Moncton Wildcats

Moncton Wildcats
City:	Moncton, New Brunswick
League:	Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
Division:	Atlantic
Founded:	1995
Home Arena:	Moncton Coliseum, Moncton Events Centre (2018)
Colours:	Red, white, blue and gold
Head Coach:	Darren Rumble
General Manager:	Roger Shannon
Franchise history
1995–96:	Moncton Alpines
1996–Present Day:	Moncton Wildcats

The Moncton Wildcats are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. They play at the Moncton Coliseum in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. The franchise was granted for the 1995–96 season, and they were known as the Moncton Alpines for that season only. After winning the 2005–06 QMJHL championship, the team hosted the 2006 Memorial Cup. The Wildcats also won the 2009–10 QMJHL championship. which sent the team to compete in the 2010 Memorial Cup in Brandon, Manitoba. They were eliminated from contention after going winless in the round robin portion of the tournament.

History

The Moncton Alpines joined the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in the wake of successful expansion to Halifax, Nova Scotia, for the 1995–96 season. They played for one season under the ownership of racing driver John Graham and coached by Lucien DeBlois. However, the Alpines struggled mightily both on and off the ice. The team went through an initial year of financial difficulty and struggled to attract fans. There was some discussion of folding or moving the team, but instead the franchise was purchased by Robert Irving on May 28, 1996. On June 19, 1996, the team was officially renamed to the Moncton Wildcats and the new uniforms and logo were unveiled. The Wildcats' first game took place on September 22, 1996, in front of 7,506 fans. They won 9-6 over the Victoriaville Tigres. The team finished 16–52–2 for 34 points and last place.

The first few years of the Wildcats in Moncton featured a gradual improvement in the team's fortunes as more teams were added to the Maritimes and junior hockey took hold in the region. The 1999–2000 team dominated with a 44−20−5−3 record. In the playoffs the team steamrolled to the QMJHL semi-final against Rimouski. Injuries robbed the Wildcats of Simon Laliberte and Mirko Murovic, but the final blow to the Wildcats came just before the semi-final started, when team leading scorer Jonathan Roy was diagnosed with cancer. The off-ice distractions took their toll and Moncton lost the series in five games. Roy would ultimately beat cancer and went on to a pro career in the minor pro, European and senior ranks.

The next few seasons featured more rebuilding. In 2002–03, Corey Crawford's goaltending and Steve Bernier's 101 points led the Wildcats to a 37−20−10−5 record. In the playoffs, they fell in the quarter-final four games to two against the Quebec Remparts. At the NHL Draft Steve Bernier was selected 16th Overall by San Jose, goalie Corey Crawford by Chicago in the 2nd Round, and Nathan Saunders by Anaheim in the 4th Round.

In 2003–04, Corey Crawford set a team record for wins with 35, and 4 players had 30+ goal seasons: Steve Bernier with 36, Mathieu Betournay with 33, Konstantin Zakharov with 33, and Mārtiņš Karsums with 30. In the first Round, Moncton defeated the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in four games. In the quarter-final, they beat the PEI Rocket four games to two. In the semifinal, they finally defeated arch-rival Rimouski Océanic four games to one. In the President's Cup Final for the first time, Moncton lost to the Gatineau Olympiques four games to one.

In 2004–05, the "Sidney Crosby Show" was selling out buildings everywhere, and with the NHL lockout, Corey Crawford stayed in Moncton. Helped by his backup, Jean-Christophe Blanchard, they finished with a combined 2.47 GAA, best in the QMJHL. Steve Bernier again had a 30+ goal season, with 36. Adam Pineault had 26 goals, while Bruce Graham chipped in 23, and Stéphane Goulet finished with 22. Nathan Saunders set a new club record with 198 penalty minutes, finishing with a career record of 794 PIMS. In the playoffs, the Cats took Drummondville in the first round, four games to two before being knocked out by the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies four games to two.

