QMJHL: Fog Devils Remparts Split Two

The St. John's Fog Devils and Quebec Remparts split a recent two-game set at Mile One Centre. St. John's set a franchise record for goals in the first game defeating Quebec 9-5, while Patrick Roy's Remparts rebounded with a 7-3 win over the Fog Devils the following game. Combined the teams have fifteen 2007 draft-eligible players (most of whom were in action), two NHL draft picks and one UFA NHL signing.

McKeen's was on hand for the two-game set and files this report.

Jean-Simon Allard (2007), C, St. John's

The Alma, QC native averaged 21-minutes per game this past weekend against Quebec, scoring one goal .. played in all situations: regular shift on the second line, PP, PK and 4-on-4 .. lately, the second line pivot has been playing the point on the power play .. showed good patience at times .. registered just four shots on goal and finished with a minus-3 rating over the two-game set .. despite the minus rating, he made a few solid plays defensively .. however, he also turned the puck over a number of times, albeit he did manage to recover well .. solid on face-offs overall, but needs to be more consistent in this area .. definitely has learned to better use his 6-foot-2 frame to his advantage, and is more involved offensively, defensively and physically .. should be an integral part of the Fog Devils moving forward now, based on his encouraging progress this season.

Mario Kempe (2007), RW, St. John's

Selected in the first round, 31st overall by the Fog Devils in the 2006 CHL Import Draft .. surprised to see the six-foot 180 pound Kramfors, Sweden native in the Fog Devils line-up, considering he missed the last three weeks with a shoulder injury, and was expected to be out four to six weeks .. in limited ice-time (14:46) he played in all situations: second line, PP, PK and 4-on-4 .. demonstrated his speed on a number of occasions .. at times, the rookie Swede played with reckless abandonment .. second efforts along the boards led to power plays .. seemed to be forcing the play a lot in his return and, consequently, his shots were missing the net .. while cutting to the net with the puck has become a regular occurrence in his game, Kempe has also proven that he is not afraid to play a physical game, however his lack of finish is noticeable right now .. also appeared to be favouring his shoulder at times.

Nick Layton (2007), C, St. John's

The 6-foot-2, 190 pound Wheaton, Settlement, NB native is listed as a center, but has seen time on the wing .. played solid minutes in game one, but had his ice-time cut drastically in game two .. averaged 12-minutes per game, while recording a goal and one assist, with a plus one rating .. had three shots on goal and was .500 in the faceoff circle .. had a number of turnovers and seemed to be rushing and pressing in the offensive zone .. had two quiet games, never really stood out and definitely squeezing the stick as of late .. had a hot start to the season, but has cooled off considerably

Matt Fillier (2007), LW, St. John's

The six-foot, 190 pound New Glasgow, NS native was selected in the third round, 38th overall in 2005 and now wears the "C" for the Fog Devils .. he averaged 15-minutes per game against Quebec playing in all situations and is without a doubt the teams leader .. despite just one assist, a minus three rating, six PIM and just four shots on net, Fillier brings a lot more than just statistics .. he is strong on the fore check, physical, draws penalties, and doesn't take stupid penalties .. is not afraid to get involved and will drop his gloves to get his team going or to stick up for a teammate .. seemed to be focused on getting under the skin of the Remparts players and it worked on a few occasions.

T.J. Brennan (2007), D, St. John's

Standing six-foot and weighing 200 pounds, this 2006 invitee from Willingbord, NJ, USA has been a great find and steal for this second year franchise .. Brennan averaged 21-minutes per game taking a regular shift on the backend and was used both on the power play and penalty kill .. finished the two-game set against the Remparts with two goals, a plus five rating, six shots on goal and one fight .. demonstrated time and time again that he has a rocket of a shot .. also has an ability to get shots through and doesn't always wind up for the slap shot, but has a hard wrist shot that he uses effectively .. plays a physical game .. willing to rush with the puck and join the rush more as of late and jumps into the lanes fairly well .. makes smart decisions for the most part, but does pinch a little too much .. definitely a top-four rearguard and with seasoning could find himself as the stud on the blue line in the next few years.

Joey Ryan (LA), D, Quebec

The six-foot-one, 204 pound Stoneham, MA native was drafted in the second round, 48th overall in the 2006 NHL entry draft .. played in all situations on the Remparts number one defensive pairing with Billy Bezeau .. likes to force the opposition into making mistakes at the blue line, but is capable of defending deep in his zone and is strong in front of the net .. failed to record a point in the series, but definitely showed an offensive instinct, willing to jump into the play, has a quick release and able to get shots through from the point.

Angelo Esposito (2007), C, Quebec

The six-foot-one, 180 pound Montreal, QC native is listed as a center, but in the two-games he played left wing on the number one line and never took one face-off .. finished with two goals, one assist, five shots on goal and was dangerous each and every time he was on the ice .. displayed why he is such a talented forward with his creativity, great hands, ice awareness and a willingness to back check .. it was clear the talented forward likes to avoid traffic and contact and needs to put on more weight and fill out his frame to be that much more effective.

Roman Bashkirov (2007), LW, Quebec

The five-foot-ten, 170 pound Russian left winger was drafted in the first round, 28th overall in 2006 and took a regular shift on the Remparts second line, with his twin brother Ruslan on the right wing .. finished the two-game set with three goals and two assists and was plus-four .. played the power play and four-on-four, but was not used much on the PK .. has a quick release, continues to move his feet and is dangerous at all times .. was often knocked off the puck easily by bigger players but seemed to get stronger on his skates the closer he got to the net.

Marc-Olivier Vallerand (2007), C, Quebec

The Longueuil, QC native was an invitee this season to the Remparts .. at five-foot-ten, 170 pounds the center wasn't very noticeable .. failed to record a point, finished with a minus-five rating and had only four shots on net .. centered the fourth line in game one, but was moved to left wing on third line for game two.

Darren Aubin (2007), LW, Quebec

The Ste-Sophie, QC native dressed for both games and was slotted on the left wing on the Remparts fourth line .. never played a great deal, might have had a couple of shifts each game, but nothing to be able to evaluate and report on.

Brent Aubin (Tor), RW, Quebec

The five-foot-ten, 190 pound Ste-Sophie, QC native was signed as an UFA in 2006 by the Toronto Maple Leafs and is one of three overage players on the Remparts this season .. a talented offensive player with 46 goals and 44 assists for 90 points in 55-games .. despite scoring one goal and drawing a couple of penalties, the first line right winger never looked comfortable in the series and also took a few penalties .. his passes were off and he looked frustrated overall and spent considerable time yapping at some of the Fog Devils players throughout the two-game set.

Maxime Lacroix (Wsh), C, Quebec

Drafted in the fifth round, 128th overall in 2006 NHL entry draft .. the six-foot 180 pound Quebec, QC native centered the third line in both games with spotted time on the PP, PK and four-on-four .. finished with one goal and went 15-for-37 on face-offs, mostly in the defensive zone.

Ruslan Bashkirov (2007), RW, Quebec

Selected in the first round, 22nd overall in the 2006 CHL draft .. the six-foot, 185 pound Russian skated regularly on the Remparts second line .. finished the two-game set with two goals, two assists, was plus-three, fired eight shots on goal, picked up eight PIM and dished out a number of good hits .. was strong along the boards and on the puck, displayed good puck protection with strong individual efforts and is always moving .. definitely plays with an edge, reckless at times and undisciplined in certain situations, twice put his club two-men down with needless penalties .. was dangerous every time he was on the ice and had to be considered one of the Remparts best players during the two-game set.