Though the Newfoundland Regiment has certainly seen some ups and downs in its inaugural season, the team enters the second half of the season as a team that could do some damage.
Before the Trade Period
Entering the December 16th trade period, Newfoundland was in the midst of two very different halves of the month of December. Early on in the month, it was on its best streak in team history where it scored 19 goals in four games, winning all but one of them.
The team had gotten its record four games above .500 and sat in 8th in the overall QMJHL standings, the top half of the league.
After that, it was a different story, the team went on a long road trip and lost three of four games ahead of the trade period and Christmas break. This time, the players struggled to score and to keep the puck out of the net.
Its record fell back to just one game over .500, and it fell to 11th place in the standings, still comfortably in a playoff spot, but not where a team of its calibre was hoping to be.
Entering the season, many pundits believed the Regiment was a top-5 team in the league, and while it wasn’t (and likely still won’t) compete for a championship, it was evident it would at least attempt to be competitive, which proved to be true.
Trade Period
One area of concern for Newfoundland ahead of the trade period was goaltending, as it statistically had some of the worst goaltending in the league. The team addressed this need by acquiring Louis-Antoine Denault from the Quebec Remparts.
Standing at a staggering 6’8″, Denault was the fifth ranked goaltender in the league statistically when Newfoundland acquired him, and so far in six games with the Regiment, he has only lost one game and has been performing better since the move.
Another move the team made was acquiring defenceman Alexis Mathieu from the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. Mathieu, a fifth round draft pick by the Anaheim Ducks in the NHL, is known for his physical style of play and overall defensive ability. He was also brought in to help the Regiment improve its penalty kill, which ranks dead last in the league.
In that same trade, Newfoundland brought in forward Ryan Dwyer, whose father, Gordie, is actually both head coach and general manager of the team. Dwyer was brought in as a depth forward, and has been playing on the fourth line. He has been a very underrated addition so far, scoring in his first shift at the Mary Brown’s Centre.
The last move Newfoundland made was yet again with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar, this time adding forward Alexis Michaud. Michaud was brought in to help bolster the teams offence, and in three games so far he has bounced around the lineup.
That being said, he has scored a goal and added two assists, meaning he’s a point per game so far in Newfoundland. He has yet to play in front of the home crowd.
Newfoundland exits the trade period as one of the leagues most improved teams, improving offensively, defensively and goaltending.
What’s Next?
Since returning from Christmas break, the Newfoundland Regiment have won six of eight games, and are returning home the next two weekends for a set of series’ against the Rimouski Océanic and the Drummondville Voltigeurs, which will be the first time in franchise history it will meet both teams.
While the Newfoundland Regiment are a distant 3rd place in the Eastern conference, sitting behind the two best teams in the league in the Chicoutimi Saguenéens and Moncton Wildcats, it is currently 7th in the league standings, very comfortably in a playoff spot.
The team has 46 points and hold a 22-16-2 record. A good weekend against Rimouski could potentially see them move all the way up to 4th in the league.
