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QMJHL Charlottetown Islanders

Toughest Stretch of the Season Starts Tonight for Islanders

March 1, 2019 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Charlottetown Islanders News Release


The final Quebec road trip of the regular season for the Charlottetown Islanders kicks off tonight, as they battle the Shawinigan Cataractes at 8:30pm AST.

This trip also marks the start of the busiest stretch of hockey for the Isles, who will play six games over the course of nine days. Islanders head coach Jim Hulton says this will be a good test for the young players, as they'll get a taste of what QMJHL playoff hockey might feel like.

"A playoff series is generally 7 games over the course of 10 or 11 games, so this will be a little more of a test situation." said Hulton regarding this next week of hockey.

The Islanders will get an injection of talent in the lineup this weekend, as forwards Kevin Gursoy (shoulder) and Drew Johnston (thumb) are expected to return to the lineup from injury. With the team still missing Thomas Casey and Will Sirman with various upper-body injuries, rookie Patrick Leblanc will remain with the team this weekend before returning to the Moncton Flyers of the NBPEIMMHL for their playoffs.

They'll be contested by a Cataractes team that are led by a Pittsburgh Penguins draft pick and a powerful pair of rookies up front. Jan Drozg, Mavrick Bourque, and Valentin Nussbaumer all posted very strong numbers through the month of February; Drozg and Bourque each finished the month with 11 points, while Nussbaumer didn't finish far behind, with 10 points in 11 games.

The Cataractes boast a young roster, with 11 players born in 2001 or 2002. That crop is led by Bourque; the 3rd overall pick in the 2018 QMJHL Draft figures to be the leader of this Cataractes team for the next few years, and has already been identified as a player to watch heading in to the 2020 NHL Draft.

Not to be outdone is the player who was selected directly behind Bourque. Defenseman Lukas Cormier had a monster February for the Isles, recording 10 points in 12 games last month, far and away his best statistical stretch of hockey this season. He and defense partner Noah Laaouan have developed a fantastic chemistry since Laaouan's arrival from Cape Breton, an exciting prospect for the Islanders as they'll anchor the blueline for years to come.

Both teams in this game have something to play for with regards to the playoffs. Charlottetown is in the midst of a heated positioning battle in the Eastern Conference; they sit fifth in the conference, but only four points separate the fourth-place Cape Breton Screaming Eagles and seventh-place Chicoutimi Sagueneens. Shawinigan meanwhile sits just three points ahead of the Saint John Sea Dogs for the final playoff position. With both teams on losing streaks longer than seven games, it appears as though at this point in the season, the Cataractes are headed for a crash course with the league-leading Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the first round of the playoffs.

You can catch all of tonight's action with George Matthews on Fair Isle Ford Isles Radio. Make sure to tune in at 8:30.

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Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from March 1, 2019


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.

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