First Impression of Sean Couturier

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Drummondville center Sean Couturier was a one man wrecking crew before leaving for Canada's World Junior team camp. He racked up 17 points in his last 6 games and had back to back 4 point outings. The surge has vaulted the potential first overall pick to 2nd in Q scoring.

Last year he led the QMJHL in scoring with 96 points, 41 of them goals in 68 games. Even as a rookie he was pretty special and gained some valuable championship experience going to the Memorial Cup. But don't take my word for it, hear it from his first junior coach. I chatted with Guy Boucher after Tampa Bay's game against Edmonton on Friday and we'll bring you that conversation Tuesday night on The Pipeline Show.

Boucher coached Couturier for just one season but saw something special right away, and is certain he'll be an NHL star one day.

If you're in the Edmonton area you can catch the conversation on the TEAM 1260, or you can listen on line and get the whole guest list at www.thepipelineshow.com where the interview will be archived later that evening. As usual show time is from 7-9 pm mst.

Drummondville Defies Logic

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The Voltigeurs players are either banged up or throwing up and yet somehow they were able to pull out a 3-2 overtime victory over the home team Rimouski Oceanic tonight at the Memorial Cup.

And let's be honest - Rimouski dominated Drummondville for most of this game. The first period was spent almost entirely in the Voltigeurs half of the ice, the zamboni may have only needed to flood one side of the rink.

The shots on goal after the first period were 11-4 Rimouski thanks to 6 minutes of power play time. I'd say something like "I don't know how the Oceanic didn't have a 3 goal lead going into the second period" but the fact is I do know - his name is Marco Cousineau and tonight he was fantastic! Drummondville's goalie must have been feeling some heat after a forgettable outing on Monday against Kelowna when he was burned 6 times including a couple he'd like to forget. Well he had people forgetting those softies tonight as he stopped 39 of 41 Rimouski shots en route to the win.

Rimouski scored the night's first goal just over a minute into the second period and I thought the roof might cave in on the Volts. However, 17-year-old Jonathan Brunelle, a late addition to the game roster, scored a beauty with a nice individual effort. When Dmitri Kulikov struck a few minutes later while on the power play, the Oceanic faithful had to have been questioning the justice of it all.

To that point in the hockey game it was Rimouski who had carried the play and had out-chanced and out shot their opponents but just couldn't finish. When Cousineau wasn't robbing them blind the Oceanic were guilty of trying to be too cute - which happened way to much tonight in my opinion.

Rimouski did manage to equal the score when Patrice Cormier snapped one home from the slot. Regulation time expired with the score still tied so for the second time in the tournament the Voltigeurs would head to extra time.

Drummondville, who has the flu bug going through the room, somehow mustered up enough energy to be competitive in the overtime and eventually scored the winner. Eralier in the night Rogers Sportsnet colour commentator Sam Cosentino suggested this was a perfect game for a player like Gabriel Dumont and sure enough, he would be the Drummondville hero that scored the winner. (I think Sam's been standing too close to Loubardias and those dead-on predictions are getting a bit too frequent!)

Final shots in the game were 41-20 in favor of Rimouski but it will be the Oceanic who now have to bounce back from this loss to play Windsor in a tie-breaker game tomorrow. If they win that one it will be right back onto the ice on Friday night for another collision with the Voltigeurs in the semi-final.

Players of note for Drummondville: Obviously goalie Marco Cousineau (ANH) was sensational and the biggest reason why the Volts will rest until Friday night. Gabriel Dumont is an intriguing player - small but a bulldog that isn't afraid of anything. Dumont is undrafted.

Dmitri Kulikov needs to check his equipment because clearly someone had hung a target on his back before the game. The Russian was getting hammered all night long whether it was Cormier or Logan MacMillan's flying elbow at the end of the third period. He was knocked woozy a couple of times but give this guy credit - he's not the stereotypical Euro because not only did he not miss a shift, sometimes he was staying on and playing through the haze he must have been feeling. Top 10 pick this June, no question in my mind.

For Rimouski it was the same guys that I've been liking all tournament. Marc-Andre Bourdon (PHI) wasn't as dominant tonight as he was against Windsor (and I hope he returns to that form tomorrow) but he was sound in his defensive play. I thought Luca Cunti (TBY) was again the best Oceanic forward on the ice tonight.

