Wednesday, February 17, 2010

HE'S BACK

It’s been almost a year since he last saw game action, but that hasn’t stopped Chris DiDomenico.

Tonight, the former Saint John Sea Dog superstar returns to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League as a member of the Drummondville Voltigeurs.

DiDomenico broke his femur after he went feet first into the boards on May 5 in Shawinigan in game three of the 2009 Presidents Cup Final. The forward was taken off the ice in a stretcher and was expected to miss four to six months with his injury.

Now, more than nine months later, he will put on the Voltigeurs sweater as the Volts take on Victoriaville. According to L’Express, DiDomenico will be put on a line with Benoit Levesque and Marc-Olivier Vachon.

The Volts would go on to win the QMJHL title without DiDomenico. He took part in the celebrations after game seven in a wheel chair and was pictured holding the trophy. Just a few months prior, “Dido” helped Team Canada capture a fifth straight World Junior gold medal in Ottawa. He found out that Saint John had traded him just hours after winning the gold medal by Canada’s assist coach Guy Boucher.

His entire career has been about second chances. After not being drafted in the Ontario Hockey League draft, he was invited to Saint John’s training camp where he eventually made the team. That season, the Woodbridge, Ont. native scored 25 goals and 50 assists for 75 points. He was named the Sea Dogs’ rookie of the year and made the QMJHL all-rookie team. His 75 points is still a Saint John rookie record.

After being drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the summer of 2007, DiDomenico had a breakout season. He scored 39 goals and 56 assists for 95 points and helped Saint John reach the QMJHL semi-finals in a memorable season. 95 points is still a Saint John point record and will not be broken this season unless somebody hits a major hot streak.

After starting the year with Saint John in 2008-09, DiDomenico left to help Team Canada capture a gold medal. Then on January 6, the biggest trade in Sea Dogs history went down as he was traded to Drummondville for a first and second round draft pick, Mathieu Gingras, and Simon Giroux.

The trade is still debated to this day despite one of the draft picks going back to the Voltigeurs in exchange for Mike Hoffman. Hoffman has been one of, if not the best forward in the league this season.

In 191 career games, DiDomenico has 83 goals and 146 assists. In 29 playoff games, he has 12 goals and 42 assists.

The Volts are in a big battle for first place in the Telus Central Division with Victoriaville. Both teams have 80 points while Drummondville has two games in hand.


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