It’s Game 3 of the second-place Shawinigan Cataractes opening round series against the Sherbrooke Phoenix, two teams that finished 36 points apart in the regular season. The series is tied thanks to Sherbrooke stealing Game 1. A loss wouldn’t spell disaster for the Cataractes, but considering they loaded up at the trade deadline and fired a head coach while in second place in February, expectations are high. The game is in double overtime with the possibility of an upset mounting. Shawinigan has already fired 75 shots, including 25 in the first extra period.

With just over two minutes left in the second overtime, Dmytro Timashov retrieves the puck from the corner after a Shawinigan shot sails wide of the net. He flips it back to the point where Samuel Girard is waiting along the boards. Girard drags the puck to the middle of the ice and unleashes a shot that hits the back of the net, ending the game. It’s Timashov’s second assist of the night, the first one coming midway through the third period on the Alexis D’Aoust goal that tied the game. These are the types of plays Shawinigan’s brass had in mind when trading a first-round pick and two third-rounders to get him.

“Sleeper” is a tag that’s followed Timashov throughout his career. The Québec Remparts selected him 95th in the CHL Import Draft in 2014 after seeing him with MODO playing on a line with Toronto Maple Leafs first-rounder William Nylander. He turned out to be a great find for the MasterCard Memorial Cup host Remparts, leading the team and all rookies with 90 points. Last year at the NHL Draft, Timashov followed former linemate Nylander to the Leafs organization as 125th pick.

Before the world juniors, Leafs’ director of player personnel Mark Hunter suggested Timashov would be a sleeper in the tournament. He was right. Timashov put his name on the map with a two-goal and five-assist performance for Sweden. He returned from the tournament and was immediately traded to the Cataractes, bringing Memorial Cup experience, speed and playmaking abilities to the Memorial-Cup-or-bust Cataractes.

“He brings a lot of offensive play. He plays good defensively too, but he helps us on the (power play),” says defenceman Samuel Girard who sees lots of Timashov with the man advantage. “He feeds the puck well to Beauvillier and Beauvillier puts it in.”

Shortly after the trade, Sportsnet analytics writer Stephen Burtch predicted Timashov would finish with score between 45 and 53 points with Shawinigan to give him between 98 and 106 total. Some inconsistency left him at 32 points with the Cataractes for a season total of 85 with an eP/60 that dipped slightly to 4.318 according to Prospect-Stats.com.

After just four goals in 28 regular-season contests with Shawinigan, Timashov has stepped up in the playoffs, scoring seven times and adding 10 assists in 11 games. He’s a sleeper no more, and the Leafs look like they’ve got a possible keeper in Timashov.

Team Canada World Junior Alumni

Thomas Chabot, D, Saint John Sea Dogs (Ottawa, 2015, 18th)

In his third season, Chabot’s points per game (0.96, fifth among D-men) and plus-minus (plus-27) continued to rise. His campaign got off to a good start with the Sens handing him an entry-level contract on his way back to Saint John after a strong training camp, and continued with him landing a spot on Team Canada.



Chabot had for more points this season than last in 19 fewer games. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty)

A smooth skater with excellent hands who can look like a forward on the breakout, he’s also a poised power play quarterback, picking up 17 points with the extra man advantage. His defensive side improved as well with his plus/minus sky-rocketing from -29 to 6 to 27 the past three seasons. Chabot’s not overly physical—he only had 33 hits this year—relying on the finesse side of his game to get to the next level. He’s averaging over a point per game in the playoffs as well.

Anthony Beauvillier, C, Shawinigan Cataractes (New York Islanders, 2015, 28th)

Given more responsibility when handed the ‘C’ over the summer, the 5-foot-10, 178-lb. centre is the heartbeat of one of the QMHL’s most dangerous offences. On the power play he piled up 35 of his 79 points to give him the league’s best PP Pts/GP with 0.745. He also sees regular time on the penalty kill—where he produced five shorthanded points—and won 57.9 percent of his draws, fifth-best among players with more than 1,000 faceoffs.

Beauvillier plays a shifty, 200-foot game with grit. In the offensive end, he uses his speed and stick handling to find lanes to unleash a big shot with his lethal release or find an open teammate. After returning from the world juniors, Beauvillier showed signs of fatigue with a four-game pointless streak. Other than that, he only went pointless in consecutive conyests one other time.



Mason McDonald, G, Charlottetown Islanders (Calgary, 2014, 34th)

McDonald finished the regular season on a high note, winning five games in a row while posting a 2.38 GAA and 0.934 save percentage. But he also experienced some wild swings this season, the most glaring being the 15 goals he allowed in the first two games back from the world juniors.

His GAA ballooned again early in February after allowing four or more goals in four straight. His stats stabilized as the season came to an end, and he’s posting excellent numbers in the playoffs so far, but McDonald’s numbers weren’t eye-catching. His 3.33 GAA was 13th and .902 was tied for fifth. It’s worth pointing out Charlottetown struggled defensively all season, giving up the second most shots in the league with 2,328 but had the third highest team save percentage at 90.39 according to Prospect Stats.



