Could Team Quebec ice a competitive team at the 4 Nations Face-Off?
Quebec pride is a special thing. As a “nation within a nation,” as many Quebec locals would say, there’s a special uniqueness that comes with being born here. It is no difference with sports, as Montreal is considered as one of the “meccas” of hockey; some would say it’s the center of the hockey universe (don’t tell Toronto).
With such a rich history in sports – and hockey, specifically – and the 4 Nations Face-Off around the corner, one has to wonder what a “Team Quebec” would look like if they were to ever be able to ice its own team in an international tournament. It is a far fetched thought, but not one that’s completely impossible given the political history in Quebec.
With that said, let me take my best stab at what a Team Quebec would look like in the event of such a scenario taking place.
Management group
General Manager: Julien BriseBois
Assistant GMs: Daniel Briere, Martin Brodeur and Kent Hughes
Honorable mentions: Mathieu Darche, Chuck Fletcher, Roberto Luongo and Scott White
BriseBois is an obvious choice, as the Tampa Bay Lightning GM is already involved with Hockey Canada as an assistant GM for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Couple that with his multiple Stanley Cup championships, and there’s no doubt he would be heading the management group for Quebec
Brodeur, a multi-time Olympian as a player, has shot up the ranks with the New Jersey Devils’ front office. Now serving as the executive vice president of hockey operations, Brodeur has been involved in building the Devils into the high end team we see today.
Briere and Hughes are relatively new GMs, but both have shown promise. Briere has his hands on the rebuild in Philadelphia, and has experience running a sports franchise when he was the president of the ECHL’s Maine Mariners. Hughes, who is in his third full season with the Montreal Canadiens, is also manning a rebuild, while also having extensive player connections during his time as an agent.
Coaching staff
Head Coach: Patrick Roy
Assistant Coaches: Jim Montgomery, Martin St. Louis and Andre Tourigny
Honorable Mention: Claude Julien
This choice may shock some people, but I just can’t see Roy answering to anyone else calling the shots behind the bench. One of his reasons for his departure with the Colorado Avalanche a decade ago was due to a power struggle, and it appears there may already be signs of that with the New York Islanders. But his tangible success as head coach with the Quebec Ramparts cannot go unnoticed, either.
Montgomery’s track record speaks for itself, as his two seasons in Boston resulted in a ton of regular season success. There’s a reason why the St Louis Blues scooped him up in short order, and their play since Montgomery’s arrival is indicative of it.
St. Louis and Tourigny are two of the younger coaches in the NHL but both have shown promise. St. Louis has come under fire lately (lack of structure, specifically) but has helped develop individual players with the Canadiens; as an assistant coach he would excel. Tourigny’s work with Arizona/Utah could warrant some head coach consideration on this team, but he’s more than deserving of an assistant role given the (relative) success his team despite heavy adversity.
Forwards
Alexis Lafreniere – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Jonathan Marchessault
Jonathan Drouin – Phillip Danault – David Perron
Jonathan Huberdeau – Yanni Gourde – Frederick Gaudreau
William Carrier – Nicolas Roy – Anthony Mantha
Anthony Duclair
Honorable mentions: Zachary Bolduc, Mavrik Bourque, Mathieu Joseph, Mathieu Olivier and Jakob Pelletier
The high-end talent is missing compared to the other international teams, but the potential is there for Lafreniere, a former first overall pick. He got consideration for Team Canada and would surely be the deadliest weapon up front for Quebec.
There is a nice offensive ceiling for players like Doruin, Huberdeau and Marchessault to be difference makers, while a veteran in Perron can always be relied on. The depth down the middle is surprisingly decent, although they may be missing an offensive punch from their pivots beyond Dubois.
The fourth line is one built in the traditional sense: hard hitting with size. There’s familiarity from Vegas Golden Knights teammates Carrier and Roy, while Mantha provides physicality along with some scoring punch. Duclair can be used as a Swiss Army Knife up and down the lineup, as his speed and offensive upside are good attributes as the 13th forward.
Defense
Thomas Chabot – Krist Letang
Mike Matheson – Samuel Girard
Jeremy Lauzon – Alexandre Carrier
Vincent Desharnais
Honorable mentions: Simon Benoit, Pierre-Olivier Joseph and David Savard
On the back end, the offensive upside is certainly there for this group. Chabot is one of the better offensive, puck moving defensemn in the NHL, while Letang, though past his prime, has that ability as well.
Matheson has emerged as a solid two way rearguard with the Canadiens, but as a second pair guy on this team, he is better slotted. Paired with an undersized puck mover like Girard (though on his offside), this is a nice secondary pair for the coaches to use in specific matchups. I’d also expect seventh defenseman Desharnais to take reps with Matheson in certain situations as a more defensive pair. Desharnais, though in scarce minutes, would be used for physicality and making life tough on the opposing forwards.
Lauzon and Carrier have familiarity as teammates with the Nashville Predators; as we saw with Team Canada, chemistry among defensemen in short tournaments is something that is coveted.
Goaltenders
Samuel Montembeault
Marc-Andre Fleury
Devon Levi
Honorable mention: Olivier Rodrigue
It’s crazy to say, but this wasn’t as bad as I thought. Compared directly with Canada, Quebec’s trio in net is not far off.
Montembeault is slated to be Canada’s No. 3 in a few months; if we’re going based strictly on play during last year, he has a case to start over Jordan Binnington and Adin Hill. Montembeault’s success at the World Hockey Championship last year speaks volumes to his ability to rise to the occasion.
Fleury has been solid for the Minnesota Wild in a backup role but poses no real threat to overtake Montembeault for the starting gig. Levi has the potential to be a starter in the long term for the Quebec team but is far off from assuming such a role at this time.
The verdict
If this team were to be plopped into the 4 Nations Face-Off, I think they’d have a tough time against the likes of Canada, Sweden and the United States. The lack of a high end, game changing forward hurts, while the defense, while talented, lacks an authentic shutdown pair. The goaltending has a decent ceiling, but is also unproven.
I do think Quebec would give Finland a hard time, but the latter’s high end talent with Aleksander Barkov, Miro Heiskanen, Mikko Rantanen and Juuse Saros would cause problems. Quebec’s depth is arguably superior to that of Finland, but in tournaments that feature best on best, the star players are ones that often shine through.
All in all, I’d say, while not going down easy, Team Quebec would finish fifth in a scenario where they were included in the upcoming tournament.
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