Quebec City Citadelles have had an impressive start to their season. They hold a 7-1 record, not only being first in their divison, but also the league. This is not a small accomplishment. They are showing the rest of the league they are a team not to be tripheled with, and if you want to play with the big dogs, you better bring you’re a game. Let’s take a look at what makes them such a good team and why everyone should be treating every game against them like it’s a do or die game.
 
After playing a supporting role for the last 2 seasons for the Citadelles, Zdenko Beranek had 15 points in 50 games in his rookie season after being the 1st overall pick in the SMJHL draft, and he followed that up with a respectable 37 points in 50 games in his Sophomore season. Now considered one of the veteran leaders on a young Citadelle squad, He has lit the league on fire, as he currently has 14 points in 8 games. He started out as a winger, but is currently listed as a center for QCC this season, and it doesn’t look like moving over to the middle of the ice has affected his game at all.
 
Jesper Maximov is also doing great things as he sits second in the league in scoring behind only teammate Beranek, and is the top scoring defender so far this season. He brings a strong presence on the back end when it comes to offence, and with other members of their team being able to pick up the slack on the defensive side of the puck, it has opened up the ice for Maximov to do his thing.
 
The team also has a fantastic powerplay with the following players taking to the ice for the man advantage:
 
Mikael Koskinen, RW, 8GP 6G 4A 10P, 7PP Points
Jst Maro, C, 8GP 2G 7A 9P, 6PP Points
Jesper Maximov, LD, 2G 9A 11P, 6PP Points
Zdenko Beranek, C, 6G 8A 14P, 6PP Points
 
As you can see, their top 4 powerplay performers have been making teams regret taking penalties. It would probably be beneficial to teams to not go down a man against this powerful Citadelle team.
 
In net, the team is running with the tandem of Mat Smith and Tyler Ward. They may not be the best tandem in the league (at least not stat wise), but they are experienced enough. Their offensive firepower has been able to give Smith and Ward the room they need to find their stride, but if they don’t find it soon, the team could be in trouble if they begin to struggle finding the back of the net.
 
Their top defensive presence has actually not come from the back end, but from a winger. William Salming is not only scoring at a point per game pace (9 points in 8 games), but he also sports the best Defensive Game Rating (DGR) with a 71. He has actually been the most well rounded player by also having the top Offensive Game Rating (OGR: 71) and Game Rating (GR: 72). He leads his team with 12 takeaways and has not been afraid to throw his body around either with 16 hits.
 
After this Deep Dive into Quebec City’s fantastic start, there is a much clearer picture developing showing that this team is currently riding high on an offence that can’t be stopped, but they lack on the defensive side of the game, as there are only 2 teams with more goals scored against (St. Louis Scarecrows, 30GA & Vancouver Whalers, 34GA)and they are tied for 3rd worst in the league with the Newfoundland Berserkers (28GA), and all 3 of those teams sport losing records. If their offence dries up, they may struggle to continue piling up the wins the way that they have been.

Approved, +5 TPE @DApolloS