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New York Times
28-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Get to know Caleb Desnoyers
Follow live coverage of tonight's first round of the 2025 NHL Draft as teams select the next generation of hockey's future stars Getty Images Getty Images In his time in hockey, first on the agency side and now as general manager of the Moncton Wildcats, Taylor MacDougall has seen and worked with his fair share of prospects. Ask him about Caleb Desnoyers, who just centered his team's top line to a QMJHL title and won the Guy Lafleur Trophy as the league's playoff MVP, and he tries not to get carried away. Tries … 'He's a special kid, quite frankly. And a lot of that stuff gets thrown around with top prospects but I try not to and I try to hold those standards very high,' MacDougall said on a recent phone call. 'If you're an NHL organization and you have the opportunity to tie off to this kid for the next 15 years, oh my goodness, I would sleep soundly. There's so many variables that go into trying to win a championship, but you give him 15 cracks at it over the course of an NHL career, that kid's going to figure it out at some point.' Desnoyers is a potential top-five pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2023 QMJHL Entry Draft, the league's rookie of the year as a 16-year-old, and a QMJHL First All-Star this year after registering 35 goals and 84 points in 56 games, fifth in league scoring and second in points per game (1.50) to league scoring champ and 21-year-old overager Jonathan Fauchon. Between his MVP playoff run with the Wildcats and the Memorial Cup, he registered another 32 points in 23 games (for a combined regular season, playoff and Memorial Cup total of 45 goals and 116 points in 79 games). Read more below. GO FURTHER Why 'special' Caleb Desnoyers is one of 2025 NHL Draft's top prospects Getty Images Position: Center Center Team: Moncton Moncton Shoots: Left Left Height: 6-foot-1 Desnoyers was one of the best players in the QMJHL this season as a leader on the top team in the league. He was also the MVP of the QMJHL playoffs. The No. 1 pick in his QMJHL Draft, he checks every box for what you want in an NHL center. He's tall and fast and makes a lot happen with and without the puck. Desnoyers displays excellent skill and playmaking ability. He creates offense on the move, off the perimeter and at the net. He has great creativity as a playmaker, while also being a detailed two-way player. Desnoyers can be trusted to check top players as he has a physical edge in his game and gives a high effort every game. He has the potential to be a No. 1 center who can play in any situation. Getty Images Evaluating Anton Frondell ahead of the 2025 NHL Draft is anything but straightforward. Depending on who you ask in the NHL, he's either a future franchise center or a solid middle-six contributor. Scouts are split, with some seeing him worthy of a top-three selection, while others view him somewhere between six and 10. The variance in opinion stems from Frondell's Jekyll-and-Hyde spectrum of performances over the past two years. All players have good games/events and bad ones, but Frondell's have been more pronounced than usual. On his best nights, Frondell looks like a player who can tilt the ice in his favor. His season in the Allsvenskan with Djurgården was a major selling point: 25 points in 29 games against men, production comparable to what William Nylander and David Pastrnak posted at similar stages and slightly behind Elias Pettersson's Allsvenskan numbers in his draft season. That's elite company and a big reason why some scouts are bullish on him. As a 16-year-old, his numbers in Sweden's top junior level were among the best in recent memory. On the international stage, he showed he could rise to the occasion, most notably at the U18 Five Nations tournament in February 2024, where he scored two clutch late goals to upset the United States on their home ice. Moments like that reinforce the belief that Frondell has the potential to be a true difference-maker. However, inconsistencies have clouded his evaluation. Despite strong performances in some tournaments, Frondell had forgettable showings in others, even against relatively modest competition. For instance, during the U18 Five Nations tournaments in both November and February, he was a mixed bag, producing some strong games but also disappearing at times. His production against U18 players was actually worse in his draft season than in his draft-minus-one season. At the 2024 World Junior A Challenge, he was solid but unspectacular as a 17-year-old, tallying just four points in five games against a fairly average talent pool. He also didn't even touch a point/game against in Sweden's top junior league in 10 games played this season. Read more below. GO FURTHER Why Anton Frondell is 2025 NHL Draft's most difficult top prospect to evaluate Getty Images Position: Center Center Shoots: Left Left Team: Djurgarden Djurgarden Height: 6-foot-1 Frondell's season started off slow, in part due to injury, but he was very good versus men in the Allsvenskan in the second half of the season. Frondell has a ton of skill and a real smooth element when he's around the puck. He makes difficult plays with consistency and can do so on the move. Frondell skates well and competes hard, often outmuscling others bigger than him. Despite his average size, he has a translatable style of play to the NHL that appeals to scouts. Frondell