Dean Millard and I argued on last night's show about Keven Veilleux's performance so far. For my money, he's a 6'5 power forward that is playing like he's 5'11... feel free to hit someone. Tonight he passed up several chances to get the puck on net instead opting for a cutesy pass attempt that inevitably failed. I like his size and he appears to be able to skate pretty well but I'd like to see him be more aggressive and take the puck to the net AND SHOOT.

Philippe Cornet jumps out every once in a while but for the most part is just one of Rimouski's top 6 forwards - not the performance I was expecting from their leading scorer. He's creative and I like to see that but he doesn't look very strong and I don't know if I've seen him shoot the puck more than twice in the past week.

Tomorrow night's game will be interesting. Is Windsor back on track after edging Kelowna (who had nothing on the line Tuesday and played like it)? Can Rimouski bounce back after a loss where they definitely were the better team or has the wind gone out of their sails?

Rogers Sportsnet, 5:00 PM Edmonton time (7:00 PM Eastern).

'Big Benn' Puts Kelowna in Final

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The Kelowna Rockets have advanced to Sunday's Memorial Cup Final after a 5-point performance from forward Jamie Benn.

Kudos to Sportsnet voice Peter Loubardias for the title of this blog entry but it sure is fitting - 4 goals and an assist for Dallas Stars prospect Jamie Benn were more than Drummondville could handle on Monday night. It's incredible to think that Benn was a 5th round draft pick considering the growth in his development over the last two years since joining the Rockets in the WHL.

Kelowna also received a 2-goal performance from Cody Almond which means the Rockets scored six times but only had two goal scorers... that's something you don't see everyday.

Benn got things going in the first period when he broke up a play in the neutral zone, went in alone and tucked the puck beneath Drummondville goalie Marco Cousineau (ANH) just before his own momentum knocked the net off its moorings. The goal was a double whammy for the Voltigeurs who had carried most of the play to that point but more so because they were on the power play.

For the next several minutes the Rockets took over the game as the goal seemed to deflate Drummondville. However, the deadliest of the Voltigeurs got going after being held off the score sheet again st Windsor on Saturday. Yannick Riendeau scored at 14:27 with a harmless looking shot from a ridiculously bad angle catching Kelowna goalie Mark Guggenberger by surprise.

Riendeau, recently signed by Boston, picked up an assist on a late goal by Marc-Olivier Vachon and the Q-league champs carried a 2-1 lead into the second period.

Almond scored his first of the game to tie the game but the Voltigeurs answered back right away and re-established their lead. Benn went back to work and scored with just over a minute left in the period which set up a great third period with both teams knotted up at 3 goals apiece. It was one of the prettiest goals on the tournament so far with Tyler Myers (BUF) starting a tic-tac-toe play as he feathered a pass to the front of the net for Colin Long (PHX) who chose not to shoot as expected but passed to Benn who snapped it in from a sharp angle.

Drummondville took the lead again for the third and final time as Vachon netted his second of the night, it was Riendeau's 4th point of the contest and 33 in his last 15 games.

Kelowna would reply on the power play with Benn picking up the hat trick. Two minutes later Benn would score a rather weak goal that put Kelowna ahead to stay. The red-hot Rocket eluded a pair of defenders then sent a hope and a prayer towards Cousineau who somehow let it slip under his left pad and into the net.

Drummondville put up a good fight at the end but even with the extra pressure Cody Almond was able to snipe another goal through a defenceman and Cousineau's legs making the final score 6-4.

Benn nearly equaled a Memorial Cup record of 5-goals in a single game when he fired the puck from his own end in the dying second only to see it clank off the iron of Drummondville's empty net.

The players of the game were pretty obvious tonight; Benn's 5 points and Riendeau's goal and three helpers in the loss showed that each team's best players were on their game. Kelowna defenceman Tyson Barrie continued his strong tournament with a 3-assist game and captain Colin Long also had 3 assists on the night.

Neither goalie was tremendously impressive to me as both allowed an absolute stinker of a goal. In the end, Kelowna outshot Drummondville 23-22, much closer than it appeared in my opinion. The Voltigeurs were better than Rimouski was on opening night, it would have been hard to have been worse, but I also didn't think Kelowna played as well either. (Outside of Benn who was obviously Jame Bond - could do nothing wrong.)

Kelowna's win vaults them directly into the Memorial Cup title game on Sunday even though they'll still play 0-2 Windsor tomorrow night.

