The Quebec City Citadelles were a middling team in season 56 of the SMJHL. They finished with an unremarkable record of 23 wins, 23 losses, and 4 overtime losses; this was good enough for 50 points, which slotted them at 4th in their division and tied for 8th overall. They scored 147 goals and allowed 139 goals. Quebec was a young team that did not quite find their stride throughout the season.
In season 57, The Citadelles completely turned around their fortunes. Through having their season 56 and earlier players develop into super stars, drafting a crop of young and hungry rookies in the season 57 rookie entry draft,  and finally by having the team focus on scoring goals above all else, The Citadelles are far and away the best team in the SMJHL this season, so far.


As of Friday morning, Quebec has 14 wins, 1 loss, and 1 overtime loss; totaling 29 points, which is best in the division by 9 and best in the league by 7. They have scored 77 goals and have allowed 45 goals against. In just 28% of the games, Quebec has already scored 52% of their total goals from last season, and has only allowed 32% of their total goals allowed.


A huge part of the team’s growth has been the improvement of the top two lines. Centers Zdenko Beranek and Jst Maro are the only players in the league with more than 20 points; Beranek with 12G and 11A, Maro with 6G and 15A. Last season, Beranek only had 10G and 27A; he is well on his way to shattering that total, even without considering the extended season. Likewise, Maro accounted for 33 points last season, 9G and 24A. He too will far surpass that total.


Quebec is not a star-focused team, however, as there are many contributors down the lines. The Citadelles have 6 of the top 8 highest point scorers, and have had solid contributions from rookies. Rookie LD Bjorn Jakobsen already has 13 points on 7G + 6A with a plus minus of 11. Meanwhile, the fourth line has a couple of promising youngsters on it, with Mew Two and Brian Davenport both having 6 points, 4G + 2 A and 1G + 5A respectively. In a draft where Quebec traded out of the first couple rounds, getting thee high quality active users with good players is huge for the team to continue being one of the best in the league.


Just like the offense, the defense has made huge strides towards greatness as well. Last season, Mat Smith had just 14 wins, with 20 losses and 3 overtime losses. Additionally, he posted a 2.90 GAA and a .911 SV%., which was good enough for a GR of 71.  This season his raw stats have taken a step back to 3.24 GAA, .888 SV%. And a GR of 61. Despite this, Mat can’t stop winning; he has 11 wins, 1 loss, and 1 overtime loss. These stats are lowered in part due to small sample size, as the defense was a tad bit porous at the beginning of the season. Backup Goalie Tyler Ward fared slightly better last season, with 9 wins and 3 losses, and he too has had his stats slightly decrease in the early stages of this season. No doubt these goalies are willing to sacrifice personal stats for the good of the team, as the best defense is a good offense!



Approved, +5 TPE @zeagle1