is a good playmaker but he's also a very dangerous shooter with a bullet shot that projects to beat NHL goalies from range. He's not a dynamic offensive player, though, and had a few too many quiet games at the international level this season. He has the potential to be a very good all-around top-six center even if he's often played wing this season. Getty Images The consensus No. 3 prospect in the 2025 NHL Draft is right winger Porter Martone. Our Corey Pronman has him at No. 3 while Scott Wheeler has him at No. 4. Will the Blackhawks elect to draft Matone or will it go in a different direction? Getty Images Below is an amateur scout's take on right winger Porter Martone: 'Porter brings size, a high-skill package, he's got hockey sense and good hands, and he's a big body who is always in the middle of everything. When you see Porter Martone play, he's not a great skater but he gets to where he needs to be and he's kind of a Ryan Smyth type of guy where he's always around the action, he's always around the net, he's always in the corners, pluys he's got the hand skills and the offensive creativity to be a aprt of a lot of offensive chances. "I think you're looking at a pretty complete player who's got size and brings an edge to his game, so he can complement a lot of players. He can be up and down your lineup. He can be with a lot of skill players and be net-front or working the corners or he can be on the fourth line and be more physical.' Getty Images His junior head coach and general manager, his skills coach and his minor hockey coach all use the same three names. Corey Perry. Brady Tkachuk. Matthew Tkachuk. That's what you're getting, they'll tell you — and are telling NHL teams — in Porter Martone. James Richmond, his head coach and general manager with the Brampton Steelheads, sees Perry in particular — and not, he says, just because both have worn No. 94. 'That's Corey Perry' was the first thought he had when he watched Martone all the way back in minor hockey. 'When I've watched Corey Perry I say, 'Man that guy is just a dog and he's super skilled,'' Richmond said. '(Martone's) around the puck all the time and he's unbelievable with the puck on his stick, and he gets under the skin of people on the other team, and he can score and he can pass and he's ultra-ultra-competitive.' Shortly after arriving at Barrie's Sadlon Arena ahead of a recent game against the Colts, Martone, dressed in a checkered suit, said those names suited him just fine. 'That's who I am,' he said of modelling his game after Perry and the Tkachuk brothers. 'I feel like I'm a big, powerful forward who sees the ice very well, can make plays and can score. But I like to be a hard player to play against. I like to get underneath the other team's skin and just make an influence on the game every night and be a big player in big moments.' Read more below. GO FURTHER How 'phenomenal' Porter Martone has made a case for the top of the 2025 NHL Draft Getty Images Scott Wheeler: Despite this being a center-heavy draft at the top, there are some who believe each of Michael Misa, Anton Frondell, Brady Martin and even James Hagens may end up on the wing. Caleb Desnoyers is really the only consensus 'that's a center' profile in that top group. I'd argue that Misa and Hagens are better-suited for the middle and believe both will be centers, but I can see it going either way for Martin and Frondell. I don't think you make your decision at No. 3 based on locking in two 5-10 centers as your 1-2 Cs of the future, though. I think you want your best players at the middle of the ice, and that Bedard will get his faceoffs and defensive play to where he needs to get it to in order to be successful at 1C. But I'd argue that all of the potential candidates at No. 3 in this class are likely better fits as the 2C than Nazar, freeing Nazar to play the wing with this year's pick or Bedard. I'd consider Porter Martone, the one true winger, there, but as we've written, he's not their type. Of the three they're believed to be considering, I'd order them Misa-Desnoyers-Frondell. Corey Pronman: Frondell and Misa have experience playing the wing, as Frondell was a winger most of the season versus men. Obviously, Martone is the top winger in this year's class. I would probably not be so rigid in this thinking, though. It's a lot easier to move a guy to the wing than vice versa, and you can never have too many natural centers if you think they are the best player. Getty Images Position: RW RW Team: Mississauga Steelheads Mississauga Steelheads Shoots: Right Right Height: 6-foot-2 Martone was a top player in the OHL this season; however, he did struggle at the World Juniors for Canada. Martone's skill level and creativity with the puck are elite, especially for a man his size. His reach and skill will allow him to beat a ton of NHL defenders one-on-one. He makes a lot of difficult plays and does so in traffic. Martone competes well, showing no hesitancy to engage physically or create at the net. Martone's major issue is the pace in his game. When he turns the corner and gets up ice, his foot speed is decent, but his first few steps are heavy, with a semi-wonky looking stride, and he doesn't always play with a ton of tempo. The size/skill combo is so good he could overcome that problem, but as one head scout has said, "Martone has the biggest weakness of any of the top five picks." He projects as a top-line scoring winger in the NHL who could put up a ton of points and play a heavy game. Getty Images