In 2005, it was announced that Moncton would host the 2006 Memorial Cup. The team hired former NHL coach of the year Ted Nolan, and acquired players such as Keith Yandle, and various rookies. The team's slogan for 2005–06 was "New Coach, New Team, New Attitude". The Wildcats finished in first place in the league, going 52-15-0-3 for 107 points and winning the Jean Rougeau Trophy for the first time in club history. The Cats acquired Victoriaville Tigres goalie Josh Tordjman halfway through the season, as well as Luc Bourdon from the Val-d'Or Foreurs. They defeated Victoriaville four games to one in the first round, and did the same to the Halifax Mooseheads. The Wildcats defeated the Gatineau Olympiques four games to one in the third round. to return to the President's Cup, this time against Patrick Roy's Quebec Remparts. In Game 1, Moncton beat the Remparts 4-3 in overtime. Some more OT heroics resulted in a 3-2 win in Game 2. Quebec battled back for Game 3, winning 3-1. The Remparts tied the series at 2-2 with a 4-3 OT victory in Game 4. In Game 5, Moncton again used OT to get by Quebec 3-2. In Game 6, in front of a sold-out Moncton Coliseum crowd, Moncton took the trophy home, winning 3-2.

In the Memorial Cup against the Remparts, Vancouver Giants and Peterborough Petes, Moncton finished second in the round-robin after defeating Peterborough and Vancouver but losing to Quebec. The Wildcats defeated the Giants in the semi-final, but lost to the Remparts 6-2 in the Memorial Cup final.

Nolan went on to an NHL coaching job with the New York Islanders, along with assistant coach Danny Flynn. He was replaced by another coach with an NHL resume in John Torchetti. Torchetti led a young team to a 39-25-4-2 record before losing to the Halifax Mooseheads four games to three in the first round of the playoffs. Torchetti moved on to accept a post as associate coach with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Wildcats goalie Nicola Riopel set the QMJHL record for fewest goals against average in the 2008–2009 season

The Wildcats brought Flynn back as their new head coach and director of hockey operations for 2007–08. Flynn traded away top veterans Phil Mangan, Matt Marquardt and Murdock MacLellan at the Christmas trading period and guided the team to a 21-34-5-10 record. The team set a new franchise mark for offensive futility, scoring just 191 goals. Ralph Diamond took over the captaincy after Mangan's departure, and was honoured as the QMJHL and Canadian Hockey League Humanitarian of the Year for his extensive work in the community.

In the 2008–09 season the Wildcats beat two QMJHL records. They beat the record for most games straight with at least one point at the start of a season. They also beat the record for most consecutive road wins at the start of a season. They also finished the season with the second highest points total in franchise history with 102.

QMJHL RECORD - On March 15/09 Nicola Riopel became the first goaltender in the history of the league, to complete the regular season with a goal-against-average of 2.01. Previous record was established in 1997–98 by Patrick Couture (2.09).

QMJHL RECORD – Moncton Wildcats – this team has realized a new League record of 149 goals allowed in one season. Previous record was established in 2003–04 by the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (164).

Coaches

1995–1996 Lucien DeBlois: 14-48-8-0 1996–1997 Bill Riley: 16-52-2-0 1997–2000 Réal Paiement: 111-77-21-3 2000–2001 Tom Coolen (Fired in November 2001): 43-82-10-9 2001–2005 Christian La Rue (Fired in January 2005): 126-91-21-0

2005 Daniel Lacroix: 8-8-5 2005–2006 Ted Nolan: 52-15-0-3 2006–2007 John Torchetti: 39-25-4-2 2007–2013 Danny Flynn: 222-151-47 2013–Present Darren Rumble: 33-32-0-3

