THREE QUESTIONS ON THE DRUMMONDVILLE VOLTIGEURS

• What is the plan going forward?

There’s no way to sugar coat it – Drummondville’s season ended in a difficult manner last year. After the second half of the regular season produced average results for a club that held a sizeable lead atop the Western Conference at the time, they became the first team in league history to lose a playoff series to a 16th-seeded opponent. That’s all in the rear-view mirror, however. The next few years should be challenging. While Yanick Lemay embarks on his first rebuilding process as a QMJHL General Manager, he’ll have someone at his side who has been through this process before; Head Coach Sylvain Favreau was an assistant with the Halifax Mooseheads in 2020 when they began putting the pieces together that he would end up guiding to the league final in 2023. Whatever the plan ends up looking like from this point forward, it’s safe to say there’s a degree of experience in mind as it develops.

• Can this group still learn from experiences?

Though an overabundance of 20-year-olds led to a number of surprising early roster moves in training camp, a few remaining veterans – including those who played a role in the club’s 2024 Gilles-Courteau Trophy victory – will be back to put the team of the future on the right foot. This includes Renaud Poulin, who showed flashes of offensive skill while exhibiting the traits that will make him a crucial part of the leadership group this season. On the backend, Yan Gaudreau returns for his overage campaign after performing solidly in a depth role the past two seasons, while Matteo Rotondi returns for a fifth campaign with the Volts to provide a steady presence on what was the league’s second-most effective defensive corps last year.

• Who’s ready to step up?

That’s not all when it comes to returning talent, however. Though there will be newcomers forced into significant roles at all positions, a few familiar names stand out in the lineup among those who will be taking on pivotal assignments this campaign. Overager Jesse Allecia is back after joining the team midway through the 2024-25 campaign to post 22 points in 38 games, plus a point per game in the postseason. Yoan Tassé already appears to be building on what was a productive rookie campaign while winger Maxime Lafond will undoubtedly be relied upon more frequently as he progresses. Toronto’s Owen Ronson brings a positionally solid game back to the Volts for a second season while in net, it will be an entirely new tandem, highlighted by Slovakian Jan Larys, a first-round selection in this Summer’s CHL Import Draft.

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2024-2025 Stats: