Super Series Roster Announced

The QMJHL announced the roster for this year’s installment of the Subway Super Series on Monday, to take place in Saint John (Nov. 8) and Drummondville (Nov. 10). Basically a travelling band of junior-aged Russian players make their way across Canada, playing two games against an all-star team of each league under the CHL umbrella. The Q’s roster for this year is as follows, along with their draft status:

Goaltenders

Olivier Roy, Acadie-Bathurst Titan (EDM 5th rd, 2009)
Jean-Francois Bérubé, Montreal Juniors* (LA 4th rd, 2009)
Maxime Clermont, Gatineau Olympiques** (NJ 6th rd, 2010)

Defencemen

Nathan Beaulieu, Saint John Sea Dogs (2011 eligible)
Nicolas Deslauriers, Gatineau Olympiques (LA 3rd rd, 2010)
Simon Després, Saint John Sea Dogs (PIT 1st rd, 2009)
Jérome Gauthier-Leduc, Rimouski Océanic (BUF 3rd rd, 2010)
Brandon Gormley, Moncton Wildcats (PHX 1st rd, 2010)
Xavier Ouellet, Montreal Juniors (2011 eligible)
Charles-Olivier Roussel, Montreal Juniors (NSH 2nd rd, 2009)
Ryan Kavanagh, Rimouski Océanic* (Undrafted, 19 yrs)
Jean-Philippe Mathieu, Drummondville Voltigeurs** (Undrafted, 19 yrs)

Forwards

Guillaume Asselin, Chicoutimi Saguenéens (Undrafted, 18 yrs)
Louis-Marc Aubry, Montreal Juniors (DET 3rd, 2010)
Michael Bournival, Shawinigan Cataractes (COL 3rd, 2010)
Sean Couturier, Drummondville Voltigeurs (2011 eligible)
Jonathan Huberdeau, Saint John Sea Dogs (2011 eligible)
Brandon Hynes, Victoriaville Tigres (Undrafted, 18 yrs)
Louis Leblanc, Montreal Juniors (MTL 1st, 2009)
Jonathan Lessard, Acadie-Bathurst Titan (Undrafted, 19 yrs)
Philippe Paradis, PEI Rocket (CAR 1st, 2009)
Trevor Parkes, Montreal Juniors (Undrafted, 19 yrs)
Zack Phillips, Saint John Sea Dogs (2011 eligible)
Philippe Lefebvre, Montreal Juniors* (Undrafted, 19 yrs)
Jonathan Brunelle, Drummondville Voltigeurs** (Undrafted, 19 yrs)

*Will only compete in Saint John
**Will only compete in Drummondville

As you can see, the draft eligible talent in the Q is well represented, headlined of course by Sean Couturier who remains atop the ISS Top 30. There are also 8 undrafted players on the roster, including a couple who just miss the cut for being 2011 eligible (Asselin by 6 days, Hynes by 1). Here’s a breakdown of the all-stars by team:

Montreal (7)
Saint John (4)
Drummondville (3)
Acadie-Bathurst (2)
Gatineau (2)
Rimouski (2)
Moncton (1)
Chicoutimi (1)
Shawinigan (1)
Victoriaville (1)
PEI (1)

With seven teams unrepresented, it would be wonderful for the NHL to learn something from this series. If you haven’t played like an all-star, you shouldn’t be an all-star, even if you’re the best player on your team. Why should the bottom feeders be represented on the big stage if they’re undeserving? I digress. Interestingly, the league-leading and, at this time, top ranked team in the CHL is not represented; the Quebec Remparts. This would be due to their top four scorers being three over-agers and a European; only players eligible for Team Canada’s World Junior team make the Super Series cut.

All in all it’s a pretty fair roster, by my estimation. It’s heavy on Montreal players, though two of those will only play one game. A couple substitutions I may have made would be to get Olivier Archambault (Val-d’Or) and/or Yannick Veilleux (Shawinigan), a couple of 2011 eligibles, onto the roster in place of perhaps a guy like Trevor Parkes. So, minor stuff essentially. I’m sure others could point out more glaring errors than that. Another note: Los Angeles is the only NHL team represented by two players.

I was hoping to be able to check out the game in Saint John, and just as the roster announcement gets me excited for the game, I get the word that I’ll be able to get the days off necessary to make the trip. So needless to say I’m looking forward to seeing the best and brightest of the Q; I’ll post some thoughts after the game, most likely.