The 2020–21 QMJHL season was the 52nd season of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The regular season began on October 2, 2020, and ended on April 18, 2021.
The playoffs began on April 23 and ended on June 5 with the Victoriaville Tigres winning the President's Cup as the QMJHL champion. Traditionally, the champion would have earned a berth in the 2021 Memorial Cup, which was to be hosted by the Ontario Hockey League from June 17 to 27, 2021, however, the Memorial Cup was cancelled for the second season in a row due to the restrictions during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The QMJHL was the only Canadian Hockey League member to award a playoff champion in 2021 as the Ontario Hockey League completely cancelled its season and the Western Hockey League only had small regional tournaments.
Final standings
Source: TheQMJHL.ca
Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PTS = Points; PTS%= Points percentage; x = clinched playoff berth; y = clinched division title; z = clinched Jean Rougeau Trophy
Maritimes Division GP W L OTL SL PTS PTS% GF GA Rankxyz-Charlottetown Islanders 40 35 5 0 0 70 .875 197 89 1x-Acadie–Bathurst Titan 33 21 10 1 1 44 .667 146 121 4x-Saint John Sea Dogs 33 15 14 3 1 34 .515 138 136 11x-Halifax Mooseheads 43 15 19 5 4 39 .453 152 183 13x-Moncton Wildcats 31 11 17 2 1 25 .403 105 136 14x-Cape Breton Eagles 38 12 25 1 0 25 .329 113 186 17
East Division GP W L OTL SL PTS PTS% GF GA Rankxy-Chicoutimi Saguenéens 29 17 7 3 2 39 .672 105 77 3x-Shawinigan Cataractes 34 21 10 2 1 45 .662 125 109 5x-Victoriaville Tigres 26 16 9 1 0 33 .635 99 65 6x-Quebec Remparts 32 17 9 4 2 40 .625 107 96 8x-Rimouski Océanic 39 13 22 2 2 30 .385 104 143 15x-Baie-Comeau Drakkar 36 8 26 1 1 18 .250 82 137 18
West Division GP W L OTL SL PTS PTS% GF GA Rankxy-Val-d'Or Foreurs 36 29 3 2 2 62 .861 141 78 2x-Blainville-Boisbriand Armada 32 18 10 4 0 40 .625 133 118 7x-Drummondville Voltigeurs 34 18 11 4 1 41 .603 106 104 9x-Gatineau Olympiques 31 16 11 2 2 36 .581 95 87 10x-Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 40 17 18 4 1 39 .488 100 146 12x-Sherbrooke Phoenix 27 8 17 1 1 18 .333 68 105 16
Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes Source: TheQMJHL.ca Player Team GP G A Pts PIM Cédric Desruisseaux Charlottetown Islanders 40 42 36 78 28 Thomas Casey Charlottetown Islanders 38 34 40 74 34 Brett Budgell Charlottetown Islanders 40 15 43 58 28 Lukas Cormier Charlottetown Islanders 39 16 38 54 36 Mathieu Desgagnés Acadie–Bathurst Titan 31 24 28 52 15 Ryan Francis Cape Breton/Saint John 32 16 34 50 24 Elliot Desnoyers Halifax Mooseheads 37 21 28 49 24 Olivier Nadeau Shawinigan Cataractes 34 13 32 45 28 Mavrik Bourque Shawinigan Cataractes 28 19 24 43 36 Shawn Element Cape Breton/Victoriaville 31 17 26 43 18
Leading goaltenders Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average Source: TheQMJHL.ca Player Team GP Mins W L OTL SOL GA SO Sv% GAA Colten Ellis Charlottetown Islanders 24 1447:37 23 1 0 0 43 7 .926 1.78 Jonathan Lemieux Val-d'Or Foreurs 24 1440:02 20 2 1 1 47 1 .920 1.96 Alexis Shank Chicoutimi Saguenéens 23 1383:34 14 5 2 2 49 3 .918 2.12 William Blackburn Val-d'Or Foreurs 13 763:23 9 1 1 1 28 0 .907 2.20 Nikolas Hurtubise Victoriaville Tigres 17 904:05 10 4 1 0 35 2 .914 2.32
Playoffs
Maritimes round-robin Due to local travel restrictions, all Nova Scotia-based teams were deemed ineligible to compete in the playoffs. Three New Brunswick-based teams competed in a six-game round-robin tournament to determine who would face the Charlottetown Islanders in the Maritimes Division final.
