Storylines to follow in the QMJHL

Vincent Ethier/CHL

Another season of QMJHL hockey is upon us and it's one that offers no shortage of storylines.

Here are a few of the major topics to keep an eye on this season.

Newfoundland Returns

Not to be overly dramatic, but this is basically it for St. John's. The AHL isn't coming back. The ECHL probably isn't coming back. It's make the QMJHL work or have no high level hockey at Mary Brown's Centre. I'm really optimistic about the Regiment. The people running this team seem to have recognized the past mistakes and have worked to fix those issues. That, plus the fact that the Regiment are setup well to have a strong on-ice product over the next few years, feels like a recipe for success. It's worth remembering that St. John's is not a small market, either. Whether it happens this year or down the road, the Regiment could have the third best attendance figures in the league and be a Memorial Cup host at some point. The sky is the limit here.

Can The Wildcats Run It Back...

The Moncton Wildcats will be one of the most fascinating teams to watch this season. Rather than rebuilding, they decided to quickly retool through the draft and free agency. It's not something you see too often, and the Wildcats are taking advantage of the moment in time where the option is available to them. I hope it works out, mainly because it's more fun and intriguing to see teams try some unconventional things to keep their contention window open longer. Plus, they have Gardiner MacDougall behind the bench. It'll be another fascinating year in Moncton.

... Or Are The Armada Unbeatable?

The question is less "are the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada the team to beat" and more "can anyone beat the Armada?" This team is loaded. Justin Carbonneau, Bill Zonnon, Mateo Nobert, Spencer Gill, Xavier Villeneuve, Jakub Milota, etc. It's a star studded roster with tons of potential – and could get even better at the trade deadline. It'll be interesting to see which team(s) think they can hang with them come Christmas.

Go With The Flo

FloHockey takes over as the QMJHL's official streaming service. I'm not all that familiar with Flo's broadcasts but, as I've written about before, the reviews from AHL and ECHL followers have not been overly positive. I'll be curious to see how this goes. Most QMJHL teams produce solid streams these days – but the few that don't, will they improve under Flo? Stay tuned.

US Expansion

The rumours of the QMJHL expanding into New England seem to come and go. Either way, there's no doubt that the QMJHL has interest in returning to the United States and it feels like more of a matter of when than if. Lewiston, Maine and Manchester, New Hampshire seem to be the most logical options. It's been over 20 years since the QMJHL expanded and over 10 since it had a team located in the US. This would be a major change for the league, one that feels inevitable.

The Americans

The Saint John Sea Dogs, as an example, will begin the season with five Americans on their roster. The American invasion since the NCAA rule change doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon and it's a major adjustment – particularly this season with the change still so fresh. It'll be fun to follow how these new players perform. There's a chance that, right now, we may know very little about some of the players who will be top performers in the league this season.

All The NCAA Stuff

At some point, the chaos surrounding the NCAA rule change will cool down as the new setup becomes normalized. I'm not sure that's going to happen this season, though. There are a few things I'm keeping an eye on. For one, is there a chance a team might have to accept reality that they're losing a ton of core players much earlier than expected and decide to go all in this season? That would be something. Also worth keeping an eye on is both sides of the spectrum: how many CHL players light up the NCAA as freshman and how many of them decide to return to the CHL. This could really set the tone for the amount of commitments moving forward.