QMJHL: Labelle Du Jour

The defending back-to-back QMJHL champions the Gatineau Olympiques had their streak of nine consecutive playoff series wins snapped by the Halifax Mooseheads (who triumphed in five games). Not helping were erratic performances by David Krejci, David Tremblay and Olivier Labelle. We have the details on these players and more.

David Krejci (Bos), C, Gatineau

Silky smooth hands but not very strong on the puck and often ineffective one-on-one .. creatively tried to beat checks yet seldom gets by stickhandling alone .. reads the game especially well on the rush and is a valuable quarterback due to his vision and passing skills .. possesses a tremendous sense for where his teammates are on the ice .. skates well but lacks explosive speed .. appears often a bit nonchalant defensively and is at times error-prone in the opposition's zone .. made two mistakes with the puck on one powerplay, two of which resulted in shorthanded scoring chances the other way .. became increasingly frustrated and undisciplined as the playoffs progressed .. too often can not control his emotions and retaliates .. still rough around the edges.

David Tremblay (Phi), G, Gatineau

Acrobatic, sprawling style .. uses his frame to cut down the angle .. spends much time on his knees, which makes him effective down low but pucks do beat him up high .. his down-low tendencies result in sliding action when he must move laterally, thus he is often in trouble when he needs to make sudden moves when down .. quick glove hand .. poor rebound control allows opposing team to buy chances .. relies on angles, acrobatics and quick reflexes.

Petr Pohl (CBJ), RW, Gatineau

Pesky, in-your-face forechecker .. still does not keep his head up and was leveled twice at open ice .. not a good-looking skater but can be very quick .. it takes him a few strides to get going .. diligent work in the corners .. not showing the same kind of one-sided offensive dimension as before .. has progressed to become a more useful two-way player with an scoring touch .. very good vision and makes nifty, accurate passes .. sacrifices his body to finish plays.

Olivier Labelle (2005), RW, Gatineau

Very disappointing playoff performance given that he has been Gatineau's Gary Roberts-type the past two seasons .. did not live up to expectations of being a leader on a weaker Olympiques club this year .. lacked a consistent effort on the forecheck; diving and cheap shots were also aplenty .. gritty but did not employ this side of his game very wisely.

Justin Saulnier (2005), C, Halifax

Sometime in between being sent home in March and not seeing a minute of the second round, he must be realizing that his days as a Moosehead are numbered with Al MacAdam behind the bench .. we know that he can be a capable player and expect a breakout with a new team next season.

Bryce Swan (2006), RW, Halifax

Initially had interest in taking the NCAA route but, to the Mooseheads' great satisfaction, he decided to remain in his native province .. a power forward with pro potential .. throws around hard hits and always keeps his feet moving .. motivated and shows excellent work along the boards .. an above-average skater .. only rookie to make an impact for Halifax in the playoffs.