A Levasseur Carol

Although Jean-Philippe Levasseur has had many up and down Christmas holidays over the last few seasons but nonetheless he keeps his eyes on the prize: making it to the NHL.

In his first season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Levasseur was whisked away on the fast track to success as he became the number one goalie. After only a few months, he was playing so well that the Huskies felt it was time for them to trade his competition Philippe Roberge.

"The transition went pretty smoothly I'd say. Normally you expect some major bumps in the road but my first four months were better than I expected."

As Christmas approached, the young netminder was full of promise and he had many hockey people talking about what he could do down the road.

"I was really proud. I think it was just after a top prospect game around Christmas time in 2004. Everything was going just great; I could have never expected what happened after."

In the aforementioned trade the Huskies had acquired second hand goalie Sylvain Michaud. Strangely enough he shined like a brand new piece of equipment and Levasseur hardly saw any action after that, playing in only four of the team's

remaining games.

"It was a disappointment; I only played a few games after that and it didn't give scouts the chance to see me or what I could do on the ice."

When the 2005 NHL draft rolled around Levasseur didn't know how much that would impact his ranking. Teams selected players for six complete rounds without uttering his name. Finally, he was selected in the 7th round and 197th pick overall by Anaheim.

"You know what; I tried to see the positive side of it. I said to myself that I didn't have all the pressure of being an early round pick. I went to Ducks camp the next season like all the other players and tried to learn the as many things as I could learn.

But Levasseur went into the next season with a little chip on his shoulder. He won 35 games to lead all the QMJHL goalies in victories and by the end of the hockey year he was already considered a late round steal by some scouts.

"I can't speak for them but I imagine some of the scouts regret their move. I cannot control what they do. They just had to select me when they had the chance."

His Christmas present was also a good time-bad time situation for Levasseur. After going to Team Canada Junior training camp and Ducks camp towards the end of the summer, Levasseur was steadfast in his start with the Huskies.

"When I came back from Ducks camp there was a little adjustment period but when that was over it seemed like the system kicked in and all the team was playing better."

After winning only four of their first ten games, the second youngest team in the QMJHL won four straight and not long after they won five in a row. The Huskies went from the bottom of their division to almost leading it in only a couple of months, largely in part due to Levasseur's play.

Moreover, just before the last winning streak, Levasseur had helped the QJMHL team beat the Russian team in the first game of the ADT Challenge where he displayed his array of skills though he didn't face many shots.

"It's fantastic to play against some of the best players of your age group. I had fun helping the team win against the Russian selects."

Though he was red hot and had many people believing he was amongst the elite prospects in juniors, Levasseur was not invited to Team Canada's training camp a few weeks ago.

"It is always great when you can represent your country in an international competition but I'm not the one making the decision. The only things I could do were to have a great start to the season, help the team win and leave the ice better than when I set foot on it."

As for the future, the young goalie would probably like to have more consistently positive holidays in the years to come. Helping the team win in the playoffs, a 40 win season and signing a contract with Anaheim in June 2007 are all on Levasseur's wish list and are well on their way to becoming a reality.

"I don't want to rush things. I didn't have any specific objectives at the start of the season but to better last years total would be great. I also want to help the Huskies to go deep in the playoffs. Then, after my junior career I want to go to the AHL and learn as much as I can, time is of no essence. Finally, you can say what you want but an NHL career remains a dream for any hockey player".