QMJHL: Victories for Victoriaville

Despite the loss of veteran netminder Kevin Poulin due to injury, the Victoriaville Tigres have banded together and are steadily improving as the season progresses. Lead by the play of their veterans and the steady improvement of some of their younger players like draft-eligible Andrej Nestrasil, the Tigres may play spoilers as the season enters its final stretch. McKeen's contributor Rick Springhetti looks at several Tigres making an impact.

Maxime Tanguay (Chi), C, Victoriaville

Very shifty skater, as he uses his short stature to his advantage by keeping his body low to complicate things for the opposition .. can start and stop quickly .. does surprisingly well along the boards when moving his feet and keeping his stick active .. at his best playing the give and go play with his linemates .. consistently does well in the faceoff circle .. still makes mistakes in his own zone, mostly when trying to do too much at the wrong time.

Joel Chouinard (Col), D, Victoriaville

Solid skater, he could use some improvement in his first few steps .. defensively, he does well when he uses his stick and keeps his position, but he gets in trouble when he tries to stickhandle too much .. generally, he will not try to move the puck up too much, but instead will make the safe play .. on the powerplay, he distributes the puck well .. gets some good strength behind his shot, but too often, will either miss the net or have his shot blocked .. not an especially physical player, but will play the body .. solid work ethic, he puts in an honest effort at all times.

Kirill Tulupov (NJ), D, Victoriaville

Big defenseman, he is at his best when staying in front of his net and keeping forwards at bay, but has a harder time when dealing with quicker players as they tend to be able to beat him from the outside .. can recover well from mistakes due to his size and strength .. makes some bad decisions at times in his own zone .. not a great skater, but he does well when moving forward in a straight line .. has a hard shot that he keeps low most of the time .. can move the puck well during the powerplay .. can be quite frustrating, as he does not play a very physical game for someone with his size.

Andrej Nestrasil (2009), LW, Victoriaville

Starting to move his feet a lot more, which has resulted in more scoring chances and better overall play in his own zone .. not caught out of position as often as he used to .. not a very physical player but is starting to use his frame to create scoring chances for himself .. strongest part of his game is his shot .. he gets it off without warning and hits the net regularly .. passing game is coming together nicely .. he is still not the type of player that will make a great breakout pass, but he does get it to a teammate in a safe matter .. tends to run around a little in the defensive zone but he is making an effort to support his teammates.

Olivier Hinse (2009), LW, Victoriaville

Very good sniper around the opposing net and he seems to know this judging by his 177 shots on net this season .. at his best when he manages to get himself in a scoring position around the net .. generally makes quick decisions with the puck .. needs to improve his leg strength .. does not help his cause as he often stops moving his feet leading to either lazy penalties or scoring opportunities for the opposition .. his defensive game is also a weakness that will need to be improved on .. spends too much time trying to figure out where to position himself in his own zone .. does not play much of a physical game.

Pierre-Luc Pelletier (2009), D, Victoriaville

Picked up in a trade with the Lewiston MAINEiacs, Pelletier has impressed in the 11 games he has played for Victoriaville .. while he does not possess explosive speed, he is quick enough to defend against faster players .. showed some impressive maturity for such a young player, knowing when to take a chance or make the safe play .. plays within his limits .. average strength behind his shot, but he does hit the net with regularity .. does not go around looking for a hit, but will lay into opposing players when the opportunity arises .. gets the puck out of his own zone quickly .. positionally very sound, he does not get rattled when pressured.. already seeing regular time on the PK.

Antonio Mastropietro (2009), G, Victoriaville

Has had to fill-in for Kevin Poulin who is out with a knee injury .. average-sized goaltender, he moves his legs well .. has trouble with high shots at times .. not intimidated by traffic around the net .. needs to improve his consistency, as he tends to run hot and cold from game to game.

Brandon Hynes (2010), RW, Victoriaville

Sharp skater, he manages to pick up speed very quickly .. very developed peripheral vision once he get's into the offensive zone .. manages to pass the puck around to his teammates with authority but tends to be a little individualistic at times.. very quick release on his shot .. can surprise opposing defensemen with a very strong backhand .. tends to cheat on defence, as he stays very high looking for the breakout pass even when he needs to support his teammates.