The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada was confident in its chances of being among the leading teams at the start of this season. However, for various reasons, the organization’s hockey committee had to readjust the plan at the beginning of December.
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Several tiles fell on the heads of the leaders of the Armada during the first half of the 2022-2023 season. First of all, one of the best scorers in the QMJHL last year, Patrick Guay, was supposed to come to Blainville-Boisbriand.
However, Guay was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights at the last NHL selection auction. The latter convinced him to sign a first professional contract instead of playing one last campaign in the QMJHL. Guay has been moving between the ECHL and the American League since the start of the season.
Then, in another potential trade with the Charlottetown Islanders, defenseman William Trudeau was also set to move to the Armada. Once again, the team from the Basses-Laurentides found itself empty-handed.
After being cut from the Canadiens camp, Trudeau carved out a place for himself with the Rocket. He is now an indispensable player for head coach Jean-François Houle.
New game plan
There was also the case of Russian striker Ivan Miroshnichenko. The first-round pick in the last European draft was unable to come to America this season.
This bad news forced general manager Pierre Cloutier and his team to revise their game plan established at the start.
“We wanted to have a competitive and representative team that would be able to fight in the first third of the league, mentioned Pierre Cloutier. After that, anything could happen.
“Due to the circumstances that we know, we had to readjust our aim. The objective was to bring back players with our identity. We can’t say that we have a target group for next year, but we can’t say the opposite either. »
“Our objective between now and the end of the season is to have constant progress. »
End on a high note
The Armada has shown encouraging signs in recent weeks. Bruce Richardson’s troupe managed to hold their own against the powers of the Courteau circuit.
“We were competitive and during our defeats, the gap was not more than two goals,” said Cloutier. We have a young team with talent. We have a renewed chemistry internally. The best is yet to come. »
Barring a collapse by the end of the season, the Armada will make the playoffs. However, he could face a top team in the first round with seven rookies.
“With the parity that exists in the circuit, you never know what can happen. I wouldn’t bet against my team in the playoffs. We will take the opponent who will be in front of us. Our goal is to win. »