Drummondville and Rimouski now sit a 1-1 with a head-to-head match on Wednesday.

Memorial Cup Head-to-Head: Defences

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Like yesterday's examination of the four goaltenders at the Memorial Cup, here is a comparison of the defences that will be on display.

Rimouski Oceanic

Offensively, the Oceanic have a pair of defencemen that recorded at least 60 points during the regular season. Sebastien Piché led the blueline in scoring with 72 points including 23 goals. Marc-Andre Bourdon, a 3rd round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers, was acquired during the year and he contributed 60 points combined between Rimouski and Rouyn-Noranda. 5'9 Emmanuel Boudreau also factored in the scoring with 10 goals and 31 points.

Bourdon has kept pace in the playoffs but Piché's production has stalled.

Defensvively, most of Rimouski's blueliners ended the regular season on the good side of the +/- rating. The injured Maxime Ouimet, who came over from Baie-Comeau, posted an impressive +22 in just 27 games with the Oceanic. (He had a -22 rating with the Drakkar). He won the Kevin Lowe trophy as the league's top defenceman so his absence will be felt.

Looking at their roster sheet, the first thing that jumps out at me is their size. It's like the old Wendy's commercial: "Where's the Beef!?"

The biggest Oceanic defenceman is Bourdon who checks in at a solid 6'0 and 215 lbs. That's fine and dandy but there is no one else that cracks the 200 lb plateau (according to their roster).

Drummondville Voltigeurs

For the Voltigeurs it probably starts with 2009 eligible Dmitri Kulikov who led the team's defenders in scoring with 62 points - as a 17-year-old just getting used to North America. 20-year-old Marc-Antoine Desnoyers came next in scoring with 42 points, a pretty big dropoff from Kulikov's numbers but decent on its own. Outside of those two there isn't a lot of flash from the backend in Drummondville.

In the playoffs Kulikov has been a point-per-game player with 19 points. Desnoyers has chipped in 12 points and veteran Czech import Patrik Prokop has upped his production slightly with 8 points in 19 post season games.

The Volts were one of four teams that surrendered fewer than 200 goals during the regular season (189) while Rimouski allowed 223.

Size is going to be a concern as like Rimouski, there is no one that will pose much of a physical threat. Desnoyers is 6'1 and 190 lbs but he's the tallest and the only +200 lb player is Andrew Randazzo who tilts the scale at 215 lbs but stands just 5'10. But a fire hydrant can pack a punch although Randazzo's 40 PIM this year don't suggest an overly aggressive player.

None of Drummondville's defencemen have NHL ties although we know that will change in June as Kulikov is predicted to go in the top 15.

Windsor Spitfires

Ryan Ellis was tops in the OHL for scoring by a defenceman with 89 points, 13 more than the next closest player. His 67 assists were tops in the entire league regardless of position. He finished a single point behind Taylor Hall atop his team in scoring, a club with a celebrated offence. Not enough can be said about what Ellis brings to the table from an offensive standpoint.

Rob Kwiet had a great year with 67 points and Ben Shutron (CHI) provides another veteran punch although the latter is being counted on much more for his defensive play.

The main job of Windor's blueline group, outside of Ellis and maybe Kwiet, is to take care of their own end. The Spitfires have so much firepower up front that they don't really need to do much offensively except get the puck up to their attackers.

Compared to their Quebec-based opponents, the Spitfires defencemen look big. Certainly Harry Young, at 6'4 and 205 lbs, woould be big on any team. Kwiet is 6'1 and nearly 220 lb, while the rest of the group (sans Ellis) hovers near around the 195 lb mark.

Kelowna Rockets

Tyson Barrie is the Rockets' version of Kulikov or Ellis - a smallish, 2009 eligible offensive minded defenceman who more than makes up for his lack of size with his abundance of production. He had 52 points during the regular season.

Converted forward Brandon McMillan (ANH) has been terrific since making the switch to the backend. His offensive instincts are still there but his greatest asset is his speed - he won the fastest skater competition at the 2008 Top Prospects Game in Edmonton.

The biggest name on Kelowna's d-line might be the biggest player in the CHL, from a literal perspective. Tyler Myers (BUF) stands 6'7 on dry land and weighs in at 211 pounds. He is to the WHL what Zdeno Chara is to the NHL. Myers had 42 points during the regular season but has stepped it up in the playoffs with 20 more in just 22 games.

