QMJHL: Fog Devils Sweep Cataractes

The St. John's Fog Devils swept a recent two-game set against the Shawinigan Cataractes at Mile One Centre. St. John's came away with a 5-4 shootout win in the first game and then outlasted Shawinigan 9-7 the following night to complete the mid-week sweep. Combined the teams have sixteen 2007 draft-eligible players (most of whom were in action) and one NHL signed player.

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

Keith Bombaugh (2007), D, St. John's

The six-foot-one, 220 pound Falmouth, MA, U.S. native was a seventh-round selection by the Fog Devils in the 2006 QMJHL draft .. has appeared in only 28 games being a healthy scratch on many occasions in his rookie season and the first game against Shawinigan was no different, but he did dress in the second game .. in 17-minutes of ice time (more than usual), the rearguard failed to record a point, was minus-one, had one shot on net and delivered one good hit .. skates with his head down and struggles with the puck once it is on his stick .. decision making is suspect as he often takes too long to move the puck and when he does his passes are rushed .. definitely being introduced to the league at a slow pace, but should play more now with injuries on the blue line.

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

The Fog Devils first round, fourth overall selection in the 2005 QMJHL draft had a solid two-game set against Shawinigan .. the six-foot-two, 190 pound Alma, QC native averaged 21-minutes per game, while centering the second line between Matt Fillier and Mario Kempe .. recorded six points in the two-games with a goal and five assists, (three-of-his-five helpers came on the power play) .. displayed his vision, passing and stick handling ability and was skating well, although he seemed to be tired in game one, but had more zest in game two .. struggled and must improve on face-offs, taking a total of 40 draws and winning just 17 .. continues to play the point on the power play and was caught a few times which lead to turnovers and scoring chances against .. showed some emotion in a few of the scrums.

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

Selected in the first round, 31st overall by the Fog Devils in the 2006 CHL Import Draft .. had a solid two-game set against the Cataractes .. the six-foot, 180 pound Kramfors, Sweden native played right wing on the second line averaging 19-minutes per game .. recorded two goals and one assist, was plus-one and fired 12 shots on goal .. played a regular shift, as well as the pp, pk and four-on-four action .. demonstrated his speed and skating ability on numerous occasions .. continued to drive hard to the net by using his speed to the outside, but failed to finish time and time again .. too many individual rushes and efforts .. ability to get open and has a quick release .. rarely passes up a shot and forces a lot of passes .. the rookie Swede never seems to get tired and competes every shift.

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

The six-foot-one, 190 pound Wheaton, Settlement, NB native centered the Fog Devils third line in the two-game set .. averaged 16-minutes per game against Shawinigan .. recorded one assist, was plus two and had just two shots on goal .. took 31 face-offs and won 20, the eleven draws that he lost were because he was out-muscled .. skated well with his head up, made some nice crisp passes in both contests .. was able to find open ice, but wasn't able to use his quick shot .. looked more comfortable with and without the puck in both contests .. provided the Fog Devils with solid two-way play, broke up a number of dangerous Shawinigan rushes with strong back-checking .. stayed away from the physical play overall.

Matt Boland (2007), D, St. John's

The six-foot-four, 240 pound Gander, Newfoundland native was a fourth-round selection in the 2006 QMJHL draft by the Fog Devils .. the giant rearguard has been both a healthy and injured scratch in his time with the Fog Devils .. another defenseman that is being introduced to the league at a slow pace .. paired on the Devils third unit both games averaging six-minutes per game (limited time as the games moved along) .. occupied with trying to fight he looks for big hits, but missed on a number of occasions .. doesn't keep things simple making a number of bad decisions with the puck .. definitely slow of foot he needs to improve his skating and learn how to use his size to his advantage .. no offensive instincts in his game.

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

The six-foot, 180 pound New Glasgow, NS native was selected in the third round, 38th overall in 2005 draft .. provides the Fog Devils with leadership on and off the ice .. averaged just 15-minutes in the two-game set, as he was ejected late in the first period of the second game for charging .. finished with two assists, was minus-one and had three shots on goal .. was skating well and getting on the fore check early and often .. did a great job of providing traffic and screens in front of the net .. finished his checks and works hard along the boards .. his charging penalty late in the first period of game two was unnecessary, but sometimes that is the price a team pays for having a player as aggressive and physical as Fillier.

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

The Willingbord, NJ, U.S. native continues to shine for the Fog Devils averaging 26-minutes per game against Shawinigan .. takes a regular shift on the point and is sometimes double shifted .. plays the power play and has been used on the penalty kill more as of late .. the six-foot, 200 pound rearguard finished the series with two goals, a plus-two rating, ten shots on goal and landed a couple of huge hits .. skates with his head up and makes nice outlet passes .. displayed his hard slap shot and quick release .. has a solid offensive game and definitely likes to rush with the puck and join the play; some would say he likes it too much .. not afraid to throw his weight around or get involved physically .. more focus is needed on his defensive play because the offense comes naturally.

