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***boom*** · 02-06-2024, 03:22 PM

In the S64 SMJHL draft, the Quebec City Citadelles drafted a hometown kid in Sophie Bordeleau who would go on to hold the career points and assists records for the team for several reasons. However, this piece isn't about her regular season accomplishments, but more that after she finished her Anrikkanen-winning rookie regular season with 19 goals and 59 points, the rest of her career became an exercise in agony. This is the story of that pain.

This journey didn't seem too ominous at first. The Citadelles had a first-round bye in S64 and took down their expansion buddies in the Nevada Battleborn in six games, then swept aside the Detroit Falcons in four games to make it to the finals. Their opponent was the Newfoundland Berserkers who had won three of the last four Cups and had lost only nine games this season, and the end result wasn't really a surprise. Newfoundland rolled over Quebec City in a sweep en route to their third straight Cup and fourth in a five-season span. No problem, this was just Sophie's first season and the Citadelles were looking really solid for next season. They'll get it together in year two.

While Sophie's production slumped a bit in her sophomore season with only 57 points, the Citadelles were still a very strong team and finished with 48 wins and 103 points. They once again got a first-round bye and easily handled their quarterfinal opponent in St. Louis, and then their semifinal opponent reared its head in Detroit. This team had 120 points in 66 games. They lost 7 games all year. Do I even need to say it? The Citadelles lost a couple of heartbreakers in overtime and lost in five games, but next season Sophie would be even better, so Quebec would be back to another deep playoff run. Right?

Sophie's third season proved to be a breakout year for the young centre, as she broke the 30-goal plateau for the first time (something that proved to be more difficult than expected over the course of her career). While Quebec City only got 82 points to be fifth in the league, the rest of their division was so awful that they still got yet another first-round bye anyway. Their playoff run this season proved to be a little more difficult, as they needed six games to take down Regina and seven to beat St. Louis again, but it didn't end up mattering anyway because they ran into yet another juggernaut of a team. The first-seeded Nevada Battleborn had gone 8-0 in their first two playoff rounds, and they ended up making that 12-0 as they once again swept Quebec to win the Four Star Cup.

All of that agony added up to one last shot in S67. Sophie had a real shot to be the first SMJHL player ever to hit 50 goals and to break the SMJHL all-time points record, but she fell just short of both (though she did set the record for points in a player's first four seasons). This time, Quebec was the best team in the league, and it was Cup or bust. It didn't get off to the smoothest start as they had to go to a Game 7 to beat Yukon and then fell behind 3-1 to St. Louis in the semifinal, but things got back on track as the Citadelles won three straight games to come back and make it to the finals for the third time in four seasons. This was Sophie's last shot, and things seemed to be getting off to an okay start when they won two of the first three games with strong offensive performances, then went up 3-2 with a win in Game 5. Unfortunately, Quebec City took a 4-1 loss in Game 6 and then lost Game 7, the series and the Cup with the loss that we're just not gonna talk about. Sophie Bordeleau still has never played in the playoffs since that game, and hopefully she can correct that in her final SHL run this upcoming year.

chetib · 02-12-2024, 03:59 PM

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