Colin Bowman has a chance at making the Memorial Cup a family affair after his brother Drayson won the trophy last year with Spokane. Bowman is a 2009 eligible prospect.

No question that this is the biggest defensive group in the tournament. Bowman is 6'2, Tysen Dowzak is 6'5 and 212 lbs and then of course there is Myers.

Comparisons

The head-to-head match up between Kulikov and Ellis will be front and center. Both are considered top 15 caliber players for the 2009 draft so all eyes will be on them in this tournament. My co-host wonder aloud on Tuesday if Tyson Barrie might be a "poor man's Ryan Ellis" for Kelowna and I think it's a valid statement. How much will a strong tournament here raise his draft stock, especially if he is able to out perform and possibly outscore his counterparts?

Kelowna has a size advantage but without seeing all of the teams in action this year it would be impossible to argue which 7-man unit is more defensively sound or potent at the other end of the ice.

My hunch is that if there was a coach poll done asking which defensive unit, as a whole, is best over all aspects of the game... that Kelowna's would come out on top. All have offence, all have veteran leadership, all have good two-way puck movers but only the Rockets have the size to match the biggest forwards at the Memorial Cup.

Wednesday Re-Set

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Our 4th Annual Memorial Cup Coach's Show was last night and although we weren't able to speak with all four coaches, due to the late Game 7 in the Q, it was a great preview for the upcoming tournament.

We began the program talking about a few different things: Could Kelowna hope to match the offensive prowess of a team like Windsor? Will they have to follow Spokane's successful plan of smothering defensive play with an effective counter attack? Are we disappointed not to see the Calgary vs Windsor dream match up? Who are the 2009 eligible players in the tournament that we'll be watching for?

Our first coach of the night was the host, Clement Jodoin of the Rimouski Oceanic. It was Jodoin's second time on our program after leading Lewiston to the 2007 QMJHL title and joining us before the tournament in Vancouver that year.

Jodoin answered questions about Logan MacMillan and his lack of offence, Philippe Cornet, what his team has been doing for the last three weeks, if the layoff is a positive because they are well rested or a negative because they'll be rusty and what being swept by Drummondville meant for his team. Coach Jodoin was also asked if his goaltending was good enough and that produced one of his most memorable answers of the night and generated a nice story as well.

We then played some Bad Ass Trivia with an obvious focus on the Memorial Cup.

At the top of the second hour we welcomed in the GM of the Windsor Spitfires, Warren Rychel. Coach Bob Boughner was unable to join us so the GM stepped in to take his place, perhaps not wanting to chance the bad karma.

Rychel discussed a number of his players including Taylor Hall, Andrei Laktionov, Greg Nemisz, Ryan Ellis and others. we asked him to tell us if it was an easy decision to not play Josh Unice in net, a goalie with Memorial Cup experience, and go with an undrafted overager in Andrew Engelage instead. Engelage had a fantastic regular season though and Rychel quickly put any goalie controversy to rest.

After a bit of phone tag we then hooked up with Kelowna Rockets coach Ryan Huska (who is in this picture but currently sports a shaved head and glasses). The big hit on Mikael Backlund and his impressive fortitude to recover and stay in the game was an early subject. Coach Huska's recounting of the hit and Backlund's version of it was memorable. We also talked about netminder Mark Guggenberger's sudden rise to fame, how Kelowna's offence is underrated and then we got into some specific players like Tyler Myers, Cody Almond, Colin Long and Tyson Barrie.

Our final coach of the night couldn't make it as Guy Boucher and the Voltigeurs had finally finished off the resilient Shawinigan Cataractes in Game 7 about 40 minutes before the end of our show. Dean and I did our best to talk about some of the key players the Volts will showcase in Rimouski like Yannick Riendeau, Chris Didomenico and Dmitri Kulikov.

At the end of each coach interview Dean asked: "If your team is successful and you win, try not to break (or 'Spokane') the trophy". It was a joke comment that drew different reactions from our guests. Two openly chuckled but one took it quite seriously and showed that he's already got his game face on.

The Memorial Cup gets going on Friday with Rimouski taking on Kelowna, Drummondville and Windsor square off on Saturday. All games can be seen on Rogers Sportsnet with our pals Peter Loubardias and Sam Cosentino painting the audio pictures.

If you missed it live, click the archive... HERE!