Simon Lacroix (2007), D, Shawinigan

The six-foot-two, 180 pound Orleans, ON native was a 2006 invitee to Shawinigan's training camp .. was paired on the blue line with Adam Leblanc-Bourque in game one and Gabriel Lemieux in game two .. logged a ton of ice time in both games and played in all situations .. finished with three goals, a minus-two rating and six shots on net .. communicates and directs traffic extremely well in his own zone .. skates well and has his head up at all times .. made strong outlet passes for the most part, but did force some as well, leading to a couple of turnovers in game one, but protected the puck much better in game two .. definitely has offensive instincts as he looked to lead or join the rush on a number of occasions .. anticipates the play well .. showed good puck handling skills .. able to quickly position himself for a shot, and though he does not possess a hard shot, he is able to get it through .. has the height, but is not overly physical and will need to gain more weight and muscle

Vincent Lavigueur (2007), C, Shawinigan

The five-foot-nine, 170 pound St-Eustache, QC native was a 12th round pick of the Cataractes in 2006 .. the diminutive fourth-line center did not see much ice time but made some smart plays in the ice time he received .. showed some quickness, but nothing in the way of being an offensive threat, although he did pick up one assist .. made simple and safe plays and has good recovery on lost face-offs.

Adam Leblanc-Bourque (2007), D, Shawinigan

Standing six-foot-two and weighing 200 pounds, the Sorel, QC native was a third round pick of the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in 2005 and exchanged to Shawinigan in December 2006 .. paired with Simon Lacroix in game one and logged a lot of minutes .. was split up from Lacroix in game two and was paired with Luc Bourque .. had his night cut short in game two after being hit from behind by Matt Fillier .. looked to be dazed as he was helped off the ice by team mates .. failed to register a point in the set, finished minus-one and had four shots on goal .. skating needs work as he looked off balance and was slow getting to the puck .. definitely has the size, but has to learn how to use it to his advantage .. outlet passes were off as he rushed a lot of his decisions moving the puck and tried high risk moves in his own zone .. expected more of a physical game from the rearguard.

Todd Chinova (2007), RW, Shawinigan

The six-foot, 206 pound Stratford, CT, U.S. native was drafted in the fifth round by the Quebec Remparts in 2005 and was a member of the Remparts 2006 Memorial Cup winning team .. exchanged to Shawinigan this past January he played on the fourth line in game one, but was a scratched in game two .. never stood out offensively or defensively in limited ice time, definitely a role player.

Kevin Cormier (Phx), LW, Shawinigan

The six-foot-two, 230 pound Moncton, NB native and Shawinigan captain was signed by the Phoenix Coyotes in 2004 and is one of three overage players in a the line-up .. Cormier is by far the toughest fighter in the QMJHL and had an easy clear cut decision against the Fog Devils Tim Spencer in game one .. finished the series with one assist, recorded 13 PIM's and drew a number of penalties as well .. creates room on the ice for team mates and allows the team to play bigger than they really are .. definitely a true heavyweight and a pro fighter.

Francis Filion (2007), LW, Shawinigan

The six-foot-two, 200 pound St-Eustache, QC native was a second round draft pick in 2005 by Baie-Comeau .. exchanged to Shawinigan this past December .. recorded one assist in the two-game set .. had his night cut short after a checking from behind penalty in the second game .. looked strong on his skates .. didn't shy away from the physical play .. finished his checks .. never displayed much offensively, but never hurt the team defensively.

Maxime Legault (2007), RW, Shawinigan

Drafted in the second round by Shawinigan in the 2006 draft, the six-foot, 180 pound Mont-Tremblant, QC native skated on the second line in both contests .. finished with two assists, a plus-one rating, four shots on goal and two PIM's .. good skater, quick first step, reaches top gear in two or three strides .. displayed good speed and hustle, was strong along the boards, finished checks and was involved in scrums .. failed to generate much in the way of offense.

Marc-Andre Perron (2007), G, Shawinigan

The five-foot-ten, 175 pound Varennes, QC native was a 2005 invitee to the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles camp, was exchanged to Shawinigan in August 2006 .. started game one against Fog Devils, came on in relief in game two .. was active in his net and controlled rebounds for the most part .. was caught deep in his crease on a number of occasions .. comes off his post too early and easily and is not always square to the shooter .. likes to go down which led to him being beaten upstairs on four occasions .. has a quick glove and active blocker .. gave his team a chance to win in game one, was shaky in game two.

Joshua Desmarais (2007), LW, Shawinigan

The six-foot, 220 pound Montreal, QC native was drafted in the fourth round of the 2006 QMJHL draft and has appeared in just 39-games .. fourth line duty in game one, scratched in game two .. stayed up and down wing mainly in the neutral zone making simple plays and never really skated.