Players of the Month Named for September/October 2025
Published on November 3, 2025 under Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) News Release
Forward of the Month
Thomas Verdon - Rouyn-Noranda Huskies - 15GP, 7G, 18A, 25Pts
The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies remain a contender in the Western Conference and one of the players leading the charge is overage center Thomas Verdon. The 20-year-old from Cleveland, Ohio came flying out of the gates to start the season thanks to an eight-game point streak. Included in that run was a three-goal, five-point outing against the Quebec Remparts on September 25. This was one of eight multi-point efforts by Verdon, who was held off the scoresheet just twice over the first seven weeks of the season. Three of Verdon's tallies have come on the power play while a pair were game-winners for a Huskies squad that sits a solid second in the conference. He's also hung around the 60% efficiency mark in the faceoff circle.
Verdon enters November as the league leader in both points and assists. Well on his way to smashing his previous career highs for goals (24) and points (57), Verdon ends October just 20 points short of the 200 mark for his QMJHL regular season career.
Honorable Mention
Justin Carbonneau - Blainville-Boisbriand Armada - 12GP, 15G, 4A, 19Pts
Defenseman of the Month
Xavier Villeneuve - Blainville-Boisbriand Armada - 16GP, 4G, 18A, 22Pts
The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada is, as expected, one of the teams to beat early on this season and a key factor resides on the club's blue line. At 18 years old, Xavier Villeneuve has been the go-to guy in all situations for the Western Conference leaders, with five multi-point games and ten outings with a positive plus/minus rating. One of the highlights came against the Newfoundland Regiment on October 10, when the third-year rearguard set a new franchise record with a five-assist game. The following week, at home against the Drummondville Voltigeurs, Villeneuve collected a power play tally to go with three assists. By far the top scoring team, the Armada has relied on Villeneuve to be an offensive catalyst with strong results.
Villeneuve, a first-round selection of the Armada at the 2023 QMJHL Draft, is project to be a first rounder yet again at the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. He enters November leading all blueliners in scoring and holds a rare distinction by sitting in the top ten in overall scoring (eighth) at this juncture of the season.
Honorable Mention
Marcus Kearsey - Charlottetown Islanders - 15GP, 5G, 10A, 15Pts
Rookie of the Month
Alexey Vlasov - Victoriaville Tigres - 14GP, 13G, 11A, 24Pts
Although the Tigres are in the first stages of forging a new identity following a substantial sell-off last year, a number of new faces are making things tough on opponents already. This is where Alexey Vlasov comes in.
A model of consistency, the 17-year-old from Chelyabinsk, Russia began his 'Q' career with a 13-game point streak, the longest such run for a Tigres rookie in 33 years. This included seven straight multi-point outings and a seven-game goal scoring streak. Vlasov posted his first multi-goal game on October 11 against Quebec. Not to be outdone, he's added two more of those outings since. He's also quickly taken over the role of trigger man on the league's top power play unit, collecting six tallies with the man advantage to lead the league.
Vlasov has been listed on the initial NHL Central Scouting prospect list for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. He enters November leading all freshmen in goals and tied for top spot in points alongside linemate Egor Shilov, the runner up for Rookie of the Month honors.
Honorable Mention
Egor Shilov - Victoriaville Tigres - 14GP, 8G, 16A, 24Pts
Goaltender of the Month
Danai Shaiikov - Gatineau Olympiques - 8-2-0-0, 2.16 GAA, .922 SV%
Danai Shaiikov is giving the up-and-coming Gatineau Olympiques plenty of confidence with an outstanding debut between the pipes. The 18-year-old from Almaty, Kazakhstan did not taste defeat until his seventh start of the campaign. On six occasions, Shaiikov allowed two goals or fewer, including a 30-save victory over Drummondville on October 9 and a 34-save triumph over Quebec on October 13.
The freshman netminder is also a tough opponent in the shootout, carrying a 3-0 record in that department entering November while stopping eight of nine attempts so far. While it took the Olympiques 33 games to notch their eighth victory of the season last year, the club needed just 12 contests to reach that mark this year, thanks in large part to the performance of Shaiikov.
The netminder currently leads the league in save percentage and has earned a spot in the top five in both goals against average and wins. A second-round selection of the Olympiques at the 2025 CHL Import Draft, Shaiikov previously starred for Omsk in the Russian U16, U17 and U18 ranks.
Honorable Mention
Donald Hickey - Charlottetown Islanders - 10-1-0-1, 2.64 GAA, .908 SV%, 1 SO
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from November 3, 2025
- Players of the Month Named for September/October 2025 - QMJHL
- Chudzinski: A Special Player - Moncton Wildcats
- Isles Wrap up Road Swing with Tight Loss in Val-D'Or - Charlottetown Islanders
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