NHL drafted alumni

Name	Position	Draft team	Draft year	Draft position	NHL teams played for
Jean-Sébastien Aubin	G	Pittsburgh Penguins	1995	3rd round, 76th overall	Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings
François Cloutier	D	Florida Panthers	1995	5th round, 114th overall	Has not played
Pierre Dagenais	LW	New Jersey Devils	1996	4th round, 105th overall	New Jersey Devils, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens
Alexei Tezikov	D	Buffalo Sabres	1996	5th round, 115th overall	Washington Capitals, Vancouver Canucks
Jean-François Damphousse	G	New Jersey Devils	1997	1st round, 24th overall	New Jersey Devils
Jan Horacek	D	St. Louis Blues	1997	4th round, 98th overall	Has not played
Jonathan Desroches	D	Montreal Canadiens	1997	6th round, 145th overall	Has not played
Mathieu Benoit	RW	New Jersey Devils	1997	7th round, 188th overall	Has not played
Dmitri Kalinin	D	Buffalo Sabres	1998	1st round, 18th overall	Buffalo Sabres, New York Rangers, Phoenix Coyotes
Jonathan Girard	D	Boston Bruins	1998	2nd round, 48th overall	Boston Bruins
Dmitry Afanasenkov	LW	Tampa Bay Lightning	1998	3rd round, 72nd overall	Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers
François Beauchemin	D	Montreal Canadiens	1998	3rd round, 75th overall	Montreal Canadiens, Columbus Blue Jackets, Anaheim Ducks, Toronto Maple Leafs
Morgan Warren	RW	Toronto Maple Leafs	1998	5th round, 125th overall	Has not played
Trevor Ettinger	D	Edmonton Oilers	1998	6th round, 159th overall	Has not played
Jacques Larivière	LW	New Jersey Devils	1998	6th round, 172nd overall	Has not played
Martin Bartek	RW	Nashville Predators	1998	8th round, 202nd overall	Has not played
Simon Lajeunesse	G	Ottawa Senators	1999	2nd round, 48th overall	Ottawa Senators
Mirko Murovic	LW	Toronto Maple Leafs	1999	4th round, 108th overall	Has not played
Andrew Carver	D	Chicago Blackhawks	1999	8th round, 233rd overall	Has not played
Jean-François Racine	G	Toronto Maple Leafs	2000	3rd round, 90th overall	Toronto Maple Leafs
Jonathan Gauthier	D	Montreal Canadiens	2000	9th round, 275th overall	Has not played
Evgeny Artyukhin	RW	Tampa Bay Lightning	2001	3rd round, 94th overall	Tampa Bay Lightning, Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers
Thierry Douville	D	Philadelphia Flyers	2001	7th round, 208th overall	Has not played
Johnny Oduya	D	Montreal Canadiens	2001	7th round, 221st overall	New Jersey Devils, Atlanta Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets, Chicago Blackhawks
Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau	RW	Anaheim Ducks	2001	9th round, 264th overall	Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Colorado Avalanche
Alexei Shkotov	C	St. Louis Blues	2002	2nd round, 48th overall	Has not played
Jonathan Ferland	RW	Montreal Canadiens	2002	7th round, 212th overall	Montreal Canadiens
François Caron	D	Anaheim Ducks	2002	9th round, 261st overall	Has not played
Matthew Davis	G	Nashville Predators	2002	9th round, 264th overall	Has not played
Steve Bernier	RW	San Jose Sharks	2003	1st round, 16th overall	San Jose Sharks, Buffalo Sabres, Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils
Corey Crawford	G	Chicago Blackhawks	2003	2nd round, 52nd overall	Chicago Blackhawks
Konstantin Zakharov	LW	St. Louis Blues	2003	3rd round, 101st overall	Has not played
Philippe Dupuis	C	Columbus Blue Jackets	2003	4th round, 104th overall	Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs
Nathan Saunders	D	Anaheim Ducks	2003	4th round, 119 overall	Has not played
Bruce Graham	C	New York Rangers	2004	2nd round, 51st overall	Has not played
Adam Pineault	RW	Columbus Blue Jackets	2004	2nd round, 46th overall	Columbus Blue Jackets
Mārtiņš Karsums	RW	Boston Bruins	2004	2nd round, 64th overall	Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning
Stéphane Goulet	RW	Edmonton Oilers	2004	7th round, 208th overall	Has not played
Luc Bourdon	D	Vancouver Canucks	2005	1st round, 10th overall	Vancouver Canucks
Oskars Bārtulis	D	Philadelphia Flyers	2005	3rd round, 91st overall	Philadelphia Flyers
Keith Yandle	D	Phoenix Coyotes	2005	4th round, 105th overall	Phoenix Coyotes
Brad Marchand	RW	Boston Bruins	2006	3rd round, 71st overall	Boston Bruins
Andrew MacDonald	D	New York Islanders	2006	6th round, 160th overall	New York Islanders
Matt Marquardt	LW	Columbus Blue Jackets	2006	7th round, 194th overall	Has not played
Kyell Henegan	D	New Jersey Devils	2006	7th round, 208th overall	Has not played
Randy Cameron	C	Detroit Red Wings	2007	5th round, 148th overall	Has not played
Nicolas Deschamps	LW	Anaheim Ducks	2008	2nd round, 35th overall	Has not played
Kelsey Tessier	C	Colorado Avalanche	2008	4th round, 110th overall	Has not played
Mark Barberio	D	Tampa Bay Lightning	2008	6th round, 152nd overall	Tampa Bay Lightning
Jason Demers	D	San Jose Sharks	2008	7th round, 186th overall	San Jose Sharks
David Savard	D	Columbus Blue Jackets	2009	4th round, 94th overall	Columbus Blue Jackets
Gabriel Bourque	LW	Nashville Predators	2009	5th round, 132nd overall	Nashville Predators
Nicola Riopel	G	Philadelphia Flyers	2009	5th round, 142nd overall	Has not played
Brandon Gormley	D	Phoenix Coyotes	2010	1st round, 13th overall	Has not played
Kirill Kabanov	LW	New York Islanders	2010	3rd round, 65th overall	Has not played
Louis Domingue	G	Phoenix Coyotes	2010	5th round, 138th overall	Has not played
Dillon Donnelly	D	Colorado Avalanche	2011	7th round, 183rd overall	Has not played
James Melindy	D	Phoenix Coyotes	2012	3rd round, 88th overall	Has not played
Ivan Barbashev	C/LW	St.Louis Blues	2014	2nd round, 33rd overall	Has not played
Patrick Thoresen	LW	Undrafted	--	--	Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers
Josh Tordjman	G	Undrafted	--	--	Phoenix Coyotes
Jérôme Samson	RW	Undrafted	--	--	Carolina Hurricanes

