Leon Draisaitl and Anthony Duclair were supposed to be the two dominant forwards at the Memorial Cup.

So far, Oshawa’s Michael McCarron has stolen

After a 5-4 overtime win over Quebec Sunday, his coach D.J. Smith called the Montreal Canadiens’ first rounder “an animal”. He looks capable of doing whatever he wants on Pepsi Colisee ice.

“I felt like that (Sunday),” the 20-year-old from Macomb, Mich., said. “I was on a roll. It was probably one of my best games of the second half of the year. I was moving my feet really well and getting pucks to the net.

“That’s my game.”

McCarron put the OHL champs on the board early in both wins. He has three points, an incredible 14 shots on goal and even engaged equally large Rimouski defender Samuel Morin in a heavyweight fight that quickly turned into a grappling match.

His line - him, Islanders fifth overall pick Michael Dal Colle and Kings prospect Matt Mistele spend the majority of their time in the opposition’s end.

“We complement each other well - Mistele is a hard worker and we both try to get Dal Colle the puck,” he said. “We’ve been holding it below the goal line pretty well. Quebec only played four defencemen and we tired them out pretty good.

“They haven’t been able to contain us. With me and Rig (fellow 6-foot-6 forward Hunter ‘Big Rig’ Smith) out there, they’re definitely looking over their shoulders.”

This entire tournament is a shot at redemption for he and Oshawa defenceman Dakota Mermis, part of the London Knights’ embarrassing winless Cup last year at home.

“Going 0-3 wasn’t fun at all,” he said. “It’s pretty awesome I’ve been able to be a big part of this team. Last year, our club in London was pretty stacked and I didn’t play as much, maybe three or four shifts a period.”

Now, he has become so valuable, you wonder if the Knights got enough in a mid-season trade for him. He is overjoyed to be playing so well in Quebec.

“Absolutely, it means something to me,” he said. “All these guys are (Habs) fans and they haven’t been able to watch me in my career because I’ve been in Ontario. This is the first really good chance to see what I’m about.”

Remparts goalie Zach Fucale, taken by Montreal 11 picks after McCarron two years ago, spent much of the game chirping each other on the ice.

“He’s a buddy, but on the ice, friend is foe,” the General said.