Position: Center Center Shoots: Left Left Height: 6-foot-0 6-foot-0 Team: Saginaw Spirit Misa was given exceptional status to play in the OHL as a 15-year-old. He looked very impressive in his first two seasons, but he took off in his draft season, becoming one of the best players in the OHL. He's a high-end skater with clear NHL edge work and top speed. He's highly skilled and creative with tremendous vision. His ability to improvise in tight areas and on the move is elite and makes it easy to envision him scoring in major numbers in the NHL. Despite his huge goal-scoring numbers this season, I don't view him as a sniper. Rather, he generated a lot of goals off timing and getting to the net. Misa won't run guys over, but he competes well and is diligent without the puck. He projects as a star No. 1 center in the NHL that you can build a winning team around. Getty Images Scout 1: 'Misa would be our top forward followed by (James) Hagens but there's a sizable gap from Schaefer to those guys.' Executive 1: "Schaefer is the best player in the draft. It's not close, quite frankly. After that, Misa is the top forward, but it's close. He has the best chance to be a No. 1 center, all-around player who scores a lot.' Getty Images Chris Lazary still remembers what he was thinking during that first practice, as he stood against the wall watching Michael Misa navigate his way around the ice — and through and past his new teammates. Thank God we have him and I get to be his coach for the next three years. I know how much I'm going to learn from working with a player of this calibre. He still remembers the thought he had from behind the bench as he watched Misa, the sixth-ever player to be granted exceptional to play in the OHL as a 15-year-old, score twice in his debut for the Saginaw Spirit, too. He's going to change our franchise. In between that first skate and that two-goal OHL debut, Spirit general manager Dave Drinkill sent a text to the team's owners with a revelation, telling them Misa is one of those rare players where even when he has a quote-unquote bad game, you look down at the scoresheet and he still has an assist — or two. 'That's just who he is as a player,' Drinkill said. 'He has that innate ability to produce for his team. And that's just because the puck follows him around and that hockey IQ is off the charts.' Read more below. GO FURTHER For Michael Misa, OHL exceptional status and the 2025 NHL Draft are just the start Getty Images After the New York Islanders, the San Jose Sharks hold the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Based on the five original lists forming The Athletic 's consensus, including our very own Scott Wheeler and Corey Pronman, the most likely pick at No. 2 is Saginaw Spirit captain Michael Misa. Read more about the consensus draft ranking below. GO FURTHER 2025 NHL Draft consensus big board: Schaefer, top centers headline class Getty Images Below is a quote from an amateur scout on likely No. 1 pick Matthew Schaefer: 'I think when you see him, the first thing that pops out at you is that he's an effortless skater. The second thing that jumps out is his high IQ and his ability to make plays with and without the puck. And I think when you watch games, shift after shift and game after game, he's the best player on the ice a lot of times. And he has done that at the U17 level, he's done that at the world U18 level, he's done that at the Ivan Hlinka level, and he's just a very mature, responsible player where nothing is too big for him, no situation is too big for him offensively or defensively. It's a lot of smart, simple plays. "You see a lot of highlight reel plays, but he doesn't have to do highlight reel plays to be a very effective player. People talk about it being a 19-year-old tournament and the reason you talk about it being a 19-year-old tournament is because a lot of the younger guys might be physically mature enough but they don't have that pro mentality or that of a 19-year-old world junior player where a lot of the time the simple play is more effective. Schaefer has that ability to just make smart, simple, quick plays, which is what wins you hockey games.' Getty Images The New York Islanders hold the top pick, and the consensus No. 1 prospect is defenseman Matthew Schaefer. The left-shot blueliner has the full package: size, skating, legit offense and a high compete level. He projects to play big minutes in all situations and has the potential to be a legit No. 1 NHL defenseman. But there's a local wrinkle. James Hagens, once projected to be the top pick in this class, hails from Long Island. The idea of the Islanders drafting a homegrown, dynamic forward with elite skill has emotional and marketing appeal. That said, Hagens' stock cooled in the second half of the year, with many scouts now placing him closer to No. 5 on their boards. It seems highly unlikely the Islanders would go away from Schaefer for either Hagens or Saginaw's Michael Misa, but still, within the NHL, the possibility hasn't been completely discounted in the lead-up to the draft. Getty Images Matthew Schaefer barely played this season after contracting mono in the first half and then suffering a broken clavicle at the World Juniors, which knocked him out for the duration of the year. When he was on the ice, though, he looked like a potential star No. 1 defenseman in the NHL. He was the clear best player at numerous international showcases, and he was great in the Ontario Hockey League. Schaefer's skating is