Team records

Team records for a single season
Statistic	Total	Season
Most points	107	2005–06
Most wins	52	2005–06
Most goals for	345	2005–06
Fewest goals for	191	2007–08
Fewest goals against	149	2008–09
Most goals against	354	1996–97

Individual player records for a single season
Statistic	Player	Total	Season
Most goals	Sébastien Roger	53	1997–98
Most assists	Conor Garland	94	2014-15
Most points	Conor Garland	129	2014-15
Most points, rookie	Keith Yandle	84	2005–06
Most points, defenseman	Keith Yandle	84	2005–06
Most PIM	Jacques Larivière	306	1998-99
Best GAA (goalie)	Nicola Riopel	2.01	2008–09
Goalies = minimum 1500 minutes played

Yearly results

• 1995–96 Moncton Alpines
• 1996–present Moncton Wildcats

Regular season

Season	G	W	L	T	OL	SL	Pts	Pct %	GF	GA	Standing
1995–96	70	14	48	8	-	-	36	0.257	215	360	7th in Dilio
1996–97	70	16	52	2	-	-	34	0.243	192	354	7th in Dilio
1997–98	70	39	32	9	-	-	67	0.479	240	229	4th in Dilio
1998–99	70	38	25	7	-	-	81	0.593	257	235	4th in Dilio
1999–2000	72	44	20	5	3	-	96	0.646	292	211	1st in Maritimes
2000–01	72	23	41	6	2	-	54	0.361	246	323	4th in Maritimes
2001–02	72	20	41	4	7	-	75	0.306	214	287	4th in Maritimes
2002–03	72	37	20	10	5	-	89	0.583	255	216	3rd in Maritimes
2003–04	70	46	19	3	2	-	97	0.679	270	206	2nd in Atlantic
2004–05	70	37	23	8	2	-	84	0.586	206	175	2nd in Atlantic
2005–06	70	52	15	-	0	3	107	0.776	345	184	1st in East
2006–07	70	39	25	-	4	2	84	0.557	254	263	3rd in East
2007–08	70	21	34	-	5	10	57	0.300	191	242	8th in East
2008–09	68	48	14	-	2	4	102	0.706	236	149	1st in East
2009–10	68	48	14	-	2	4	102	0.706	276	164	2nd in Atlantic
2010–11	68	33	25	-	3	7	76	0.485	232	256	3rd in Maritimes
2011–12	68	30	31	-	3	4	67	0.441	190	228	4th in Maritimes
2012-13	68	42	23	-	2	1	87	0.640	274	202	2nd in Maritimes
2013-14	68	33	32	-	0	2	69	0.507	214	226	3rd in Maritimes
2014-15	68	46	19	-	0	3	95	0.699	287	232	1st in Maritimes
2015-16	68	36	21	-	9	2	83	0.610	268	250	2nd in Maritimes
2016-17	68	14	51	-	2	1	31	0.228	170	356	6th in Maritimes
2017-18	68	27	33	-	5	3	62	0.456	233	282	5th in Maritimes
2018-19	68	38	21	-	4	5	85	0.625	274	222	4th in Maritimes

Playoffs

Saint John 4 @ Wildcats 7.

