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***Jexter*** · 04-23-2024, 05:45 PM

The Quebec City Citadelles have been the best team in the SMJHL for the past three seasons and they will look to capitalize on this success for the first time this offseason. The Owls have been ramping up in power over the last three seasons with being the culmination of all their efforts arriving in this season. The Citadelles are again the odds-on favorites to win the regular season and the favorites to win the Four Star Cup at the last time of asking for this loaded roster. They boast 11 of their 17 players at 425 TPE and the single largest collection of lobsters (S74 players) in the SMJHL. However, that is where some of their trouble will begin. The Owls will have at least 9 players leaving the roster in the coming offseason, a catastrophic number after we saw what losing 7 players did to the Yukon Malamutes. In this article, we will breakdown who is going to be leaving the Citadelles, what they brought to the team and what Quebec City will need to replace.

Frøya and Sonya Solberg
We have to start of course with the Solberg Twins, one of the most dominant duos ever seen in the SMJHL. Frøya was the 7th pick in the SMJHL draft and Sonja was the 15th. After both made it clear that they intended to play with each other throughout their careers, the Solbergs became first round picks in the SHL draft by the Calgary Dragons, with Frøya being drafted first overall.
Over their careers so far, the Solbergs have combined for 245 Goals, 319 Assists and 574 points.Not only are the Citadelles losing their top scorers (pretty much every team has this happen with the graduation of their top TPE players) the Owls will be losing perhaps the most active member of the S74 class and two absolute boons to the team, especially in the locker room.

Bog Damsel
Damsel was initially picked by the St. Louis Scarecrows with the 14th overall pick in the S74 draft, but traded to QCC in the S74 season (and actually has 67 games played that season). After initially being a defender, Damsel switched to center for a few seasons before swapping back to defender to plug the holes left in QCC’s defense by the expansion draft. Bog Damsel was drafted by the Toronto North Stars with the 41st pick in the SHL draft. Bog Damsel has been responsible for 49 goals, 92 assists for 141 points in all their regular seasons so far.

Abdi Smokes
Smokes was a waiver pick up by the Citadelles, having been made eligible too late for the draft. However, Smokes became one of the best defenders in the league, being able to make up for their late start with fantastic play through their 4 seasons. As a bottom 4 defender for QCC, Smokes excels in shutdown defensive mechanics to aid their goalie and has been able to get a +/- that is nearing +100. Despite not being drafted in the SMJHL, Smokes would still hear their name called twice when it came to drafts. The first time came as the 31st pick by the Los Angles Panthers (what a glow up to go from waivers to the second round). Next, Abdi Smokes was briefly taken by the Ottawa highlanders in the S76 Expansion draft but was traded back to the Citadelles. Clearly, Smokes has something that the Owls love to have in their locker room and were willing to Ottawa some assets for. Smokes has 85 points as a defender through 4 seasons.

Johnny Patey V2
Another defender who has been swapped in position, the 19th pick in the SMJHL Patey V2 now plays as a winger for the Owls. Patey has been excellent in Quebec City providing depth in their lines as well as even playing top line minutes to give the Owls more options with their strategies and keeping their opponents on their toes. As 32nd pick in the SHL draft by the Buffalo Stampede, Patey will look to being some of their winning ways into an organization that has been right around the middle of the league for a while. Patey has been able to rack up 126 assists for 173 points in his career.

Leo Roze
With the 61st pick in the SMJHL Entry Draft, the Owls ended up getting an absolute work horse of a defender. Roze has been a superstar for the Owls’ defense which has ranked as the best in the league for a while now. Pairing now with Tymer and being at or near the top in time on ice for the Citadelles, Roze has amassed an extremely large +/- (on the good side).
Roze would end up being the 33rd pick in the SHL by the Chicago Syndicate, a team looking to reinvigorate itself. With 104 points, most of them being assists, Roze looks to be a solid defender going forward.

Céleste Desjardins
After being the 47th pick in the Quebec City Citadelles, Desjardins would have an amazing rookie season, which should have been an omen for all of the league that the Citadelles and their batch of rookies were going to be on the war path for the three seasons that followed. Desjardins became the 2nd pick in the SHL draft by Manhattan Rage and continued to be a key part of the Citadelles lineup, earning line 1 minutes. Alongside the Solbergs, Desjardins has been able to build up immense chemistry and has the activity and desire to win that teams love. With 132 goals, 170 assists for 302 points in their J career, Desjardins will be one of the grandest assets to the Rage while leaving a massive hole in the QCC roster.

Juan Tymer
As the 33rd pick in the SMJHL Draft, Tymer is another Juan of the gems found in the draft by the Citadelles. A well-spoken defender with aspirations that have seen him emerge in helping run sims and working with teams internationally, Tymer would have a glow up to become the 8th pick in the SHL draft by the Winnipeg Aurora. Joining the small, but strong prospect pool in Winnipeg, Juan looks to be ready to be a key member of the Aurora in just a short while. With 116 assists in under four seasons for 142 points total, Tymer appears to be a boon in quarterbacking plays.

Yerik Akmetzhanov
Was taken with the 67th pick in the SMJHL draft by the Nevada Battleborn. As this player is inactive, the loss to Quebec will be slightly minimal. So far this year, this goalie has been able to have a record of 8-1-0 and a save percentage of .935 this season.

All in all, the Quebec City Citadelles stand to lose 9 players, 8 of them being active and having 425 TPE. QCC will be losing a group that has so far scored a total of 1,521 points. As a group that has smashed records and occupied multiple first round picks in the SHL draft, the Owls are still chasing the Four Star Cup after two semi-finals appearances. They will thank their lucky stars (J Head Office) that the other Bird Teams of Detroit and Colorado will not be in play till maybe the Cup final as the Bird Wars have not gone well for the Owls in the past. That being said, the Citadelles will be in a very strong conference with the likes of Newfoundland, Great Falls and Regina ready to bounce. And let us not forget that the last five Four Star Cup Winners have been (what is now) Southern Conference teams. (People are beginning to talk about the North/Canada Drought).

In the coming offseason and likely during the S77 season as well, the Citadelles will need to find no less than 8 skaters and a backup goalie. This article would, literally, have been shorter and easier to write if I did it on the players that are staying in Quebec after this season. So, who will need to step up? The short answer, everyone who is left. One who might find some growing pains is lead goal tender Song Ju-Gong, who will be losing 4 of their 6 defenders along with many of the more defensive minded forwards. Over the past two seasons as well as this current one, Ju-Gong has been able to have a fantastic record and save percentage. Another person who will need to continue their winning ways is Anna Skovgaard. The second-year player is third on the team for points which is very impressive considering the star power. These are just 2 of the names that all eyes in Quebec will turn to next season.

That’s pretty much everything, but I do have one last request: if Frøya and Juan could please chill in fantasy, that would be very much appreciated.

WC: 1477