The Blizzard du Séminaire Saint-François will make a record-extending 17th appearance at the Men’s U18 National Club Championship, and they’ll make the 200-kilometre trip to Saint-Hyacinthe with a little more history in sight.

The Blizzard have won four national titles (1978, 1979, 1996, 2001), one behind the Notre Dame Hounds for the most ever. That 2001 championship was also the most recent won by a team from Quebec.

"We understand the magnitude of the challenge,” Blizzard head coach Mathieu Turcotte says. “Our organization want to bring back the tradition of excellence with this team and I am sure it will energize our players, knowing they have this chance to repeat the 2001 feat."

Finishing with the second-best record in the Ligue de développement du hockey M18 AAA du Québec (LDHM18AAAQ) during the regular season, the Blizzard played their way into the Classique des champions, the new season-ending playoff tournament. St-François dropped a 5-2 decision to the Gaulois de Saint-Hyacinthe – hosts of the national championship – in the final, which was enough to confirm their place at nationals.

"In decisive games, we have to play well for three periods and can't have bad 10-12-minute stretches,” Turcotte says of what he hopes to see from his team against the best in the nation. “Our game against the Gaulois is definitely not going to happen again. We’ll want to get off to a better start against them this time, but we have to take it one game at a time in a tournament like this.”

Two of their cornerstones this season have been a pair of 16-year-old, Raphaël Précourt and Louis-Alex Tremblay. Backstopping the Blizzard to 19 wins in the regular season, Précourt continued his stellar play by winning all but three games during the LDHM18AAAQ playoffs, while Tremblay developed into a solid two-way defender.

"Raphaël Précourt has been our most valuable player since Christmas,” Turcotte says. “He won the Patrick Roy Trophy as the best defensive player in the playoffs and is an important part of our team. Louis-Alex Tremblay started the season producing a lot offensively, but he became a good two-way defenseman and by the playoffs, he was facing the opposing team’s best players."

The Blizzard will hit the ice for the first time April 24, when they face the West Region champions, the Saskatoon Blazers.

HOW THEY GOT TO SAINT-HYACINTHE

Ligue de développement du hockey M18 AAA du Québec
Thaïzone semifinal: defeated Albatros du Collège Notre-Dame 3-0 (2-0, 6-1, 3-0)
Thaïzone final: defeated Estacades de Trois-Rivières 3-2 (2-6, 4-1, 2-1, 4-5 OT, 5-2)

Quebec Regional
Semifinal: defeated Lions du Lac St-Louis 5-3
Final: lost to Gaulois de Saint-Hyacinthe 5-2

REGULAR SEASON

Record: 28-11-1 (2nd in LDHM18AAAQ)
Goals for: 167
Goals against: 110
Top 3 scorers:
- Benjamin Chabot – 20G 31A 51P (6th in LDHM18AAAQ)
- William Labranche – 21G 23A 44P (10th in LDHM18AAAQ)
- Louis-Alex Tremblay – 8G 29A 37P (21st in LDHM18AAAQ)

PLAYOFFS

Record: 6-2
Goals for: 30
Goals against: 12
Top 3 scorers
- Nathaniel Harvey – 4G 5A 9P
- Vincent Légaré – 3G 5A 8P
- Maxime-Olivier Drolet – 3G 4A 7P

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

2017 - Blizzard du Séminaire St-François | silver medal | 4-3 | 24GF 20GA
2008 - Blizzard du Séminaire St-François | bronze medal | 3-4 | 24GF 19GA
2007 - Blizzard du Séminaire St-François | bronze medal | 3-4 | 21GF 19GA
2001 - Gouverneurs de Sainte-Foy | gold medal | 5-2 | 34GF 19GA
1999 - Gouverneurs de Sainte-Foy | bronze medal | 5-2 | 34GF 17GA
1996 - Gouverneurs de Sainte-Foy | gold medal | 5-2 | 32GF 25GA
1995 - Gouverneurs de Sainte-Foy | bronze medal | 4-2 | 22GA 18GF
1993 - Gouverneurs de Sainte-Foy | silver medal | 3-1-2 | 21GF 15GA
1990 - Gouverneurs de Sainte-Foy | silver medal | 5-1-1 | 26GF 20GA
1989 - Gouverneurs de Sainte-Foy | fourth place | 3-4 | 25GF 19GA
1986 - Gouverneurs de Sainte-Foy | bronze medal | 5-2 | 42GF 27GA
1983 - Gouverneurs de Sainte-Foy | silver medal | 6-2 | 39GF 16GA
1982 - Gouverneurs de Sainte-Foy | silver medal | 6-2 | 37GF 18GA
1980 - Gouverneurs de Sainte-Foy | silver medal | 5-1 | 38GF 13GA
1979 - Couillard de Sainte-Foy | gold medal | 6-0 | 50GF 13GA
1978 - Couillard de Sainte-Foy | gold medal | 7-0 | 42GF 9GA

PLAYERS TO WATCH

WILLIAM LABRANCHE
great playmaker … excellent shot … good in tight areas … efficient on power play

RAPHAËL PRÉCOURT
poised between the pipes … always ready to make key saves … great in big moments

XAVIER VEILLEUX
lead the charge on defence … leader on and off the ice … two-way defenceman

QMJHL DRAFTED PLAYERS

Xavier Veilleux – Chicoutimi Saguenéens 2022 (1st round, 16th overall)
Vincent Légaré – Moncton Wildcats 2022 (4th round, 63rd overall)
David-Alexandre Coulombe –Gatineau Olympiques 2022 (5th round, 74th overall)
Marc-Olivier Roy - Quebec Remparts 2022 (6th round, 175th overall)
William Labranche – Baie Comeau Drakkar 2022 (7th round, 111th overall)
Nathaniel Harvey – Victoriaville Tigres 2022 (9th round, 146th overall)
Mavrick Rousseau-Hamel – Drummondville Voltigeurs 2022 (9th round, 161st overall)
Mathieu Plante - Shawinigan Cataractes 2022 (10th round, 174th overall)
Benjamin Chabot – Victoriaville Tigres 2022 (12th round, 204th overall)
Maxime-Olivier Drolet – Drummondville Voltigeurs 2022 (13th round, 225th overall)
Gabriel Qureshi – Shawinigan Cataractes 2022 (13th round, 228th overall)
Alexis Jacques – Victoriaville Tigres 2021 (7th round, 121st overall)
Mikael Cloutier - Drummondville Voltigeurs 2021 (10th round, 175th overall)