Olympiques Midseason Report: All Eyes on the President’s Cup

_{Photo Credit: Dominic Charette (lhjmq.qc.ca).}

Despite a slow start to the season, the Gatineau Olympiques have all the weapons to compete for the QMJHL championship and the Memorial Cup. The Olympiques find themselves tied for first in the closely contested Western Division with the Victoriaville Tigres and the Sherbrooke Phoenix with 58 points.

The Olympiques started the season with three straight losses to the Shawinigan Cataractes, Sherbrooke Phoenix, and an overtime loss to the Quebec Remparts. Much of the early season blues were because the team had twelve players at various NHL training camps.

Olivier Nadeau, acquired via trade from Shawinigan, was out four to six months after undergoing shoulder surgery in the offseason. Nadeau had 78 points in 65 games with the Cataractes last season, helping the team capture their first President’s Cup title.

With those players returning and the additions of Riley Kidney, Cam MacDonald, Alexis Gendron, and Francesco Lapenna, the Olympiques will be a force to be reckoned with in the back half of the season.

Gatineau was one of the busier teams during the QMJHL trade period. Here is a list of additions and subtractions during that time:

Additions

• Cam MacDonald (F, 03) (from Saint John)
• Franky Lapenna (G, 02) (from Charlottetown)
• Alexis Gendron (F, 03) (from Blainville -Boisbriand)
• Riley Kidney (F, 03) (from Acadie-Bathurst)
• 5^th and 7^th Round Picks (2023)
• 2^nd, 6^th, and 11^th Round Picks (2024)
• 6^th Round Pick (2025)

Subtractions

• Manix Landry (F, 02) (to Drummondville)
• Tye Austin (G, 02) (to Charlottetown)
• Genaro Fronduto (F, 04) (to Charlottetown)
• Charles-Antoine Lavallee (F, 04) (to Baie-Comeau)
• Elliot Ogonowski (F, 06) (to Blainville-Boisbriand)
• Donavan Arsenault (F, 04) (to Acadie-Bathurst)
• Robert Orr (F, 03) (to Acadie-Bathurst)
• 1^st, 3^rd, and 5^th Round Picks (2023)
• 1^st, 2^nd, and 6^th Round Picks (2024)

• 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 6^th Round Picks (2025)

In MacDonald (TB), Kidney (MTL), and Gendron (PHI), the Olympique get scoring, grit, and experience with all three players being drafted to the NHL. Lapenna upgrades the team’s goaltending as he is 12-10-1 on the season with 2.59 goals against average and a 0.919 save percentage on the lowly Charlottetown Islanders. Since joining the Olympiques, Lapenna is 5-2 with 2.67 goals against average and a 0.909 save percentage.

With those additions joining an already impressive roster with Nadeau (BUF), Zach Dean (VGK), and Haakon Hanelt (WAS) up front. Along with Noah Warren (ANA), Tristan Luneau (ANA), and Isaac Beliveau (PIT) on defence, this team has all the weapons they need to win their first QMJHL championship since the 2007-2008 season and their first Memorial Cup since 1997.