exceptional, which allows him to close gaps quickly and transition play with ease. His puck skills, intelligence and compete level are all notably above NHL average as well, and he makes an impact at both ends of the ice. Schaefer has also overcome significant personal adversity with the recent death of his mother. He is one of the youngest players in this class; he was a few weeks away from being eligible for the 2026 draft, showing the significant runway he has for development. Getty Images Already forgotten which team is drafting where in Round 1? You and me both, hockey fans. Fear not, because here's the full first-round order for the 2025 NHL Draft: New York Islanders San Jose Sharks Chicago Blackhawks Utah Mammoth Nashville Predators Philadelphia Flyers Boston Bruins Seattle Kraken Buffalo Sabres Anaheim Ducks Pittsburgh Penguins Penguins (from VAN via NYR) Detroit Red Wings Columbus Blue Jackets Vancouver Canucks Montreal Canadiens (from CGY) Canadiens Calgary Flames (from NJD) St. Louis Blues Blue Jackets (from MIN) Ottawa Senators Flyers (from COL) Predators (from TBL) Los Angeles Kings Blackhawks (from TOR) Predators (from VGK via SJS) Washington Capitals Winnipeg Jets Carolina Hurricanes Sharks (from DAL) Flyers (from EDM) Flames (from FLA) Getty Images The 2025 NHL Draft is taking place in Los Angeles, Calif., at the Peacock Theater. Unlike previous years, where the event would take place at an NHL arena with team executives and personnel on the "draft floor," with conversations and potential trades being formulated, this time it's decentralized. That means teams will stay in their home cities, operating virtually. According to the league, 93 prospects will be in attendance in L.A. along with approximately 3,000 fans. There will be over 100 cameras to bring the viewer closer to the front offices, making these decisions remotely. Will this be a one-and-done format? Perhaps given the appetite for the old "draft floor" format, with everyone in one place. But it will be interesting to witness nonetheless how the broadcast pulls this off. NBA and NHL free agency are around the corner. MLB is approaching its All-Star festivities. Don't forget about Wimbledon, the Open Championship, and F1 races, which also happen in July. There are still a lot of sporting events on the horizon. Which is why The Athletic is the perfect place for high-quality, thorough sports journalism. Subscribe to The Athletic using the link here.
CTV News
13-06-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Moncton Wildcats head coach Gardiner MacDougall earns CHL Award
Gardiner MacDougall, head coach of the Moncton Wildcats, is pictured at the Avenir Centre. (Source: Derek Haggett/CTV News Atlantic) The head coach of the Moncton Wildcats has been honoured at the 2025 CHL Awards. The Canadian Hockey League held its annual award ceremony in Toronto Friday, honouring the accomplishments of players and coaches. Moncton Wildcats head coach Gardiner MacDougall won the Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award, becoming just the third coach in CHL history to be honoured in their debut season. The Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year is Gardiner MacDougall of the @monctonwildcats! #CHLAwards — Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) June 13, 2025 MacDougall and his son Taylor, the team's general manager, were hired in May of 2024. The Wildcats posted a 53-9-2-0 record under MacDougall's leadership, earning an .844 points percentage, which according to is the eighth-best in QMJHL history. The Wildcats took home the Gilles-Courteau Trophy as the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League's playoff champion this year, boasting a 16 – 3 postseason record and earning a spot in the Memorial Cup. The 2025 Memorial Cup was the club's third appearance in franchise history. The team made it to the semi-finals, where they fell to the London Knights. Two Moncton Wildcats players were also nominated for a CHL Award. Centre Caleb Desnoyers got the nod in the category of Top Draft Prospect, given to the top eligible prospect for the NHL Entry Draft from the Canadian Hockey League, and forward Julius Sumpf was a finalist for Sportsman Player of the Year. The winner of the CHL Humanitarian of the Year Award is Maxwell Jardine of the @IslandersHKY! #CHLAwards The Award is presented to the player judged to have made the most notable contributions to his community. — Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) June 13, 2025 Maxwell Jardine, a defenceman for the Charlottetown Islanders, took home the Humanitarian of the Year Award, given to the player judged to have made the most notable contributions to his community. Jardine is the third Islanders player in the past four seasons to become a finalist for the award. Halifax Mooseheads netminder Jacob Steinman received a nomination for Goaltender of the Year. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
New York Times
06-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Why ‘special' Caleb Desnoyers is one of 2025 NHL Draft's top prospects
