Today marks the official kickoff of activities surrounding the 2026 Memorial Cup tournament presented by Kubota Canada!
This year, the QMJHL will be proudly represented by the 2026 Gilles-Courteau Trophy champions, the Chicoutimi Saguenéens. This will be the Sags’ fourth appearance at the national championship, having previously competed in the 1991, 1994 and 1997 tournaments.
Led by head coach Yanick Jean, the QMJHL champions rely on an impressive core of seven players who have already been drafted by National Hockey League (NHL) teams.
Let’s take a look at the NHL prospects currently playing for the Saguenéens:
- Lucas Beckman – Ottawa Senators (4th round, 97th overall | 2025)
- Alexis Bernier – Seattle Kraken (3rd round, 73rd overall | 2024)
- Émile Guité – Anaheim Ducks (5th round, 159th overall | 2025)
- Alex Huang – Nashville Predators (4th round, 122nd overall | 2025)
- Tomas Lavoie – Utah Mammoth (3rd round, 89th overall | 2024)
- Maxim Massé – Anaheim Ducks (3rd round, 66th overall | 2024)
- Maxim Schäfer – Washington Capitals (3rd round, 96th overall | 2025)
In addition to these prospects who were already selected in the NHL Draft, the Saguenéens also have six players on their roster who have participated in professional training camps.
Here are the players who gained some invaluable experience during these camps:
- Peteris Bulans – Vegas Golden Knights (2025)
- Thomas Desruisseaux – Anaheim Ducks (2024)
- Mavrick Lachance – Boston Bruins (2025)
- Nathan Lecompte – New Jersey Devils (2025)
- Jordan Tourigny – Winnipeg Jets (2023) and Minnesota Wild (2024, 2025)
- Emmanuel Vermette – Boston Bruins (2025)
The Saguenéens kick off their Memorial Cup preliminary round with a matchup against the Everett Silvertips on Saturday night. They’ll play the Kelowna Rockets the very next day, before facing the Kitchener Rangers on Tuesday.
All games are scheduled at 10 p.m. AT and will air live on both TSN and RDS.
