These QMJHL Overagers Deserve Deals?

[Seeker1]

Samuel Dove-McFalls

Rimouski Oceanic

Standing 6-foot-2 and weighing 210 pounds, Samuel Dove-McFalls has a frame and skill set that should easily translate over to the professional ranks. Although he may not have the highest offensive ceiling, Dove-McFalls brings many of the intangibles that a coach looks for in his team’s key role players.

The 20-year-old captain of the Rimouski Oceanic was a fourth-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2015 but wasn’t signed by the club. Instead, Dove-McFalls returned to the QMJHL for a final season and has helped mentor super prospect Alexis Lafrenière while also posting career-highs across the board. The veteran’s 51 assists paced his team and his 73 points were second only to Lafrenière’s 80.

In addition to his impressive point totals and leadership values, Dove-McFalls excels in the dot and won 62% of 1822 draws he took in 2017-18. The Montreal native is also versatile and plays a vital role on both of the Oceanic’s special teams.

The forward has a wealth of big game experience, having appeared in 40 playoff games prior to this season. He was an important piece to Saint John’s QMJHL championship a year ago and played well in the Memorial Cup tournament. To cap everything off, Dove-McFalls was recently awarded the 2017-18 Guy Carbonneau Trophy as the QMJHL’s best defensive forward.

 

Olivier Galipeau

Acadie-Bathurst Titan

It was a breakout season offensively for fifth-year QMJHL veteran, Olivier Galipeau. The well-polished defenseman finished the 2017-18 regular season with 25 goals and 74 points, both of which were tops amongst all blueliners. The Montreal native generated plenty of chances for his Acadie-Bathurst Titan as he threw a career-high 271 shots on net, which eclipsed his previous career-best by more than 100.

Galipeau is widely recognized as a leader and good teammate but somehow has remained an underrated prospect. He was named captain of the Val d’Or Foreurs during his 18-year-0ld campaign and also captained the Chicoutimi Sagueneens to start 2017-18 before a midseason trade.

On the ice, the 6-foot-1 defender is solid in his own zone and is not afraid to play with an edge. The 20-year-old can throw the body to separate his opponents from the puck but also possesses a good active stick. A decent skater who can also get his shot through to the net, Galipeau has the skills required to make it to the next level.

Alexandre Alain

Blainville-Boisbriand Armada

A shoot-first winger with just the right amount of feistiness, Alexandre Alain brings an intriguing combination of skill and grit to the ice. Alain was a highly touted rookie prior to entering the QMJHL and was drafted ninth overall in the league’s 2013 draft.

The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada forward has dealt with his fair share of adversity but has overcome each hurdle. With 44 goals and 87 points, the 6-foot-1 winger just wrapped up the most successful regular season of his QMJHL career and is poised to have a long postseason run with a loaded Armada squad.

 

Alain has attended NHL rookie camps with the Lightning, the Montreal Canadiens and the Anaheim Ducks in the past. He’ll now be hoping to begin his next camp with a contract in his back pocket.

Honorable Mentions

The 2017-18 QMJHL class of unsigned overagers is not as strong as in other years but there are a few other players around the league who could garner some NHL interest before all is said and done. A few names that might be intriguing to NHL teams include goaltender Etienne Montpetit (Victoriaville), defenseman Adam Holwell (Acadie-Bathurst) and forward Nicolas Poulin (Sherbrooke).

Link

[Quantum]

Surprised that you didn't list Samuel Harvey. He's an undrafted goalie with Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. He almost made the WJC team this year as the third goalie despite not being drafted or signed by an NHL team at the time (or now) and is 20. I wonder, is he technically eligible for the NHL draft this year and that's why he's not on the list? He is the QMJHL's best goalie. I feel like Harvey is the kind of player that deserves a deal and he's a player I think the Canucks should target. One thing our prospect system lacks is goalie depth. We have Demko. And DiPetrio is on his way. But after that there's nobody. Having Harvey come in as DiPetrio plays his last year in the OHL next year makes all the sense in the world, at this point.

 

As for who you listed, Alain intrigues me the most. Seems like the kind of player the Canucks may target. Also could see them taking a chance with Olivier Galipeau. However, QMJHL defensemen are notoriously hard to figure out and most bust out, so Galipeau is a riskier signing.

[stonecoldstevebernier]

Galipeau stood out to me when I watched a few of Zhukenov's playoff games last year with Chicoutimi. We invited him to a development camp a couple years back, too. Might be someone on the radar, I'd be up for signing him to an AHL deal like we did with D'Aoust - who acquitted himself nicely this year with the Comets.