Monday, March 15, 2010

When is the last time...

a Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season ended with a leading scorer(s) who tallied less than 100 points?

It happened this year, with Sean Couturier (68 games) and Nicolas Deschamps (64 games) both finishing with 96 points, but has it ever happened before?

To my knowledge, no. I went all the way back to 1986-87, and every year has seen at least one player hit the century mark, if not 15 or more. There were back-to-back years of 200-point guys in 1987 and 1988. Will do more research on this later.

Last year, Bruins prospect Yannick Riendeau led the way with 126 points. Heck, the year he was drafted in 1984, Mario Lemieux had 133 GOALS against 282 points in 70 games. That's just sick, I tell you.

The point is not to compare this year's scoring leaders with Mario le Magnifique, but to highlight this interesting happenstance in a league that has long been known for its high-flying offense.

Couturier, by the way, is the son of ex-NHL journeyman Sylvain Couturier, and along with Swede Adam Larsson, is the frontrunner for the 2011 NHL draft. You'll be reading a lot about Couturier (and Larsson for that matter) in the 2011 Bruins Draft Watch blog next season.

So, if I'm wrong, and there has been a year that a player led the Q in scoring without hitting the century mark, I'm sure someone out there will let me know, but in my attempt to research it, I have yet to find it.

Is this a blip on the radar or a trend? Should be interesting to watch what happens in the coming years.

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