BUFFALO, N.Y. — In his time in hockey, first on the agency side and now as general manager of the Moncton Wildcats, Taylor MacDougall has seen and worked with his fair share of prospects. Ask him about Caleb Desnoyers, who just centered his team's top line to a QMJHL title and won the Guy Lafleur Trophy as the league's playoff MVP, and he tries not to get carried away. Advertisement Tries … 'He's a special kid, quite frankly. And a lot of that stuff gets thrown around with top prospects but I try not to and I try to hold those standards very high,' MacDougall said on a recent phone call. 'If you're an NHL organization and you have the opportunity to tie off to this kid for the next 15 years, oh my goodness, I would sleep soundly. There's so many variables that go into trying to win a championship, but you give him 15 cracks at it over the course of an NHL career, that kid's going to figure it out at some point.' Desnoyers is a potential top-five pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2023 QMJHL Entry Draft, the league's rookie of the year as a 16-year-old, and a QMJHL First All-Star this year after registering 35 goals and 84 points in 56 games, fifth in league scoring and second in points per game (1.50) to league scoring champ and 21-year-old overager Jonathan Fauchon. Between his MVP playoff run with the Wildcats and the Memorial Cup, he registered another 32 points in 23 games (for a combined regular season, playoff and Memorial Cup total of 45 goals and 116 points in 79 games). He also did it while playing through two wrist injuries. On Thursday morning, he told The Athletic that he'd been dealing with it since November. Before leaving for the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo, he had an MRI. After the combine, he'll see a doctor about it and go over the results. 'I'll recover fast but might need to do some stuff,' he said. 'It has been a long season.' But it's not the points or big plays Desnoyers made that everybody talks about when they describe him as 'special.' Pekarcik caps off an insane setup by Desnoyers to score the very first goal of the Final! 🔥#QPlayoffs | @monctonwildcats — QMJHL (@QMJHL) May 10, 2025 He has those things. NHL Central Scouting's report talks about his hockey IQ, anticipation, two-way play, good offensive skills and vision. They call him a 'very good playmaker who also displays a scoring touch' and say he's a prospect 'who has a lot of transferable pro elements in his game.' Desnoyers describes himself as a 'competitive centerman who takes a lot of pride in all of the intangibles and the little details that people don't always recognize. Advertisement 'I'm just a versatile player (and) my main factor is that I make all of the players around me better and I'm a good leader, vocal leader,' Desnoyers said. Those who've worked closely with him will also talk about how he's one of only three players to have ever won triple gold at U17s, U18s and the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. They talk about how he finished plus-51 on the Wildcats, the best player on a winning team. MacDougall said 'he has some really elite gifts and genetic gifts,' but that it's everything else that makes Desnoyers a top pick in this class. 'He's so driven, he's so competitive, he's so passionate. The intangibles that he has are through the roof,' MacDougall said. 'You just don't see them that often.' At the combine, he's one of the prospects who has really impressed in his interviews with NHL clubs. Desnoyers said he's just being himself. 'I've always had good energy and just been an enthusiastic person,' he said. 'I'm not stressed going into these and I've just tried to be myself and be Caleb Desnoyers and good things will happen.' Gardiner MacDougall, Moncton's head coach who also coached Desnoyers at last year's U18 worlds, talks about his 'tremendous leadership values' and how 'he's in the very, very elite mindset' before he talks about the skill set. 'He's one guy that makes a difference for your team whenever he walks in the rink,' he said. 'He can come in the rink in the morning and the team changes. He has that special charisma to him, that special personality to him. He connects with people as a leader, but also connects as a teammate with them and then he just proceeds to grow that as he comes on the ice for practice or for games. He's got such a bright future in front of him and it has been a real privilege to coach him because he just finds ways to get better. He's an intelligent player about the game but he's very passionate. And when you've got a performance level that he has, with the talent that he has, the smarts that he has, and then the passion that he has, it's a powerful combination.' Pascal Trepanier has worn a few different hats in Desnoyers' hockey career. Peewee AAA coach. Skills coach. And for the last 10 years, stepdad. After an 18-year career of his own that included 229 NHL games with Anaheim, Colorado and Nashville, Trepanier moved back to the Montreal area, got into coaching, and has been working with Desnoyers in one way or another since 2015. Advertisement He knows him as a hockey nerd. When they used to watch games at home, Trepanier would pause it and say, 'What did you see?' When they were done with one game and Trepanier and Desnoyers' mom, Martine, a teacher, would want to watch something else, he'd get mad and go watch another game upstairs. That runs in the family. Desnoyers' dad, David, manages the Isatis Sport St-Hyacinthe Complex and is a former tough guy defenseman who played in the QMJHL and then in Quebec's senior and semi-pro levels. His uncle, Simon Laliberté, is a former captain of the Wildcats. His brother Elliot is a former captain of the Halifax Mooseheads who was signed by the Philadelphia Flyers. At the Wildcats' QMJHL championship celebration, they named Desnoyers captain of next year's team as well. He said 'No decision has been taken yet' on whether he's going back to Moncton next season, however. 