TeamGPWLGFGAPTS Acadie–Bathurst Titan 6 4 2 26 25 8 Saint John Sea Dogs 6 3 3 28 24 6 Moncton Wildcats 6 2 4 22 27 4
Playoff bracket Final results:
First round Quebec divisions (1) Val-d'Or Foreurs vs. (12) Baie-Comeau Drakkar
(2) Chicoutimi Saguenéens vs. (11) Sherbrooke Phoenix
(3) Shawinigan Cataractes vs. (10) Rimouski Océanic
(4) Victoriaville Tigres vs. (9) Rouyn-Noranda Huskies
(5) Blainville-Boisbriand Armada vs. (8) Gatineau Olympiques
(6) Quebec Remparts vs. (7) Drummondville Voltigeurs
Quarterfinals Quebec Divisions (1) Val-d'Or Foreurs vs. (6) Rimouski Océanic
(2) Chicoutimi Saguenéens vs. (5) Quebec Remparts
(3) Victoriaville Tigres vs. (4) Blainville-Boisbriand Armada
Maritimes Division (1) Charlottetown Islanders vs. (2) Acadie–Bathurst Titan
Semifinals (1) Charlottetown Islanders vs. (4) Victoriaville Tigres
(2) Val-d'Or Foreurs vs. (3) Chicoutimi Saguenéens
Finals (2) Val-d'Or Foreurs vs. (4) Victoriaville Tigres
Playoff leading scorers Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties minutes
Player Team GP G A Pts PIMAlex BeaucageVictoriaville Tigres 16 10 15 25 4Mikhail AbramovVictoriaville Tigres 19 5 19 24 8Jakob PelletierVal-d'Or Foreurs 15 5 18 23 6Benjamin TardifVictoriaville Tigres 19 11 11 22 12Jordan SpenceVal-d'Or Foreurs 15 2 18 20 6Samuel PoulinVal-d'Or Foreurs 15 11 8 19 12Shawn ElementVictoriaville Tigres 19 10 9 19 14Nathan LégaréVal-d'Or Foreurs 15 14 4 18 12Maxim ČajkovičVal-d'Or Foreurs 15 10 7 17 6Nicolas DaigleVictoriaville Tigres 19 7 10 17 8
Playoff leading goaltenders
Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: OTL = Overtime losses; SL = Shootout losses; GA = Goals Allowed; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average
Player Team GP Mins W L GA SO Sv% GAAAntoine CoulombeShawinigan Cataractes 5 297:26 2 3 9 0 .930 1.82Jonathan LemieuxVal d'Or Foreurs 15 924:25 11 4 30 1 .910 1.95Nikolas HurtubiseVictoriaville Tigres 16 969:02 11 4 41 2 .908 2.54Fabio IacoboVictoriaville Tigres 4 216:52 2 2 10 0 .877 2.77Alexis ShankChicoutimi Saguenéens 9 537:00 6 3 25 1 .899 2.79
Trophies and awards President's Cup – Playoff Champions: Victoriaville Tigres Jean Rougeau Trophy – Regular Season Champions: Charlottetown Islanders Luc Robitaille Trophy – Team with the best goals for average: Charlottetown Islanders Robert Lebel Trophy – Team with best GAA: Val-d'Or Foreurs
Player Michel Brière Memorial Trophy – Most Valuable Player: Cédric Desruisseaux, Charlottetown Islanders Jean Béliveau Trophy – Top Scorer: Cédric Desruisseaux, Charlottetown Islanders Guy Lafleur Trophy – Playoff MVP: Benjamin Tardif, Victoriaville Tigres Jacques Plante Memorial Trophy – Top Goaltender: Colten Ellis, Charlottetown Islanders Guy Carbonneau Trophy – Best Defensive Forward: Dawson Mercer, Chicoutimi Saguenéens Emile Bouchard Trophy – Defenceman of the Year: Lukas Cormier, Charlottetown Islanders Kevin Lowe Trophy – Best Defensive Defenceman: Noah Laaouan, Charlottetown Islanders Michael Bossy Trophy – Top Prospect: Zachary Bolduc, Rimouski Océanic RDS Cup – Rookie of the Year: Tristan Luneau, Gatineau Olympiques Michel Bergeron Trophy – Offensive Rookie of the Year: Antonin Verreault, Gatineau Olympiques Raymond Lagacé Trophy – Defensive Rookie of the Year: Tristan Luneau, Gatineau Olympiques Frank J. Selke Memorial Trophy – Most sportsmanlike player: Dawson Mercer, Chicoutimi Saguenéens QMJHL Humanitarian of the Year – Humanitarian of the Year: Anthony D'Amours, Rimouski Océanic Marcel Robert Trophy – Best Scholastic Player: Jacob Gaucher, Val-d'Or Foreurs Paul Dumont Trophy – Personality of the Year: Nicolas Sauvé, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada
Executive Ron Lapointe Trophy – Coach of the Year: Jim Hulton, Charlottetown Islanders Maurice Filion Trophy – General Manager of the Year: Jim Hulton, Charlottetown Islanders
All-Star teams First All-Star Team: Colten Ellis, Goaltender, Charlottetown Islanders Lukas Cormier, Defenceman, Charlottetown Islanders Jordan Spence, Defenceman, Val-d'Or Foreurs Cédric Desruisseaux, Forward, Charlottetown Islanders Dawson Mercer, Forward, Chicoutimi Saguenéens Jakob Pelletier, Forward, Val-d'Or Foreurs
Second All-Star Team Jonathan Lemieux, Goaltender, Val-d'Or Foreurs Noah Laaouan, Defenceman, Charlottetown Islanders Justin Barron, Defenceman, Halifax Mooseheads Elliot Desnoyers, Forward, Halifax Mooseheads Mathieu Desgagnés, Forward, Acadie–Bathurst Titan Thomas Casey, Forward, Charlottetown Islanders
All-Rookie Team: Chad Arsenault, Goaltender, Acadie–Bathurst Titan Tristan Luneau, Defenceman, Gatineau Olympiques Evan Nause, Defenceman, Quebec Remparts Justin Côté, Forward, Drummondville Voltigeurs Peter Reynolds, Forward, Saint John Sea Dogs Antonin Verreault, Forward, Gatineau Olympiques
References
External links Official QMJHL website Official CHL website Official Memorial Cup website