Scout Series: Guillaume Gervais (QMJHL)

Future Considerations’ QMJHL-based scout Guillaume Gervais gives his thoughts on who from the 2014 NHL Draft class left him impressed, who disappointed and who his sleeper is on draft day.

To go even deeper into the draft class, pick up Future Considerations’ 2014 NHL Draft Guide, containing our ranking of the top-210 prospects, full profiles on 210 draft eligibles, a two-round mock draft, a glimpse at the 2015 NHL Draft and much, much more! Click HERE to find out more!

Who Impressed?

This year QMJHL crop isn’t as high end as last year, but there is some good depth player that could really help a team in the future that would be available form the second round and later.

Here’s my take form this season.

I will go to Gatineau and talk about a guy that made his way in the top-60 of our ranking while not in our top-100 in March. Vaclav Karabacek was a player I discovered in pre-season, where he had a pretty dominant performance against the Val d’Or Foreurs. He displayed slick hands, a hard accurate shot, great compete level and dazzling speed. You couldn’t ask for a better first impression.

When the season started, he was playing third line minutes and sometimes jumped in the top-6 when injuries struck. I thought he was a bit shy and was still adapting to the North American style as he had some quiet games and lacked consistency, but when he was on his game he was a threat and had multiple flashes of brilliance during that game.

He really picked his game up after 20-year-old Marc-Olivier Brouillard left the team. Karabacek was then playing top-6 minutes every night. I felt like he was more confident. Karabacek was trying to dangle a bit more and utilized his accurate saucer passes more often.

What impressed me the most all season long was his compete-level that reached another level during the playoff. I’m not afraid to say that he was the hardest working guy for Gatineau in the playoffs.

His progression was consistent all season long and, as a result, should be happy with his result on draft day.

Who Disappointed?

Also in Gatineau, Alexis Pépin is probably one of the biggest disappointments this season in the QMJHL for draft eligible.

I saw him at the start of the season when he was still with Charlottetown and he wasn’t the same player than the year before. He looked lost on the ice and it seemed his ice time was dropping in each of the three periods of that game.

With the Olympiques, Pépin had a little adaption period in January before having a pretty good month of February. He was mainly playing on the third line with them with some power play minutes where he was going in front of the net to screen the goalie and deflect pucks. He seemed to have a good chemistry with Karabacek on those power plays, too.

Pépin had aggravated a shoulder injury in February, one he had played through for a couple of months and missed a couple of games before returning and being as hot as he was before his injury. He was dominating physically along the boards, pushing and shoving opponents and making space for his teammates.

He’ll get drafted, just lower than initially expected. There’s still a long road ahead ofh I’m, though.

Who Surprised?

In the QMJHL, its frequent that some players plays Midget AAA at 16 and jumped in the league at 17. Frédérik Gauthier and Laurent Dauphin are some names that come to my mind from last year’s draft.

This year, Julien Pelletier is one of them.

I saw him for the first time in February and he showed some offensive flashed, but I came surprised with how much he was used by his coach and his defensive play. I also had the chance to see him during the series against Gatineau in the fist round and evaluate him more despite a hard series for Cape-Breton. He is skilled and has a really good vision and if he could add weight he could become a really good player going forward.

If he continues to build on the confidence he gained from this season he could become a really good player in the future. He is a wildcard player for me in this draft.