'My main goal is to play in the NHL as soon as possible, and if not, I'll be at the place where I'm able to be in the NHL the year after, and Moncton's a great choice for that,' he said. Growing up, Caleb was the youngest of three boys and always the smallest. According to Elliot, he always had to compete for everything, whether they were playing games or sports. These days, though, the playing field has leveled. Now Caleb's taller (6 feet 1.5 to Elliot's 5 feet 11), and they've been able to skate and work out in the same groups. Elliot has cherished that. 'We just push each other so hard,' Elliot said of Caleb catching up to him. 'It has been quite fun to be honest. Especially recently.' They used to talk about Elliot around the QMJHL the way they talk about Caleb now. Trusted. Reliable. Consistent. A leader. Loved by coaches. A two-way center. Elliot says he and his little brother both think the game the same way, but play at different speeds (Caleb plays faster, he admits). Advertisement Trepanier says 'everything that Elliot does is really professional' and that that has rubbed off on Caleb, from his mentality to his eating and sleeping habits. He describes them as best friends who do everything together. They train and skate together. They fish and golf together. They watch and talk hockey together. But Elliot looks up to his little brother, too. Said Elliot: 'We always discuss about hockey and I want to see his point of view on stuff as well. I look up to him in the sense of what he's doing with all of the pressure and how he's really disciplined and always wants to be better. I really admire that in him.' Elliot also describes his brother as 'quite the character.' 'He just loves to chat, loves to mess around with people and always makes people feel really good,' Elliot said. 'He's a really easy-going guy, and he has been like that forever. And he's just always so competitive in every aspect of his life.' Caleb has always had an 'aura about him where he shows up at the rink and there's just something about him that lights up the room and gets people involved,' according to Trepanier. 'There's just something, even as a young kid, that's a little bit different,' Trepanier said. 'He makes everybody around him better, and I think that's a pretty decent quality. And there's a lot of stuff for the next level that he and we need to work on but he gets on the ice and he wants to win. If it's during a drill, he wants to be the best guy. If it's during the game, he wants to be the best. And if it's a championship, then he wants to win. He's really mature. He's got one goal and it's to play in the NHL and be the best. Pretty much everything in his life is driven by wanting to be the best.' Both Caleb and Elliot acknowledge they've talked about the Flyers picking at No. 6 and the potential that they could end up in the same organization, but Elliot thinks his brother will be gone by then. Yann Joseph and Maxim Noreau are new to working with Desnoyers. Noreau only retired from his 17-year pro career last March. He started working in player development in the Montreal area right away through his agency, Quartexx, running skates twice a week for them. He first met Desnoyers at one of those skates. They clicked right away, and Desnoyers started coming to Noreau's personal skates on the south shore of the city as well. Advertisement Joseph is a Montreal-area strength and conditioning coach who trains pros such as Anthony Beauvillier and Xavier Bourgault. Last May, the Desnoyers boys and Elliot's Lehigh Valley teammate Zayde Wisdom joined him at his gym for the offseason, switching personal trainers. Joseph worked with Desnoyers to fix some postural issues that he was compensating for on the ice. After a full offseason with him, he played pain-free in his draft year because of their work together (though he did play banged up in the playoffs and into the Memorial Cup). Even though Desnoyers turned 17 just a month before starting with him, Joseph decided to train Desnoyers with his older pro group because he wanted to see if he could follow them. Immediately, he brought an enthusiasm to the gym that transferred to all of the guys. But he performed better than they did in some exercises, too. 'Those guys were like 'Whoa, OK, kid,'' Joseph said. 'So that was fun. Even if they were older, they could watch him and learn. And at the same time, he was doing the same things as those guys and he saw that they're professionals for years and could see the way they managed the workout and the recovery and that was good for him also.' Though Desnoyers says he's 6-2 and 180 pounds, Joseph would poke fun at him and call him 'chicken legs.' But 'he's way stronger than he looks,' Joseph insisted. Ahead of the draft, a few NHL strength and conditioning coaches have asked Joseph to send them Desnoyers' data from the gym. According to Joseph, they've been impressed by his numbers. 'For his size, the way he pushes the bar and the speed with which he pushes the bar is really, really impressive, even with big weights,' Joseph said. 