• 1995–96 - Out of playoffs.
• 1996–97 - Out of playoffs.
• 1997–98 - Defeated Chicoutimi Saguenéens 4 games to 2 in first round.
  Lost to Rimouski Océanic and Quebec Remparts in round-robin.
• 1998–99 - Lost to Rimouski Océanic 4 games to 0 in first round.
• 1999–2000 - Defeated Acadie-Bathurst Titan 4 games to 0 in first round.
  Defeated Quebec Remparts 4 games to 3 in second round.
  Lost to Rimouski Océanic 4 games to 1 in QMJHL semi-finals.
• 2000–01 - Out of playoffs.
• 2001–02 - Out of playoffs.
• 2002–03 - Lost to Quebec Remparts 4 games to 2 in first round.
• 2003–04 - Defeated Baie-Comeau Drakkar 4 games to 0 in first round.
  Defeated P.E.I. Rocket 4 games to 2 in quarter-finals.
  Defeated Rimouski Océanic 4 games to 1 in semi-finals.
  Lost to Hull Olympiques 4 games to 1 in QMJHL finals.
• 2004–05 - Defeated Drummondville Voltigeurs 4 games to 2 in first round.
  Lost to Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 4 games to 2 in quarter-finals.
• 2005–06 - Defeated Victoriaville Tigres 4 games to 1 in conference quarter-finals.
  Defeated Halifax Mooseheads 4 games to 1 in conference semi-finals.
  Defeated Gatineau Olympiques 4 games to 1 in conference finals.
  Defeated Quebec Remparts 4 games to 2 in QMJHL finals. QMJHL CHAMPIONS
  Finished Memorial Cup round-robin in second place.
  Defeated Vancouver Giants 4-1 in the semi-final.
  Lost to Quebec Remparts 6-2 in Memorial Cup final.
• 2006–07 - Lost to Halifax Mooseheads 4 games to 3 in conference quarter-finals.
• 2007–08 - Out of playoffs.
• 2008–09 - Defeated P.E.I. Rocket 4 games to 1 in first round.
  Lost to Rimouski Oceanic 4-1 in Second Round
• 2009–10 - Defeated Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 4 games to 1 in first round.
  Defeated Royun Noranda Huskies 4 games to 1 in second round.
  Defeated Drummondville Voltigeures 4 games to 1 in the third round.
  Defeated Saint John Sea Dogs 4 games to 2 in final round to win the Presidents Cup. QMJHL CHAMPIONS
  Advanced to the Memorial Cup in Brandon, Manitoba.
  Finished Memorial Cup round-robin in fourth place and eliminated from contention.
• 2010–11 - Lost to Lewiston Maineiacs 4 games to 1 in first round.
• 2011–12 - Lost to Halifax Mooseheads 4 games to 0 in first round.
• 2012-13 - Lost to Victoriaville Tigers 4 games to 1 in first round.
• 2013-14 – Lost to Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 4 games to 2 in first round.
• 2014-15 - Defeated Chicoutimi Saguenéens 4 games to 1 in first round.
  Defeated Halifax Mooseheads 4 games to 3 in second round.
  Lost to Quebec Remparts 4 games to 0 in third round.
• 2015-16 - Defeated Victoriaville Tigers 4 games to 1 in first round.
  Defeated Gatineau Olympiques in the quarterfinals.
  Lost to Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in semifinals.
• 2016-17 - Out of playoffs.
• 2017-18 - Defeated Rimouski Oceanic 4 games to 3 in the first round.
  Lost to Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 4 games to 1 in the quarterfinals
• 2018-19 - Defeated Baie-Commeau Drakkar 4 games to 3 in the first round.
  Lost to Halifax Mooseheads 4-0 in Quarterfinals.

External links

• Official Site
• QMJHL stats