Draft, Lewiston MAINEiacs forward Alexandre Picard continued his offensive ways in January, posting his best month of the season, notching seventeen points (eight of which came as goals), to lead Lewiston on a long unbeaten streak. Picard’s solid performance thus far this season earned him a top-five ranking in the Central Scouting Bureau’s mid-term ranking. His great play this year also played a role in his receiving an invite to the CHL Top Prospects Game, in London Ontario on January 21st. Picard was one of eight QMJHL players to play in the nationally-televised game, the others being Gatineau Olympiques speedster Petr Pohl, slick Halifax Mooseheads import >Jan Steber, Victoriaville power forward Renaud des Alliers, massive Moncton forward Bruce Graham, offensively gifted PEI forward David Laliberte, import Rimouski defenseman Michal Sersen, and Shawinigan goaltender Julien Ellis.

While the number of offensively gifted players in the 2004 QMJHL draft class may be comparatively thin when looking at past seasons, and there may not be very much high-end depth on defense, one group of players in the following list that is not lacking are power forwards who can chip in offensively. Renaud des Alliers, Rimouski forward Mark Tobin, Latvian-born Moncton forward Martin Karsums, American-born Quebec Remparts tank Jordan LaVallee, and hulking Val d’Or forward Patrick Bordeleau are just a few of the heavy-hitting QMJHLers that will be on radars in the weeks leading up to the NHL Entry Draft.

Here are the top thirty draft eligible players from the QMJHL, as of the end of January:

#
Player
Team
H
W
GP
G
A
P
PIM
W/L/T
+/-
GAA
HITS
SV%
1
Alexandre Picard (F)
LEW
6’01”
188
50
31
31
62
72
12
46
2
Petr Pohl (F)
GAT
5’11”
170
52
21
20
41
10
9
9
3
Julien Ellis (G)
SHA
6’00”
186
46
0
0
0
26-13-2
2.80
.920
4
Bruce Graham (F)
MON
6’06”
220
50
13
28
41
68
-8
62
5
David Laliberte (F)
PEI
6’01”
195
53
19
18
37
34
6
91
6
Frederik Cabana (F)
HAL
6’01”
185
52
14
17
31
50
-2
64
7
Olivier Latendresse (F)
VDO
5’10”
185
34
14
24
38
20
-9
12
8
Michal Sersen (D)
RIM
6’02”
190
33
6
12
18
24
19
93
9
Martin Houle (G)
CB
5’11”
171
45
0
3
3
32-11-1
2.23
.921
10Mark Tobin (F)
RIM
6’03”
206
53
18
13
31
94
5
122
11Jan Steber (F)
HAL
6’03”
192
51
12
13
25
30
-9
25
12Renaud des Alliers (F)
VIC
6’01”
180
48
17
14
31
76
6
114
13Philippe Roberge (G)
RN
5’11”
179
36
0
0
0
13-10-3
3.40
.895
14Nick Fugere (F)
GAT
6’02”
230
45
9
11
20
112
8
93
15Martin Karsums (F)
MON
5’10”
180
42
25
13
38
55
3
105
16Stanislav Lascek (F)
CHI
6’01”
176
43
13
26
39
35
11
10
17Jason Churchill (G)
HAL
6’04”
190
41
0
0
0
13-20-4
3.50
.891
18Benoit Doucet (F)
VIC
5’09”
170
48
16
24
40
54
E
45
19Jordan LaVallee (F)
QUE
6’02”
218
51
6
10
16
88
-17
165
20Patrick Bordeleau (F)
VDO
6’05”
195
50
7
6
13
76
-8
71
21Gabriel Bouthillette (G)
GAT
6’03”
190
19
0
2
2
12-1-3
2.39
.904
22Loic Lacasse (G)
BC
6’02”
175
30
0
0
0
6-9-3
3.85
.894
23Thomas Beauregard (F)
BAT
5’11”
163
51
15
20
35
10
-4
22
24Nathan Welton (D)
QUE
5’11”
185
47
7
25
32
16
-19
53
25Jean-Claude Sawyer (D)
CB
6’03”
188
43
4
12
16
35
13
34
26Justin Vienneau (D)
SHA
6’04”
207
47
0
7
7
114
4
53
27Maxime Belanger (D)
BC
6’00”
205
48
3
10
13
115
-5
68
28Brent Aubin (F)
RN
5’09”
181
50
17
19
32
82
-4
27
29Nicolas Robillard (F)
BC
6’04”
212
50
10
3
13
66
-22
35
30Kevin Mailhiot (F)
DRU
6’01”
197
45
12
9
21
60
-11
51

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