'And when you look at him, he's got like small legs on him right now at 17 years old, and you can see he's got room for growth. But his numbers don't tell the same thing because he's really strong and fast for the size of his legs. I'd ask him sometimes, 'How can you push all that weight with those legs?' and he would laugh.' When Noreau first skated Desnoyers, he wasn't up to date on any of the up-and-coming players. That first skate was focused on shooting (Noreau was known for his shot during his playing career). Desnoyers was a natural, listening intently and picking up on his tips quickly. Right away, Noreau was struck by how hardworking he was. Advertisement 'The big thing with Caleb that I think is even a little overlooked still is attitude-wise, you talk about being a complete player, about being a dog, about being an impact in the game, and some guys want to be that guy but when the big moments come and it's a stressful situation or you've got a lot of pressure to perform, I feel like Caleb is more the type of guy that wants to be there,' Noreau said. 'If a team goes to a shootout, he wants the shot. He knows that there's a big risk and reward to it but I think he knows that 'Hey, I want that. It's on me. And if anybody's going to fail, let it be me.' And that attitude is going to bring him a long way. And sometimes he's going to fail and he won't be perfect all the time, but just to have that attitude, and even in practice he's asking me a lot of questions and why guys do certain things, and just having that, regardless of all of the other attributes that he also has, I think that's huge.' A year after beginning their work together, Noreau now believes the sum of those things will make Desnoyers a player who is used in key situations and put in leadership roles in the NHL. 'You put him out late in a game or on the PK for a faceoff or whatever it is, he's smart enough to know what his job is at that time. It's not about 'I need to be Caleb leading in points,' it's 'Hey, I've got a job to do,'' Noreau said. 'I have a discussion about that with a lot of my top guys, and I always say, 'Do you think that people don't notice in the stands if you're not out there every game late in the game?' That goes a long way, being that guy. And he wants to be that guy.' — With reporting in London, Ont. (Top photo courtesy of Daniel St. Louis / CHL)
CTV News
29-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Wildcats coach Gardiner MacDougall reflects on family tragedy at Memorial Cup
Moncton Wildcats head coach Gardiner MacDougall speaks to media following a Memorial Cup hockey game in Rimouski, Que., on Monday, May 26, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov RIMOUSKI — Taylor MacDougall was expecting to see his team hit the ice at the Memorial Cup on Monday when he received a devastating phone call. Instead of watching his Moncton Wildcats take on the Medicine Hat Tigers, the hockey club's general manager met with the RCMP to identify his father-in-law, who had died suddenly of a heart attack. Gardiner MacDougall, Taylor's father and Moncton's head coach, reflected on the tragedy on Wednesday. 'You never want that phone call,' he said. 'My son, as a general manager, this is the highlight of his career. This should be the most joy he's ever had. He gets a call that will change his life 20 minutes before (that game). 'You don't have a manual or manuscript for that type of thing. He's handled it amazingly.' Patrick Buckley had arrived in Rimouski from Fredericton that afternoon and checked into his hotel with Taylor MacDougall's help. His son-in-law was the last family member to see him. Buckley drove to a nearby golf course for a round ahead of Moncton's game and was later found in his car. 'That day (Buckley) was in Fredericton. So Taylor's daughter, Lily, is four years old. He drove her to daycare that day. He kissed her goodbye, and she loved her granddad,' Gardiner MacDougall said. 'That's the last time she'll ever kiss her granddad, so it puts things in perspective. 'And then he drove, and he probably wasn't feeling 100 per cent, but he was so excited to come watch us. He came to all our playoff games.' The veteran coach held back tears when he announced the news of Buckley's death during a news conference after Monday's 3-1 loss to Medicine Hat, calling it the most difficult game he'd ever coached. Taylor flew home to Fredericton after the game to be with his wife's family. Gardiner, meanwhile, began preparing for Wednesday's must-win matchup against the Rimouski Océanic. It was Moncton's most important game of the season. But hockey, in many ways, took a back seat. 'Whatever happens tonight, we're going to live tomorrow,' Gardiner MacDougall told a group of reporters at Colisée Financière Sun Life. He also recalled a life-changing moment of his own from 1997. At the time, Gardiner MacDougall was coaching the OCN Blizzard of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. He was behind the bench for a game in Portage la Prairie, Man., when he learned his sister's husband — a military member stationed in Petawawa, Ont. — had been in a serious accident. MacDougall flew to Ottawa the following day to support his sister. After her husband spent six days in intensive care, the family made the difficult decision to pull the plug on his life support. 'That changed my life,' he said. 'Hey, I'm as competitive as any guy, but I had a sister. She had a five-year-old, a three-year-old and a one-year-old, and she lost her husband in 1997 just like that.' 'We'd like to hang around Rimouski. That's our goal,' MacDougall added. 'But I think that's given me an amazing perspective. It certainly changed me as a human, it really changed me as a hockey coach in 1997, that seven days in intensive care in Ottawa with my family around me and that type of thing. 