Hot start for Héroux in Val-d'Or

Mathieu Perrin/Val-d'Or Foreurs

Nolann Héroux had quite a Saturday.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs forward recorded a career high four assists in the Val-d'Or Foreurs' 6-3 victory over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. It was Héroux's second game with the Foreurs following an off-season trade.

The 17-year-old has certainly been setup for success in his new home, starting the season on Val-d'Or's top line with Philippe Veilleux and Nathan Brisson. There's a legitimate chance Héroux could be amongst the league's point leaders this season if he stays on that line.

Two games into the regular season, Héroux sits in a tie for the second most assists in the QMJHL.

Héroux, the 10th overall pick in the 2025 QMJHL Entry Draft, posted three goals and 10 assists in 39 games with the Sea Dogs last season. Saint John traded the speedy forward to Val-d'Or in June in exchange for a first-round pick and two second-rounders.

Also on the Foreurs this season is former Sea Dogs goaltender Arseni Radkov, who allowed three goals on 22 shots in the Foreurs' 4-3 season opening win over the Victoriaville Tigres on Friday.

Radkov and Héroux are just a couple of the former Sea Dogs to keep an eye on around the QMJHL this season. Here's the full list.

Player	Team	GP	Goals	Assists	Points
Nolann Héroux	VDO	2	0	4	4
Chad Bellemare	SHE	2	2	0	2
Egan Beveridge	QUE	2	1	0	1
Cole Renaud	ROU	2	0	0	0
William Yared	SHA	2	0	0	0
Elliot Dubé	BLB	2	0	0	0
Vincent Croteau	SHE	0	0	0	0
Max Vilen	MON	0	0	0	0

Vilen missed Moncton's games this past weekend while attending Tampa Bay Lightning training camp.

The Phoenix also include goaltender Kyan Labbé, a fourth-round pick of Saint John in the 2023 QMJHL Entry Draft. He never appeared in a regular season game with Saint John before being dealt to Sherbrooke.

There are also former Sea Dogs coaches to keep an eye on. Along with Gordie Dwyer (Newfoundland) and Gardiner MacDougall (Moncton), former assistants Mark Lee (Halifax) and Timothy Archambault (Sherbrooke) have found new homes for the 2026-27 season.