McDonald faced nearly 34 shots per game this season. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty)[/caption]

The world juniors and another shot at the playoffs (he was injured early in the first round last year) give McDonald valuable experience and responsibility to build off of. He’s got all the physical tools—including a 6-foot-4, 200-lb. frame, quick reflexes and strong positioning—but is still a prospect with room to grow physically and skills wise.

Euro Flash

Timo Meier, RW, Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (San Jose, 2015, 9th)

After a breakthrough 44-goal sophomore campaign, Meier was the first QMJHL player off the draft board at the NHL Draft last June. The Swiss forward was the hottest commodity at the QMJHL trade deadline as well, with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies winning the #TimoTime sweepstakes. After posting 36 points in 23 games with a struggling Halifax Mooseheads squad, Meier exploded for 51 points in 29 games with the Huskies. His overall G/GP dipped this season although he had 0.793 G/GP with his new team thanks to 23 markers in 29 contests.

The power forward finds a way to take his game up a notch when games matter the most. In Rouyn-Noranda’s first-round sweep of Drummondville, Meier buried eight goals including four in Game 4. In the regular season, he had two overtime goals and seven game-winners total. Meier converts the magnitude of a game into momentum, making him such a dangerous player.

Jakub Zboril, D, Saint John Sea Dogs (Boston, 2015, 13th)

On paper, Jakub Zboril took a step back this season. Despite playing seven more games, his points dipped from 33 to 20 and his goals were halved, dipping from 13 to six. The plus-minus stat may have its flaws and isn’t the best indicator of performance, but Zboril saw his rise from two to 10 this season. His points went down but his 5-on-5 play appears to have improved.

He’s a physical player as evidenced by his 113 hits—19th overall in the league—and at 6-foot-2 and 185-lb., he can skate well and spends time on the power play. His physical attributes and all-around polished game make him a more attractive prospect than the point total suggests.



Zboril was the fourth defemceman drafted in 2015. (Francois Laplante/Getty)

From the handful of Sea Dogs games I saw this year, he didn’t look flashy or stand out. At times he looks menacing in his own end and dangerous in the opposition’s, but other times almost invincible. Unless Zboril makes the Bruins out of training camp next year, he’ll have another season of seasoning in the QMJHL.

Evgeny Svechnikov, RW, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (Detroit, 2015, 19th)

The Russian power forward was part of the most exciting line in the QMJHL this season, flanking Pierre-Luc Dubois with fellow countryman Maxim Lazarev. The pair parlayed their QMJHL success into spots on the silver medal-winning world junior squad. Svechnikov went pointless in the tournament, but continued piling up points upon return to junior. He finished his sophomore season with 32 goals and 47 assists.

Svechnikov drives hard to the net and uses his quick release to score. He’s a fierce competitor in the corners, using his 6-foot-2 and 205-lb. frame to protect the puck. It’s also part of why he had 97 PIM, second most on his team.

Filip Chlapik, C, Charlottetown Islanders (Ottawa, 2015, 48th)

After a 33-goal rookie season, the Czech forward’s goal-scoring took a precipitous dip this season. He finished with 12 goals and generated more questions than answers.

This time last year, the narrative was who would go first: Chlapik or his teammate Daniel Sprong. Ultimately, Chlapik went two spots after Sprong, who stayed with the Penguins until December. In 26 games without Sprong, Chlapik had six goals and 17 assists. The two forwards love playing with each other, but not even the return of Sprong could jump-start Chlapik’s season. In 26 games with Sprong, Chlapik had an identical six goals, and the questions about Chlapik’s speed remain. He’s also had rotten luck in the playoffs. Last year he had the flu, this year he’s missed Charlottetown’s second round with a concussion.

Other notables

Jérémy Roy, D, Sherbrooke Phoenix (San Jose, 2015, 31st)

The Sharks traded up in the draft to nab the two-way defenceman. His team had a disappointing season and Roy had trouble staying healthy with an ankle and leg injury. The finesse blueliner is reportedly headed to Blainville-Boisbriand Armada next season to complete the Nathanael Halbert deal.

Conor Garland, RW, Moncton Wildcats (Arizona, 2015, 123rd)

Led the QMJHL in scoring for the second year in a row with 128 points, including 98 primary points. He averaged 1.581 primary points per game, also tops in the league. Despite the huge points total, was snubbed by the U.S. world junior team. Size and skating are the biggest knock on his game and can overshadow his craftiness.



Garland has scored 258 points in the past two regular seasons. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty)

Nicolas Roy, C, Chicoutimi Saguenéens (Carolina, 2015, 96th)

The 2013 first-overall pick of the ‘Q’ draft has seen his stock take a parabolic trajectory. He went from potential NHL first-rounder to a mid-draft question mark. This year, he bounced back to lead the league with 48 goals.

Samuel Montembeault, G, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (Florida, 2015, 77th)

Put up top-10 numbers in GAA and save percentage on second-lowest scoring team in the league. Guided the Armada through huge upset of Val-d’Or in first round of the playoffs.

Daniel Sprong, RW, Charlottetown Islanders (Pittsburgh, 2015, 46th)

Sprong burned through the first year of his entry-level contract after making the Penguins out of training camp. Came back to the ‘Q’ and averaged over a point-per-game while giving new life to a slumping Islanders team.