'It was another bitter call that Taylor got to have changed his life.' Moncton and Rimouski — both winless through two games at the junior hockey showcase — played the final round-robin game Wednesday with a spot in the semifinal on the line. Moncton captain Markus Vidicek didn't know Buckley, but said the Wildcats felt the loss deeply. 'When it happens to one person in our team, it happens to everyone,' he said. 'So for us, it was a lot.' FOE, as in 'family over everything,' is a phrase you'll hear a lot around the MacDougalls. Taylor's message to Wildcats players back in August, when both he and his father joined the franchise, was that 'great teams are tight teams.' 'He said, 'We have to be the tightest team ever,'' Gardiner MacDougall recalled. 'When we took the job over, when you talk to other coaches, maybe the Wildcats weren't as tight as you want to be, and certainly this year they've proven (they are).' 'Patrick was just the greatest family guy,' he later added. 'We can't control some parts of life, so we just got to make the best of it today, and there's a hockey game to be played tonight.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2025. By Daniel Rainbird
Globe and Mail
28-05-2025
- Health
- Globe and Mail
Wildcats coach Gardiner MacDougall reflects on family tragedy at Memorial Cup
Taylor MacDougall was expecting to see his team hit the ice at the Memorial Cup on Monday when he received a devastating phone call. Instead of watching his Moncton Wildcats take on the Medicine Hat Tigers, the hockey club's general manager met with the RCMP to identify his father-in-law, who had died suddenly of a heart attack. Gardiner MacDougall, Taylor's father and Moncton's head coach, reflected on the tragedy on Wednesday. 'You never want that phone call,' he said. 'My son, as a general manager, this is the highlight of his career. This should be the most joy he's ever had. He gets a call that will change his life 20 minutes before [that game]. 'You don't have a manual or manuscript for that type of thing. He's handled it amazingly.' Patrick Buckley had arrived in Rimouski from Fredericton that afternoon and checked into his hotel with Taylor MacDougall's help. His son-in-law was the last family member to see him. Buckley drove to a nearby golf course for a round ahead of Moncton's game and was later found in his car. 'That day [Buckley] was in Fredericton. So Taylor's daughter, Lily, is four years old. He drove her to daycare that day. He kissed her goodbye, and she loved her granddad,' Gardiner MacDougall said. 'That's the last time she'll ever kiss her granddad, so it puts things in perspective. 'And then he drove, and he probably wasn't feeling 100 per cent, but he was so excited to come watch us. He came to all our playoff games.' The veteran coach held back tears when he announced the news of Buckley's death during a news conference after Monday's 3-1 loss to Medicine Hat, calling it the most difficult game he'd ever coached. Taylor flew home to Fredericton after the game to be with his wife's family. Gardiner, meanwhile, began preparing for Wednesday's must-win matchup against the Rimouski Océanic. It was Moncton's most important game of the season. But hockey, in many ways, took a back seat. 'Whatever happens tonight, we're going to live tomorrow,' Gardiner MacDougall told a group of reporters at Colisée Financière Sun Life. He also recalled a life-changing moment of his own from 1997. At the time, Gardiner MacDougall was coaching the OCN Blizzard of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. He was behind the bench for a game in Portage la Prairie, Man., when he learned his sister's husband – a military member stationed in Petawawa, Ont. – had been in a serious accident. MacDougall flew to Ottawa the following day to support his sister. After her husband spent six days in intensive care, the family made the difficult decision to pull the plug on his life support. 'That changed my life,' he said. 'Hey, I'm as competitive as any guy, but I had a sister. She had a five-year-old, a three-year-old and a one-year-old, and she lost her husband in 1997 just like that.' 'We'd like to hang around Rimouski. That's our goal,' MacDougall added. 'But I think that's given me an amazing perspective. It certainly changed me as a human, it really changed me as a hockey coach in 1997, that seven days in intensive care in Ottawa with my family around me and that type of thing. 'It was another bitter call that Taylor got to have changed his life.' Moncton and Rimouski – both winless through two games at the junior hockey showcase – played the final round-robin game Wednesday with a spot in the semi-final on the line. Moncton captain Markus Vidicek didn't know Buckley, but said the Wildcats felt the loss deeply. 'When it happens to one person in our team, it happens to everyone,' he said. 'So for us, it was a lot.' FOE, as in 'family over everything,' is a phrase you'll hear a lot around the MacDougalls. Taylor's message to Wildcats players back in August, when both he and his father joined the franchise, was that 'great teams are tight teams.' 'He said, 'We have to be the tightest team ever,'' Gardiner MacDougall recalled. 'When we took the job over, when you talk to other coaches, maybe the Wildcats weren't as tight as you want to be, and certainly this year they've proven [they are].' 'Patrick was just the greatest family guy,' he later added. 'We can't control some parts of life, so we just got to make the best of it today, and there's a hockey game to be played tonight.'
